Baby Wonderpus!!!!!!!!!

[Thales]

Its a wonderpus, almost identical except the wonderpus tends to be more of a caramel color and have more definition in their pattern.

I don't think they look all that much the same:

Welcome to Daisy Hill Cuttle Farm!

 

[mucktopus]

The concerns about Wunderpus are three-fold, and many questions remain before we can assess if/how rare/threatened Wunderpus is in the wild.

1) Population status: In some places they seem exceedingly rare, and they live in a highly threatened habitat. Not being as sexy as coral reefs, tropical soft- sediment communities are largely ignored in many tropical conservation initiatives (though many of us here are working on that!), and still trawled heavily in many places.

However- like you, I have seen sites of high population density. This begs the question- are particular areas good as nursery grounds, mating grounds, or is there strong seasonality in their reproductive activity? If any of these are true, then (as we know from many many other fisheries) it is dangerous to their populations to harvest at these times/places, because they represent a concentration of animals grouped from (or to disperse to) a large area.

2) In some areas there's strong reason to think that collecting them for the aquarium trade is in direct conflict with the dive industry. There is strong sentiment that a few people are gaining money from taking animals which could benefit way more people over a longer time if it were alive in its natural habitat.

3) Wunderpus have low fecundity- they produce very small batches of eggs and have low reproductive potential.
I think we have a long way to go before any of these issues can be resolved. If you know of a site where they are abundant that's fantastic. It would be great if that population could be studied to help get at some of these issues. Even just keeping track of the size and sex ratios of the individuals that come into your store throughout the year would be a huge help. Would you be interested in keeping track of these data?

If it turns out that Wunderpus populations are not threatened, and their harvests for the aquarium trade can be managed sustainably, then these animals have the potential to be a flagship species for responsible high-value alternative livelihoods and yet another reason to protect soft-sediments.

 

[Ryan Smith]

Well, what sized tank do they need/ how big do they get? Id be interested in getting one IF there is new information saying they are not in danger.

 

[SabrinaR]

I think many people would want to keep them if it was proven that they werent endangered/rare with the potential to be endangered. I think the Zebras are BEAUTIFUL but would never knowingly put a population at risk. Someone here once said whats the point if they dont mimic the behavior like they do in the ocean.... for me, these animals are beautiful (I love the stripes) and thats more than enough of a reason. I think it would be great if its possible to get at least some sort of study together.

If they werent so rare to the trade and considered rare then the cost would go down a great deal making them more reasonable to the average aquarist.

But for now thats a pipe dream.

 

[tonmo]

Folks,

I appreciate the discussion here. However, our Forum Guidelines (also found in my sig file and at the top of every forum's thread listings) state that we do not support "[the] purchase cephalopods whose populations are threatened or whose status is not known, such as wunderpus and mimic."

Every member who registers on TONMO.com agrees to support these guidelines in our Forums - having a thread discussing purchase options basically violates that guideline. I suppose I could delete the thread, but I it's a bit late for that now, so I'm opting to close it. Feel free to PM me with any comments or questions - thanks!

 

[Thales]

Reef411 is advertising them for 133 bucks on facebook - "ALL DAY EVERY DAY NO PROBLEM"

 

[mucktopus]

Hi Tony,

Agreed completely- perhaps a bit off topic-- you may not know this, but Tonmo's support for responsible aquarium keeping has really changed my initial impressions of the aquarium trade. When I first signed on years ago, I was actually rabidly against the entire industry. I now see that many aquarium owners are genuinely interested in the well being of the animals they care for, and the populations which sustain them. The work of members like Roy and Thales, the open lines of communication here on Tonmo, and now living/working in an area which hungers for responsible economic options for marine resource uses have all taught me a lot and tempered my views.

I maintain that- based on the data we have so far- Wunderpus are rare in many places and at this point cannot be considered a responsible purchase. But this might not be the case everywhere. With proper long-term study of their populations, we might be able to show that some areas can maintain a small amount of responsible collection- these could then be certified by MAC (a whole different story) and sold for a fair and high price which benefits the villages which work to conserve their habitat. I am not advocating this in any way, but rather acknowledging the gaps in our understanding and room for informed management.

 

[tonmo]

Thanks Rich and Crissy -- two quick things:

- Of course, as Staff, you are immune to the "closed thread" limitation, so that's why you're able to reply... regular members and Supporters are unable to reply to this thread. Just an FYI for everyone

- Crissy, I agree with your points here, and thanks for adding that color. I view our Guidelines as a "living" thing, that will change as we learn more and have a comfortable new position on the matter.

Tony