Complete newbie requesting help with first octopus setup!

[CaptFish]

Oh dear, Katy's going to be doing shots with George...

 

[cuttlegirl]

We need a photo of that!

 

[djkaty]

George was most interested in the availability of vodka. I can assure you we both got very drunk

 

[DWhatley]

Terrific picture! Did you photoshop George or did he come looking on his own accord?

 

[djkaty]

That is why it was so funny, he almost never comes out of his anemone but he immediately came to investigate the vodka. I didn't edit the pic at all (don't know how). When I was having a cup of hot chocolate later in the day and put it next to the tank for him to look at, he showed absolutely zero interest. That fish has got good taste!

Thomas saw the picture and said I should put a speech bubble over George's head saying "OMG It's a party tank!"

 

[Rodney Clark]

Thomas saw the picture and said I should put a speech bubble over George's head saying "OMG It's a party tank!"

Miss Katy, for a non-native English speaker, you have an awesome command of English and even humor. However, you do need to find a better brand than Smirnoff to make dear George happy.

I am a long-time lurker and first time poster that is trying hard to learn before bringing my first octo into my home. Katy, I am learning so much from your posts (and their responses) to prepare me to eventually make the plunge. Keep doing your good work and I look forward to learning from your future posts.

 

[djkaty]

Hey Rodney, welcome I was actually born in England but I haven't lived there for many years, so I have a slight advantage I also write articles for an online gaming site, in English, some of which have to have some satire, so I have alot of practice luckily! We get all the English/American shows on TV also. It is true that I mostly speak Norwegian when I'm not typing on web sites though.

Glad you find the posts useful! People nearby have started to become interested in the aquarium now and I feel it is a bit like the blind leading the blind, I'm just muddling my way through worrying about everything and blindly hoping that everything is ok and I am doing everything right. I said in another thread to a newbie that there are no stupid questions, so just ask the kind folks here.

I have been quite lethargic lately and a bit weary of what people will say about the tank on YouTube next time I post a vlog (especially about the state of the anemone), but I will try to do one soon, an update is way overdue.

 

[djkaty]

Well I woke up today and the anemone looks like this:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4947904&l=86aafa586e&id=816199476
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4947905&l=c3aa892b70&id=816199476
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4947908&l=858fec011e&id=816199476



Yesterday it looked fine (or, the same as normal anyway). The water parameters are the best they've been since I started the tank, the ammonia has reached zero a week or two ago.

A few days ago I managed to get hold of a turkey baster and tried to target feed some krill. The anemone was not interested so I let the fish eat it. The next day I tried again and it closed up round the krill very quickly. That is the first time I have seen him take food.

Yesterday and today the fish has not wanted to eat, which is very unusual. Everything else is as it was.

What should I do?

 

[cuttlegirl]

Your anemone looks fine, I might be a bit worried about the fish not eating though... did he get a big meal recently (or has he been sneaking off for more vodka )?

 

[djkaty]

But yesterday the anemone was pink and had 'normal' tentacles, today it has mostly turned white, some of the tentacles have become short stubs and they are facing all directions, and he is opening and closing rapidly. It is behaving much differently now.

The fish may have eaten the krill that the anemone didn't take. I don't know how to feed it properly, if I squirt krill onto its tentacles it just floats away.