Blinky just shot white stuff into the water...?

[Brock Fluharty]

I was moving stuff around in my octo tank, and Blinky, my bimac, came out to investigate my arm. She hasn't been coming out lately, and is very reclusive. I am diagnosing senecense. Well, she started getting rough, and pulling me into the tank, so I kind of flicked my hand, and she crawled away and shot a cloud of white stuff at me. This is the second time she's done that, both times when I was in the tank. What is this stuff? Is it possible that it's not a she and that it's...sperm?

 

[Ranzan]

i know that squid when the have a bowel movement its white i dont know much about about octopus but they have some similar characteristics ( i think i spelled that wrong) so that might be what it is

 

[Brock Fluharty]

No, octopus feces are bright red.

 

[corw314]

But I have also seen the white that you talk about and I know for a fact they were females. I'm wondering if it's a type of waste? Spike does the red and the white.

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Was your solid or liquid? This was liquid, but looked to have a slimy consistency. Does this mean that it is a she, or was that just an example that both sexes can do it?

 

[Jean]

Colour of the faeces will depend a bit on food. If the octopus is feeding on live crustaceans then the waste will be reddish pink, if feeding on bivalves and/or frozen shrimps then the waste may well be white. The pigment comes from the prey.

J

 

[Brock Fluharty]

Well, I have been feeding frozen shrimp, but I see her defecate red feces, and this was like a cloud of white goo. Would that still be feces?

 

[Jean]

Are the shrimp white or pink? often freezing destroys the pigment. The white could also be other forms of waste, such as urea or uric acid which can be white I believe.

J