Dr. Octopus - Young mercatoris

Sometimes I feel like a broken record, fiddler crabs will be the most universal live food to feed an octopus. They are far cheaper than mithrax and you can reliably, legally and ethically purchase them here: Cannot connect to MySQL server

If you order from Paul, request the smaller ones. If he can get them (he collects them weekly) he will (it does depend on availability). The male has a wickedly large claw and I always disable it by breaking off one tip. Often the fiddler will drop the arm when I do this so be sure you have the crab over the tank when you prepare it.
 
Hey D,
What time do mercs usualy come out at night? What can I put in the tank that can give me evidence that he comes out at night. I don't know if he ever comes out of his barnacle at all. Doc has also chosen a barnacle facing upward towards the light. Isn't this unusual? Everytime I view him he is just curled up in his den.
 
dwhatley;133861 said:
Sometimes I feel like a broken record

Most of these questions have been asked (and answered) many, many times. A little use of the "search" option will reveal much info: cheap saltwater crabs?

The dimmer your red light and the quieter the room, the sooner a new mercatoris will come out. After many nights of feeding and socializing, they will start to peek out as soon as it is "dark" and they see you. Mine often occupy upward facing barnacles, so I wouldn't worry.
 
Mercs are like the bigger guys, they all have their own personalities and sense of timing.

Tapper (original wc female) was only seen rarely in her 45 gallon tank until I put in a barnacle and she chose it for brooding. Then she was visible on a 24 hour basis if she did not have her door in place.

My wonderful Sisturus (captive raised) would come to the top of the tank every night at 11:00 and expect to be fed. It was so regular that Neal would check on him before going to bed and call me down from my office saying, "Someone is calling you". Medusa (his tank mate) learned from Sisty about feeding time but did not come out until I arrived with the goodies.

Wiley (captive bred) could not be relocated to the smaller tank (he was born in a large tank and continually escapted the net). He was assumed dead over and over again for weeks at a time. I eventually quit feeding octo food to the tank and found him in the front looking for food. I captured him and put him in the smaller tank but he never took an interest in humans and denned at the back of the tank. He did learn to take shrimp from my fingers but he would not leave his den in my presence. He lived to be over 13 months old.

Here is my "go by" for merc:

If it is eating its health can be considered acceptable. If it closes itself up and won't eat, it is likely a brooding female. If it stays out of a den during the day and is overly friendly, it is dying, likely of old age. Old age can also be detected by the richness of color and the ability to hold color on a regular basis (not just once), but color is hard to determine with the nocturnals. I could tell more from the flash photos than by looking at them under a red light (where they are almost always white and rarely show red).

It does seem to help to keep them in a well trafficed area, especially an eating room where people are regularly there but not running around (no help with this for Wiley though). You can encourage early night time appearances by turning off all ambient light around 9:00 PM. I think (subjective analysis) that leaving a red light on over the tank 24/7 is helpful for regulating their out and about time.

There are no hard and fast rules with anything related to behavior, that is part of their attraction and curiosity.
 
So hermits seem to be Doc's diet. A couple days ago, (after i stuck the fiddler in) I started seeing hermit remains and a shell or 2. The fiddler lost all of his arms on one side and died for some reason. ??? But anyways, I can deal with hermits. Soon I'm about to move his den facing sideways toward the front of the tank so I can actually see him a little bit. Is this a bad idea?
 
Slight tank disruptions don't seem to have any lasting impact (not sure about major ones but I have moved several into new tanks without more than a day of unusual behavior). He may choose another den but there should be no harm in trying it. I have had them to choose front facing dens several time.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top