Home / Invertebrates / Giant Pacific octopuses / Giant Pacific octopus
No federal permit to keepGiant Pacific octopus
Enteroctopus dofleini
Also known as North pacific giant octopus, Pacific Giant Octopus
Invertebrates › Giant Pacific octopuses (Octopoda) › Enteroctopodidae (Giant Pacific octopuses)
The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus and Enteroctopodidae family. Its spatial distribution encompasses much of the coastal…
Experience: Expert / facility
FamilyGiant Pacific octopuses
Adult lengthup to 118.1 in
WaterSaltwater
Care guide
Group care guide
Giant octopuses
Applies to most species in this group. Habitat: Giant Pacific octopuses inhabit cold North Pacific coastal waters, using rocky crevices as dens. [fg137-aza, fg137-biaza]. Individual species can differ, so compare with the species numbers above and the linked sources.
Level 5 is an editorial assessment of the facility-scale life support and handling needs. Water range is for Enteroctopus dofleini, not every member of Enteroctopodidae; these sources do not establish settings for other giant octopuses. [fg137-aza, fg137-biaza]
Housing & setup
- Provide an adult-scale chilled marine exhibit; BIAZA describes a successful cylinder 2 m across and 2 m deep, about 6,284 L, rather than a universal minimum.
- Secure lids and every plumbing opening against escape.
- Provide a den, secure rockwork and subdued lighting; avoid layouts that allow high-speed collisions.
- Use biological filtration, strong oxygenation and refrigeration with monitored temperature, alarms and emergency power.
- Offer food puzzles and manipulable enrichment, removing uneaten seafood promptly.
Climate & lighting
| Water | 42.8–53.6°F |
Diet
- Crabs.
- Clam meat and squid.
- Herring or smelt as part of a varied seafood diet.
Social life
- Keep singly; conspecifics can injure or kill one another, and other animals may become prey.
Handling
- Use trained staff and controlled, voluntary interactions; protect against the beak and powerful arms.
Health watch
- Mantle and arm abrasions, especially after collisions.
- Stress from temperature changes or copper/metal contamination.
- Age-related senescence with appetite and behavioral changes; distinguish this from treatable illness.
Understanding the animal
About this animal
About this animal
It can be found from the intertidal zone down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and is best-adapted to colder, oxygen- and nutrient-rich waters.
Quoted from the Wikipedia article “Giant Pacific octopus” (CC BY-SA 4.0) 174
In the wild
In the wild
Researched for this exact species, not its family. Good care copies these conditions.12
| Where it lives | Lives in cool North Pacific coastal waters from Japan through Alaska to western North America. Uses rock crevices and boulder dens among sand, gravel or mud, often near kelp beds. |
| Water it lives in | Marine, current- and tide-influenced coastal water; the cited account reports an optimal temperature band of 45–49°F (7–9.5°C), not the full wild range. |
| Climate | Cold-water marine habitat; air humidity is not applicable. The reported optimal water band is 45–49°F (7–9.5°C). |
| Active | Predominantly nocturnal. |
| Social life | Solitary, occupying individual dens except during mating. |
| Wild diet | Crabs, clams, fish and squid. |
| Behavior to plan for | Retreats to dens, manipulates and opens shelled prey, and uses toxic saliva during feeding. Can jet away and release ink when escaping. |
What this means for care
- Use a chilled marine system appropriate to its cold-water ecology.
- Provide a large secure den and prevent access to openings or equipment.
- House separately and use varied prey-searching enrichment.
- Plan for egg brooding, when females stop feeding and die after reproduction.
From the sources
From the sources
Quoted from the matching sections of reputable sources for this exact species. Specialist databases are used first; Wikipedia (community-edited, CC BY-SA 4.0) only fills gaps. Other sources are short credited quotes.
