Al's journal

Try going up to the tank and petting him from the outside of the glass. Even if Octane is dozing, I will see at least a slight color change (to the positive, not fearful) when I do this.
 
I don't often confess this little behavior experment with my bimac of a few years ago, Ollie. But...I waved at her everytime I was going to spend time with her, either sitting and watching or feeding or interacting. I waved when I left, too.

After some months, she started waving back! I thought I was imagining it and hauled in witnesses, but all agreed Ollie was waving! She stuck out an arm and wiggled it at me. I always thought she studied me as much as I studied her, and this was the result.

Nancy
 
Nancy;122384 said:
I don't often confess this little behavior experment with my bimac of a few years ago, Ollie. But...I waved at her everytime I was going to spend time with her, either sitting and watching or feeding or interacting. I waved when I left, too.

After some months, she started waving back! I thought I was imagining it and hauled in witnesses, but all agreed Ollie was waving! She stuck out an arm and wiggled it at me. I always thought she studied me as much as I studied her, and this was the result.

Nancy

Don't you wish the cameras were as advanced as they are now. I miss a lot of shots but I do get enough on "film" to be convincing :biggrin2:
 
Don't dive with Al!

Have been so busy with summer stuff that I haven't had time to post in a while... Al has a new lego toy, a little scuba diver we named after our dive instructor. We rarely see Al actually playing with it (he was encouraged in the photo), I leave it buried in the substrate. But after we have left him alone for a while Al must get bored because we'll find Diver Mike floating around without his mask on.

He has a few tank mates, he doesn't like to eat snails which is nice for algae control, and a couple button polyps add interest. He still won't go in bottles for hermit crabs which also turns out to be a good thing. When we go out of town for the weekend, the neighbor has only to let the crabs out to feed him without hassle on her part.

What does everyone else do for octo care when you're out of town? My husband wants to get Al a jar like the ones they use to preserve heads in on the t.v. show Futurama...
 
Grover doesn't touch the snails in his tank either. I did find one of the Peppermint shrimps on top of the screen over the tank though. The screen covers the entire top, but in the very center is a small hole for me to drop in food or reach in the with my long forceps to grab leftovers/rearrange things as needed. It appears the shrimp got crazy and happened to flip out of the water in just the wrong spot. I bet someone was chasing it... The other shrimps are still fine.

What tankmates did you decide upon?

I can't go out of town. I wouldn't trust anyone to take care of my octos. Too many horror stories for aquarium keepers, octopus or not.

I have one of my past octopus pets preserved in a small jar.
 
Well maybe that last post was confusing, the snails and the polyps are the tank mates I've decided on. Not too exciting, but more than enough for us (and most importantly Al). On the show Futurama, the heads of people are kept alive in jars (Richard Nixon, for example), my husband was joking that if I had one of those I could take Al with me when I travel (like to MANCA!).

We just returned from Chicago, where we always stop at Shedd's aquarium. Before I had my own octo and learned so much about their needs, the GPO was one of my fave exhibits. Now it just makes me SAD. Not enough room in such a boring tank! Here's a Q for you experts: why don't aquariums keep smaller breeds of octos? If we are able to keep these guys at home, why don't aquariums keep smaller diurnal animals like Al or some of our others?

After that, I'm even more antsy to move Al into the larger tank, especially since he is trying to swim more often. Slowly but surely the nitrates are falling and it will be ready soon. For all of you who have done this before, what are your suggestions for moving day? He'll only be going across the room into a tank that is slightly cooler than his current home (a constant 78F). When I initially brought him home and tried to acclimate him, he got out of the cricket keeper in 5 min. flat. What would be the optimum acclimation time (I'll put him in a critter keeper w/ smaller vents so he can't escape too soon)? I always appreciate all the help and comment you all come up with!!
 
Ohhh now I see. It would be neat to take them everywhere with us, like dogs. :smile:

I think the reason for public aquariums keeping GPO's is the impressive size. The GPO display at the San Diego Sea World is probably the smallest I've seen. I swear the inside was a 4'x4'x4' box (if that). It was the most active GPO I've seen though. There appeared to be a hole where it could escape into another area though, hopefully much larger on the other side. The Birch Aquarium actually had a couple of Bimac displays which surprised me. As massive as GPO's are, people still tend to overlook them since they hide and blend in so well, so I imagine smaller octos would be even less noticeable. But I agree with you whole heartedly. Why not throw in a vulgaris into one of those displays?

