bought an octopus, but what kind?

[CaptFish]

He didn't make it into my reef which is right beside the octopus tank all those fish are still alive

If the octopus did make it into that tank it would not likely start on a killing spree right away. If the tank really is that close it is a possibility he made it in. There are a few published stories out there about octopuses at Public Aquariums going on excursions to other tanks. Although it sounds like your lid was pretty secure an octopus needs a gap or hole about the size of their eye to escape.

 

[corpusse]

The other tank has a wooden hood so there is 0% chance he got into there.

I moved the couch checked the sump and checked the other tanks sump which there was a slight chance he could make it into and no.

So I'm going to have to go with he died in the tank. I'll throw one more fiddler in just based on the 1% chance he is still alive. I did not find any live fiddlers when I tore the tank down but they bury in the sand.

Maybe tomorrow or the day after I will take all the rock out of the tank since I'll have to reaquascape even if im going to leave it empty it just looks like a big mess right now.

 

[DWhatley]

Be very careful with your rock when you reaquascape. They often are found in LR and any pieces with holes big enough for them to enter are possible hiding places.

 

[corpusse]

Be very careful with your rock when you reaquascape. They often are found in LR and any pieces with holes big enough for them to enter are possible hiding places.

I'll never doubt you again.

I tore the tank down taking each piece of live rock out and placing them in a barrel. I also shinned a bright flashlight in each and every hole that I thought was big enough. No sighting.

So I figured fine I'll rise out the rock to get rid of any detritus and then I hear something. Low and behold the octopus crawls out of the barrel!

I put him back in the tank which just has a few pieces of rock in it now and he's already gone.

Now I'm obviously going to have to put the live rock back in since its the primary means of filtration, but I am worried about him eating. He has only consumed 3-4 crabs in the time I've had him. However these crabs are roughly his size and probably a little bigger. Is that enough for him to be eating?

Feeding shrimp or other stuff is out of the question as I already can't find him and once I put the rock back in I figure I might never see him again. I seriously can't believe this. I've kept cuttlefish and they hid almost all the time but was always able to locate them, wrasses that hid for days and always ended up finding them except when they died. I've hunted crabs in my reef for years so I do have experience trying to find hidden creatures. I just under estimated the octopus' ability to hide or perhaps overestimated my ability to find him.

 

[DWhatley]

I just under estimated the octopus' ability to hide or perhaps overestimated my ability to find him.

Both Ceph (James B. Wood) and Roland C. Anderson did an article for Reef Life (November/December 2009) entitled Eye For an Octopus and it starts out:

The ability to find an octopus is not something we can put on our resumes. ... There are over 200 described species in the order Octopoda, but only a small portion of them ar commonly observed ... Are octopuses rare, as many people think? Or are they just rarely seen, because people don't know where, when and how to look for them?

There are small critters in you LR that the octopus may be eating (particularly tiny shrimp like copepods and amphipods and you have likely reduced that population now so adding more would not hurt). With the little ones, I find they take smaller things better than larger ones and have to argue with Neal about offering too much at one time. Sometimes they have rejected his offering (he does the daily feeding) but I have reduced the size of the food and have often, now always, gotten them to take it. My two hatchlings would not accept table shrimp until about 4 months and Monty was about the same mantle size before he would take it. I think it has something to do with their beak or radula and or the toughness of the shrimp.

I think this one is too small to be brooding so you will need to rest your patience meter (especially since you have put it in a new environment again). I try to get first time keepers to read the journals and look at the timings and the watch their own timing as a comparison to see the patience that is needed. Look at Merkury's thread and you will see a similar issue with feeding (now eating well). Both Nancy and CaptFish didn't know they still had a live octopus in their tank for months and I recorded having lost all of my hatchlings at least once. I have tried to help a member on a local forum catch one placed in his tank without his knowledge or consent but his impatience won't let him attempt a likely solution.

At this writing the octopus is dead and has poisoned his tank and is killing his corals . I have pretty much given up on him and saving the animal because, unlike you who wants the animal to adjust, he can't accept that dealing with the animals takes time and close observation.

 

[corpusse]

I really am shocked. Before I even put the live rock back in the octopus was gone. I half assed aquascaped and figure I can redo the tank in a month or 2 assuming this guy eventually gets comfortable.

I'll shake out the macro from my refugeiums and some amphipods should fall out. I'll also pick up a dozen or so hermits and snails just in case he does go for them. The fiddlers do appear to be being eaten and since I now know he can completely avoid detection I'll stop constantly looking for him and just let him settle in. When he gets hungry enough he'll come out for food on his own.

 

[DWhatley]

I'll stop constantly looking for him and just let him settle in.

It doen't work that way but telling yourself that may keep you from tearing up the tank again. Try to dedicate a timed amount of face time (yours) to the tank each day. They have to get used to seeing the monsters and decide we are harmless (as well as not being food). I end up writing a disortation on patience about once a year but you just get the short version since you have kept cuttles

 

[Cerulean]

I am so glad to hear that your little briareus is alive and well. In case you haven't read my journal, I have one as well right now. If I could give any advice, it would be to offer frozen krill every day until yours takes it. Start with small pieces either on a skewer or stuffed into an empty crab shell. I could have saved myself a lot of money if someone would have told me in a way that I both heard and believed. Best of luck with yours. What are going to name him/her? I almost named mine O.B. Juan.

