Bali brown or Bali zebra?

[LiquidFunk]

Can anyone guess what these two species might be? As usual the supplier only has these common names, not scientific.

Any thoughts would be great.

 

[marinebio_guy]

The bali zebra could be a wonderpus which it is not recommended to get because they are about the same as mimic oct's which it is also hard to tell them apart. There is not much known about them and it is not know how many are in the wild. Plus it will probably have a short life span being a small tropical species.

 

[LiquidFunk]

Any idea what the brown would be? Id perfer a bimac (which I know this isnt) but I havent been able to get my hands on one...

 

[clownfish]

the bali brown octopus could simply be any octopus local in the area of the collecter. I would say its a risk, you never now what octopus your getting either could be miss identifyed and you could be sent a random octopus.

 

[marinebio_guy]

I would wait. I might be supplying some wild caught and cultured bimacs later this summer.

 

[erich orser]

Even the experts have had little luck keeping these guys alive. It seems like such a total waste of a beautiful animal. I'd hold out for a bimac!

 

[LiquidFunk]

Erich, which are you refering too the zebra or brown?

 

[erich orser]

Zebra - often referred/mixed-up with as the wonderpus/mimic by LFS importers. Frankly, I'd be worried about any tropical Indonesian octopus. Stick with something from a little closer to American waters, preferably home-cultured, and you're more likely to have a happy, longer-lived octo. Especially after reading Roy Caldwell's thoughts on this - and he should know - I'd stick with bimacs. Cephs rarely travel well, and even more rarely from the Developing World.

 

[LiquidFunk]

well Ive waited for months trying to get my hands on a bimac without any luck so I did order the brown. Two of them actually since I have a customer that wants one.

They also said they have a cuttle, so that will be arriving as well, not sure what kind it is either.

 

[LiquidFunk]

well scratch that I just got the invoice and there isnt a cuttle on it. They are calling the octo a Vulgaris, we shall see.

 

[mucktopus]

Bali brown could be aculeatus, which seem to be close to maturity if not gravid/senescent by the time they end up in the trade. By slim chance it could be a white V or a "brown mimic" (undescribed spp). In agreement with previous posters, it's generally not a good idea to buy an animal that may be a mimic or wunderpus. I also feel it's not a good idea to buy an octo without knowing what it is. Without knowing the ID you won't know how to best take care of it. Some Indonesian octos eat mostly crustaceans, others appear to focus on bivalves, some need a deep sand bed, others need plenty of rubble, and still others would need a mix, some are diurnal, some nocturnal, some come out only at dawn and dusk...You run a very good chance of feeding it the wrong food, and providing inappropriate habitat and lighting.

 

[LiquidFunk]

well I think its safe to say that a bali octopus will need "bali" type of environment, IE warmer than that of a bimac etc. I have access to many times of food items so when it arrives I can attmpt at determining the species and going from there in its diet. That and feeding it a varied diet of both crustations and bivalves will help as well.

It wont be a mimic type, as they had the option of "bali zebra" which would have been any of those similar species of the mimic.

This is a "brown bali", so it wont be a mimic.

Only way to find out how old it is to see it.

If there was a way to get a bimac, I would have done so, but Im sick of looking at an empty tank so this will be the route I take until bimacs become more available.

 

[Nancy]

The term "brown octopus" is used to cover just about any species. However, some of the LFSs here in Dallas sometimes have a species they call "brown octopus" - never have been able to figure out what it is, but it's often young, light brown, friendly and likes tropical temperatures.

Nancy

 

[LiquidFunk]

Well even though it was on my invoice there were no cephs in the boxes.... yet another strike out.

 

[mucktopus]

well I think its safe to say that a bali octopus will need "bali" type of environment, IE warmer than that of a bimac etc.

Water temp is only one of the many aspects of an octo's environment, and even within Bali it can vary considerably. There is no single "bali type of environment." These are benthic animals, so characteristics of the bottom can be as important as water temp. Abdopus aculeatus is an intertidal animal, living in areas that may fluctuate between 84 and 100+F within six hours, or lower temps in the rainy season. It requires rubble to hide in, and being diurnal in bright waters it can typically handle bright light. Wunderpus, the mimic, the brown mimic, and white V (only the first two of which would be sold as zebra, the other two are brown with no stripes and could easily be categorized as brown bali) are subtidal, and in my experiences diving with them the waters have been approx 70-80F. These animals inhabit plains of deep, loose sand, a requirement you cannot satisfy with a quick trip to the store once you already have your animal. Given their depth, activity patterns and the turbidity of water in their habitat, bright light would be asking for a stressed animal.