bought an octopus, but what kind?

[corpusse]

Wow even more great pictures. For all I know a pro could have taken them. Your octo seems to get
out a lot or is just very social.



I will post a video of all my failures! ...Although I don't think I have enough tape... *sigh*

thanks

Feast or famine. I went months without a single sighting. I even assumed he was dead. Now we are friends

 

[cephlapodlover]

Feast or famine. I went months without a single sighting. I even assumed he was dead. Now we are friends

The common disappearing octo trick is something intimidating me from getting one. I feel like I would have a heart attack if my octo would be gone that long.

Well at least it's good you guys are friends now. (I really like the winky face.)

 

[corpusse]

I've been feeding a bit more then normal trying smaller (fiddler crabs vs shrimp) but he just won't eat more. No problem for me, it means I don't have to worry if I'm not home or don't have time to feed for a day or 2 but I've just been curious to see if he would consume more if offered since it's been mentioned he is on the small size.

Today he was acting like a weirdo swimming around a bit looking more like a squid and was unreceptive to me touching him. I also offered him a crab and he would have nothing of it. The strangest of all was that he changed one side dark and one side light. Never seen that before! I got a poor quality video :

 

[Mike Bauer]

Very nice work on videos and photos!

 

[DWhatley]

Cassy used to show us all kinds of color changes like that but Tatanka never has. I did not mean to imply that you are under feeding and you have noted that he has never had a huge appetite. O. briareus is more typically uniform than than hummelincki but we have seen significant sizing differences in all of them (and Mucktopus has mentioned similar observations with A. aculeatus in the wild). I would guess that Tank is now about the same size Cassy was before she started producing eggs even though he had been slightly smaller as they have grown but there is a huge difference in their show of colors and webbing. So much so that I suspect different fathers.

 

[corpusse]

Still acting weird today. Maybe just tired, or angry.

Got a few neat macro pics though
I know this pic bothered him, but I just had to get one. He never ever opens his eyes this much

Normally closer to this although this is almost closed:

 

[DWhatley]

A double check on your water parms is a good idea any time they act oddly. We test for so little that I always do an extra water change with odd behavior even when I don't find a problem. Does it help? I don't know but it has become my SOP.

 

[sedna]

Great shots! It's so hard to get good pics with a macro. Good luck!

 

[corpusse]

I'm sad to report my Octopus has died. I'm wondering if he was perhaps older then I thought, or maybe just lived a little shorter then normal.

Mantle size on final measurement was only a little over 3" but over the last 2 weeks he hadn't really been accepting food, I noticed some fiddlers still fiddling around I assumed he consumed. Also he lost all interest in playing, and was out in the open and not really moving much.

I did have an increase in salinity, but it was over the course of time and not due to a water change.

I guess we will never know. I am sad, as I expected several more months, but it was a very worthwhile experience. Undecided what's next but even if it's not another ceph I will let you guys know.

Thanks for all the support! I'm sure this won't be the last ceph I end up keeping.

 

[DWhatley]

The last few posts, particularly the lethargic behavior change, are common with senescence. I don't think he was older than expected based upon his original "blue" eyes that I have observed to change early in their lives (based upon only one set of hatchlings. CaptFish noted his hatchlings also showed blue around the eye with his hatchlings but did not have the opportunity to photograph Legs as it changed). He was quite small for his age/species though and this my have impacted his longevity (genetically, not because he did not eat enough) but my thoughts are based upon a very general thought watching my three generations of mercs and there may be no relationship to size and natural longevity.

I hope you decide to keep another ceph soon, you are getting too good at the photography to not provide us with more nice pictures . When you become accustomed to having one in the house, it seems lonely when they go.

 

[corpusse]

I get sad when things die. Ive had a $300 rhomboid wrasse jump, expensive corals melt ect. even cuttlefish die none compare to having the octopus die. Even my stupid turtles which I've had most of my life because I'd feel bad giving them away don't compare to the interest I had in the octopus.

The good thing is locally we seem to be getting a reasonable supply of several species however most are going to be older then mine. I may keep something else in between. I plan on living a lot more years, and with an octopus only living 1-2 I still have time to get another one in the future.

 

[DWhatley]

There is something special about octopuses that I can't identify when people ask why I keep them. I don't know that I need to identify why they make me smile or why seeing them only for a small percentage of the time needed to maintain their environment is acceptable but I have had several years with them now and have at least as much interest as when I started keeping them.

 

[Mike Bauer]

I am sorry for your loss! Pets do become like close friends to some of us.