| Overview | The giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus and Enteroctopodidae family. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Where it lives | Benthic; depth range 0 - 1500 m. Temperate; 67°N - 22°N, 127°E - 109°W Indo-Pacific and Northwest Atlantic: from Baja California northwest to Alaska and west to Japan. — SeaLifeBase |
| Social life and communication | Each pair of arms of giant Pacific octopuses has up to 280 suckers, which have thousands of chemical receptors. — Animal Diversity Web |
| Wild diet | Giant Pacific octopuses are considered generalist foragers. — Animal Diversity Web |
| Behavior | Giant Pacific octopuses are solitary and often remain inside the same den for weeks at a time, leaving only to capture food, mate, or escape predation. — Animal Diversity Web |
| Reproduction | Members of the class Cephalopoda are gonochoric. Male and female adults usually die shortly after spawning and brooding, respectively. Mating behavior: Males perform various displays to attract potential females for copulation. — SeaLifeBase |
| Lifespan | Giant Pacific octopuses on average live 4.5 to 5 years in the wild. — Animal Diversity Web |
| Appearance and size | Maximum length 300 cm tl male/unsexed; maximum published weight 272.0 kg. — SeaLifeBase |
| Biology | World's largest octopus species. It's mantle length is to at least 60 cm. Common weight: 2,000 to 10,000 g. — SeaLifeBase |
| History and naming | The giant Pacific octopus was first described in 1910 by Gerhard Wülker of Leipzig University in Über Japanische Cephalopoden. He describes the species' morphology in detail, and mentions that there seems to be much variation within the species. The specific name dofleini was chosen by Gerhard Wülker in honor of German scientist Franz Theodor Doflein. — Wikipedia (community-edited) |
| Conservation | IUCN Red List: Least Concern (LC). — SeaLifeBase |
Data and studies
Researched care notes
Researched care notes
Findings checked against veterinary, zoo, welfare, keeper and peer-reviewed sources. Air, basking-surface and water temperatures are kept separate, and where sources disagree both are shown. “Study” notes report what a paper measured, not a universal rule.
Giant Pacific Octopus (species)
- The 2026 manual recommends 6–12°C water, describing 10°C as ideal. Successful warmer exceptions are not its long-term recommendation.1
- The manual gives an absolute system minimum of 1,892 L and prefers 3,785 L or more, while stressing filtration capability. Distinguish animal-enclosure water from the total system and filtration reservoir.1
- Multiple octopuses risk aggression even in very large systems; one animal is the routine starting context.1
- Use an appropriate light/dark cycle and avoid intense exposure. The manual cautions that red light is not invisible to octopuses.1
- Species-specific vitamin requirements remain uncertain. Assess nutritional balance alongside varied appropriate seafood/prey feeding. Evidence gap.1
Cephalopod Welfare (cross-species module)
Researched for this whole family or group; check species differences before applying.
- Match shelter, sensory exposure, water movement, and enrichment to the actual cephalopod species. Expert research guidance.2
The numbers
The numbers
Each bar is what one source reports. Where several sources weigh in, the dashed gold band marks their average.
Veterinary & husbandry research
Veterinary & husbandry research
- RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW OF MORTALITY IN GIANT PACIFIC OCTOPUS (ENTEROCTOPUS DOFLEINI) Seeley KE et al., Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine: official publication of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians 2016
- Fecal hormones measured within giant Pacific octopuses Enteroctopus dofleini Larson SE et al., Journal of aquatic animal health 2010
- Rearing and growth of the Octopus Robsonella fontaniana (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) from planktonic hatchlings to benthic juveniles Uriarte I et al., The Biological bulletin 2010
- Nephrolithiasis in a giant Pacific octopus Enteroctopus dofleini Hughes SM et al., Diseases of aquatic organisms 2023
Peer-reviewed papers that mention this species alongside captivity, zoos, veterinary care or aquaculture. Some cover several species or mention it only in passing, so check the abstract. See all 5 on PubMed → 170
Sources for this sheet
- SeaLifeBase (Palomares & Pauly, eds.), version 24.07 Peer-reviewed researchFishBase's sister database for non-fish marine and freshwater life; values are referenced.
- Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) Care Manual — AZA (2014) Zoo, university or veterinaryAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- Management Guidelines for the Welfare of Giant Pacific Octopus — BIAZA (2011) Experienced keeper or breederAdded in the 2026 source-checked care-guide review.
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) Peer-reviewed researchInternational scientific taxonomy used here for classification.
- Wikipedia (species article) Community referenceFree encyclopedia; useful overviews with their own citations. Intro text is quoted under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine) Peer-reviewed researchIndex of peer-reviewed veterinary, zoo and husbandry research.
- iNaturalist (captive observations) Community referenceCommunity observation platform run by the California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic; observations marked captive show animals living in homes, zoos and aquariums.