I would acclimate him to the new tank over an hour or so unless your water parameters between the two tanks match up. If it's just a matter of temperature then just floating him in something should be fine.
 
Animal Mother;123040 said:
Ohhh now I see. It would be neat to take them everywhere with us, like dogs. :smile:


AM, you might not make that analogy if you had an Irish Wolfhound and a Newfoundland!

Sedna, be sure to post how it goes. I am hoping to transfer Octane next week and I am still creating ideas on how to move him. I have moved the Mercs without problems (very unceremoneous scoup walk and drop to well matched tanks) but Octane is much bigger and aging. I am still of the mind to catch and drop to reduce the stress but I will have to see about water temps. Salt and PH I can get matched but the new tank will be much lower in nitrates and I don't know if this might be a problem. I know with fish, it can be deadly even if the water is cleaner.
 
dwhatley;123086 said:
AM, you might not make that analogy if you had an Irish Wolfhound and a Newfoundland!

Sedna, be sure to post how it goes. I am hoping to transfer Octane next week and I am still creating ideas on how to move him. I have moved the Mercs without problems (very unceremoneous scoup walk and drop to well matched tanks) but Octane is much bigger and aging. I am still of the mind to catch and drop to reduce the stress but I will have to see about water temps. Salt and PH I can get matched but the new tank will be much lower in nitrates and I don't know if this might be a problem. I know with fish, it can be deadly even if the water is cleaner.

Okay well I know my Dane isn't quite the monster those two are but I think 64lbs for a four and a half month old is pretty large, and she goes places with us! :nyah: An octo would make for a neat pocket pet... haha.

Sorry to hijack the thread.
 
Is this corkscrewing?

Well, it's been a dramatic day at the Bentley St. Zoo (as friends and relatives call our house). I took the collard lizard to the vet, turns out he's just dehydrated and constipated- we're keeping our fingers crossed that's all it is and he'll be o.k. soon. Too bad there is no good herp site like TONMO!

I have also been growing more concerned about Al's behavior. What are the signs of senesence (sp?)? What does corkscrewing look like? For the first time Al didn't eat a hermit crab, and as I look over other journals, I think he could be starting to start going downhill, but maybe he's just lost interest. He is wild caught and my first octo, so all I know about "normal" behavior is whatever I've seen of him so far. I tend to obsess a bit about my pets, so if anyone could answer or direct me to a good link, I'd really appreciate it!
 

Attachments

  • conv_293111.jpg
    conv_293111.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 86
  • conv_293112.jpg
    conv_293112.jpg
    2.5 MB · Views: 111
  • conv_293113.jpg
    conv_293113.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 120
His color is good, in these photos he is in the top corner of the tank, in the brightest spot. He usually seeks out the brightest spot in the tank during the afternoon/ evening and is at his lightest coloring then. If you run your hand on the other side of the glass he'll respond with a color change, albeit very slight.

He did do his usual hunting behavior and color change when I put in the hermit and even looked to be eating it at first. This was Sunday. He let the hermit go and now it is still alive and walking around the tank. He did stick feed today, some frozen shrimp, and displayed his aggressive coloring then.

I'm not sure if I'm over- reacting and he's just bored. It does seem that he just isn't as tightly balled when he sleeps, that his arms hang loose more often. Then again, as I watch him now he is nicely balled up in his fave spot for this time of day. One thing I don't seem to see much of lately is TEXTURE, he's usually more smooth.
 
The corkscrew look is exactly like your one pic, where his legs are dangling. Unfortunately, I've learned over the years after many different octopuses, this is not good. I have never had one live much longer after this appears. How are your parameters? The loss of color and texture is also another sign of senescence setting in.

:sad:
 
Sedna,
Anytime Octane showed a behavior oddity, I did an extra water change and the next day he seemed back to normal. His tank was smaller than I thought (we have had it set up several years and never measured it until Octane was in residence to discover it was 10 gallons smaller that advertised) so I was doing 2 water changes a week as it was. I never showed a detectable drop of ammonia or nitrite so it could have been temperature or oxygen improvements but it always seemed to help. It could also have been skin shedding time and the water changes had absoultely no effect:hmm: but it is a "do no harm" kind of action.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top