[Article]: Keeping cephalopods in captivity

[joel_ang]

Wow, you certainly got lucky there, too bad about the fight though , They're beautiful and inquisitive but sadly they don't do well in an aquarium, simple as that. I came across a flamboyant cuttlefish once, sadly I didn't have too much sense in my head to buy it at the time Where do you live Btw?

 

[Cyrus]

Hiya Joel, Colin and Tonmo

I have watched the documentaries on octopii (with footage of wonderpus) and the 'Search for the Mimic octopus' again, carefully, and compared them to the one that I have collected in North Queensland, Australia .

I think they are quite likely to have been the same species. Dr. Roger Hanan? from the Woodholes Marine Biological Lab.(not sure whether he is still with them) was in the mimic octopus documentary. I wonder whether we can contact him to clarify this issue. Maybe Tonmo or Colin would know him or know how to contact him, hehe.

 

[Colin]

Hi Cyrus, certainly interesting stuff there... do you have any pics of your wunderpus? Would be nice to see, I think the best person to contact would be Roy Caldwell as he does a lot of work on octopuses in these areas, as do his students...

 

[Cyrus]

Wundupus

Hi again Colin,

Actually, I have magically find the time to watch the Mimic Octopus documentary tape again. Roger actually pointed out there were three similar octopus spp living in the Lam?bert?? Strait of So?luwesi??? They were the wonderpus, the 'Landopus??' and the Mimic octopus (I have no idea about the spellings of these names . hehe.

According to the documentary, they reckoned the wonderpus and the Mimic octopus looks similar with the wonderpus apparently being more colorful. Now I am not sure at all whether the one that I collected was the wonderpus or the Mimic or actually some other species. It was dark brown when I caught it on the reef (North Queensland, Australia). The banded pattern was not apparent until it kinda settled down in my tank and started foraging. It was certainly one of the most timid and untrusting octopus that I have ever kept. It rejected the small glass bottle that I offered to it as selter and rejected all the food that I have offered it (including live food!) . From the two documentaries that I have taped, my specimen looked like both of them?! .

Unfortunately, I didn't know that they were not scientifically decribed before. I was not too keen in getting into the taxonomy of octopus at that time and didn't have the time either. I didn't take any photo which was a big mistake. The problem was I was more interested in collecting, keeping and observing all these wonderful marine animals than to find the time to document and share the findings with others, regretably. If we have 48 or 72 hrs a day, I am sure I would be able to do a better job,

 

[um...]

You'd better just head right back out there and collect a new specimen.

 

[Cyrus]

Wundupus

Before I can collect another specimen, all of the followings have to happen:

1. I could magically find the time
2. I have to get on a plane
3. I have to make a boat trip
4. I have to get wet
5. I have the time to stay wet: any length of time from about a week up to a year, maybe
6. I have the luck of bumping into one again before it discover me and take cover...................and.........

Umm...I reckon thats possible.