 

[corpusse]

I am so glad to hear that your little briareus is alive and well. In case you haven't read my journal, I have one as well right now. If I could give any advice, it would be to offer frozen krill every day until yours takes it. Start with small pieces either on a skewer or stuffed into an empty crab shell. I could have saved myself a lot of money if someone would have told me in a way that I both heard and believed. Best of luck with yours. What are going to name him/her? I almost named mine O.B. Juan.

Just leave it in the middle of the tank? Keeping in mind I have no idea where the heck this tiny guy is somewhere in the 3x2x2 footprint. Up high in the rocks? at the back? at the front who knows....

No name. I probably won't name him. I'm not really into naming my pets. I've had a turtle for about 20 years and still no name. Weird I know but these types of animals don't respond to their name.

 

[DWhatley]

Not naming an animal works fine until you have multiples of the same type Numbers work but I always liked Jane Goodall's comments when criticised for naming the chimps. The team named them based upon identifiable attributes because it was easier to keep them straight and eliminated confusion on which animal was being studied.

Cerulean's method for feeding an errant O. briareus is unique and certainly worth a try. As with most animals, they learn eating locations when fed in one spot and will show up at feeding time once they understand food is to be found there regularly. The interesting thing about Merkury is that he is taking dead from a shell where none of mine would take dead that was not either hanging in current or being manipulated on a stick by the feeder and none of the species I have had would have anything to do with krill (note, however, the krill I have tried is much smaller than the piece Merkury was eating). I suspect Merkury would take food from a stick now if given at the same time in the same place but there is no reason to change the method unless desired by the keeper. It may be that Merkury was accustomed to eating snails/conch so finding food in a shell is natural for him. His investigating actions after getting the chunk of meat seems to suggest this may be the case.

 

[corpusse]

Don't worry this will be the only octopus for me. I dunno if someone asked me about my octopus I'd say the species name not an actual name.

When you leave dead food in a shell won't bristleworms consume it pretty quickly if the octopus doesn't get to it fast? Well I know the answer is yes so I'm not even sure why I'm asking. The tank he is in doesn't seem to have a large number of worms but that's probably because the animals who have lived in the tank primarily eat live food.

I'm not regretting the octopus but I am a bit surprised how much goes into it. When I first started reading octopus journals a year and a half ago I was surprised so many people were "playing" with them and such. Now I know if you don't you will probably never see yours.

I'll sit right beside the tank and watch tv. There is a couch infront of the tank. I'm assuming sitting with my back to the tank won't matter since O. briareus have poor eyesight. Going to add as many pods as I can tomorrow. Unfortunately I just threw a bunch out the other day when I was trimming macro but there is still more. I will also add the snails and hermits. Worst case they clean things up a bit. I think the fiddlers are actually disappearing I put 2 more in. I found one big claw and one destroyed corpse so they are going, but these guys are almost as hard to keep track of as the octopus.

 

[corpusse]

For the last half hour or so I've been dangling a fiddler crab. I tied fishing line to his big claw. I was hoping this would drive my octopus out so I can at least figure out what side of the tank hes hanging out in.

Crabs keep disappearing about one every 2 days or so, but I've yet to see my octopus at all since I put him back in the tank when I took the rock out.

I'll keep this up another 20mins or so then probably leave the crab on the string just to see if he does eventually get it. I've also been sitting on the couch in front of the tank more so the octopus is "used to me" being around.

 

[DWhatley]

I went back and looked at your first photo and think he is likely younger than my two hatchlings (based on the blue around the eyes that seems to disappear fairly early). Cassey and Tatanka are only this week starting to be fully out on the wall visible without coaxing at supper time (4.5 months) so I think the recluseness is very much age related. Just keep doing what you are doing and try not to be frustrated.

 

[corpusse]

I went back and looked at your first photo and think he is likely younger than my two hatchlings (based on the blue around the eyes that seems to disappear fairly early). Cassey and Tatanka are only this week starting to be fully out on the wall visible without coaxing at supper time (4.5 months) so I think the recluseness is very much age related. Just keep doing what you are doing and try not to be frustrated.

He is pretty small. I think the fiddler crabs he has been eating are approximately his mantle size maybe even a little bigger. This might explain why he's only eating them at a rate of 1 per 2 days or so.

The crab escaped last night but I think it got eaten. I know there was one other crab in as well and I didn't see either today at all. Those guys are pretty good at hiding too but usually with a flashlight I can find them, plus they do tend to wander around for at least a bit either during the day or at night.

I tried another crab up, real well this time. He hasn't gotten lose but he hasn't been eaten as well. It's been about 5 or 6 hours but it's now dark. I'm no longer watching but the crab is near the front of the tank. If it doesn't go throughout the night that might mean he is never comfortable venturing that far out. Or it might mean he's full on previous crabs. As with everything involving this octopus it's hard to say.

As long as crabs keep disappearing and at least every once in a while I see some crab parts I'll continue to believe he is doing well. Still have 30 something crabs assuming they aren't dying. I know one did die, but even those guys are impossible to keep track of. They mostly bury in the sand but I do see a couple dozen so I know I'm not running out just yet.

 

[DWhatley]

The twins still don't come to the front wall so you might try your hanging crab along the back wall if it is not taken tonight.