Fecha's Journal

[mosthated]

when i added the fiddler's to the tank mine didnt show much interest, but he has been eating them and has rejected any shrimp i have offered since..

 

[simple]

i dont think mine has eaten shrimp at all. It would be a possibility that the crab was eating left overs but the shrimp was whole when i caught him eating (it was missing a tiny piece of the tail but that was it) so im not sure if the crab killed it or Fecha did..

 

[DWhatley]

Simple,
Chrissy's paper on the aculatus showed a lot of similarities with the Mercs (I envy all that down time just watching these guys and all the places she went to do it!). Two of my females (mother and brooding daughter) seem to gather shells (no pepples in my tank either) around their den area but my males move about frequently and will leave door shells in the barnacles or in pieces of live rock but not make the piles the females have collected (except for Medusa - no collections made by her as yet and I am only about 80% sure she is female). The Mercs jettison the waste as far away as they can send it and sound similar to the aculatus in that aspect as well.

If you found a shrimp that started out alive (no telling with one put in dead) and was "hollowed" out with most of the shell still shaping the shrimp there is a good chance Fecha was the initial diner and the crab was just cleaning up.

 

[simple]

the shell was left but it was not in the shape of the shrimp, it was juts pieces, not tiny pieces though. I would say the shrimp shell that was left over was split into about 3 or 4 parts..I am now putting my alarm clock to wake me up at 5 30 am so i can watch Fecha for a bit before going to school (it has bad side effects at school, makes me very sleepy) so i can at least get to watch her a bit and see if she hunts. I tried it this morning but i forgot about the time change so i woke up to late too watch.

 

[simple]

Yes! my mom liked my school grades (especially the A in AP European History, and of course A in Marine biology =D ) so I'm allowed to stay home tomorrow. I will be on the look out for Fecha.

 

[Bigpapa]

LOL, congrats!

 

[DWhatley]

"A"s are a GREAT thing. Homework by octo light might even be fun. Well, at least it might get more enthusiasm

 

[simple]

ha, i guess it helps since it takes me away from the computer, hence creating less distractions..

 

[simple]

I stayed home from school today, and i have not seen Fecha. This is almost two days since i last saw her. I am planning on doing a water change today, just in case, and its also about time. Her fiddler crabs get here tomorrow, so maybe she will like those and leave visible evidence of eating.

 

[cuttlegirl]

I'm guessing Fecha is watching you, even though you can't see her. Try not to lose too much sleep hoping to see her, you will see her eventually...

 

[simple]

Yea she has caused an insane amount of sleep loss, i keep waking up in the middle of the night to just "peek" and see if shes there. I do this about 5 or 6 times a night..I have a new plan though. I will try and care the least possible (still adding food, checking parameters, etc.) by not looking for her, i feel my worrying is making me be around the tank too much which might be scaring her into hiding. Of course, its hard not to look for her, but i think she will feel more comfortable if i stop.

 

[cuttlegirl]

It's kind of like that saying "a watched pot never boils" - probably the less time you spend staring at the tank, the more likely you are to spot her.

 

[simple]

i will try to refrain from looking for her so much, though i have to admit the death of Kenny (who came from the same supplier) has really scared me, making me want to look for her even more, but i shall refrain.

 

[Bigpapa]

Dont worry so much because of Kenny. I named him such because of my luck with the octos lately-- you are doing just fine and will be ok.

 

[simple]

Ok another good morning! Today I woke up at 5:15 am and sure enough Fecha was out, and unlike last time she was exploring the whole tank and chasing the shrimp everywhere. Unfortunately she couldn't catch one since they are insanely fast but her fiddlers come today, and after training with shrimp I'm sure she'll be more than ready to catch those. I watched her and then at about 6 20 am my brother came in to wake me up for school and Fecha didnt go hide she stayed on the glass, later she hid, but after i took a shower and came back she was out again. This time i put my hand against the glass and she came up to it, she was hesitamt but eventually she came, i had to leave though because i was going to be late, but im so excited.