Fecha's Journal

[Animal Mother]

Leave her be. You might try looking around in the rocks with a flashlight to see if you can spot her, but don't move your rocks.

 

[simple]

ok i let her be, and she came out last night, but at 2 am which is not her usual time, and i gave her a piece of thawed shrimp. I wonder if she might be some sort of nocturnal octopus instead of A. Aculeatus, since she has never been out in the day.

 

[Nancy]

That might explain why you're not seeing her during the day! Maybe she's out at night when you're not around to observe her.

Nancy

 

[simple]

Her usual time to be out was at about 5 30 am-6 45am, which is when i would feed her, but it appears she changed it to around 2 am. She visually resembles an A. Aculeatus, very well in size and color changes as well as attempts to mimic stuff (or so it seems). She also gets a very interesting coloration in which she is white-ish with a brown stripe down her mantle, though i havent seen any pics of A. Aculeatus with that.

 

[simple]

ok well Fecha has been missing again. I don't know what to do because from what i've seen, in the past six days shes eaten about half a shrimp, and i'm sure this isn't good. I've checked at almost every possible time during the night to see if shes out, but i never see her. Should i still keep waiting? Is there any reason why she came out for about a week, every day, at the same time each day, and now she randomly stopped appearing, and the one time she did it was at a very different time?

 

[Animal Mother]

Part of keeping an octopus man.

 

[simple]

yea i guess. Well ill keep waiting and hoping for the best.

 

[DWhatley]

Simple,
There is one possible explanation ... She may be ready to produce eggs. One thing you can try (DO NOT disrupt the tank) is to put a shell or set of barnacles (my choice) that has a capacity slightly larger than her mantle with a smaller opening. In front of the shell, place various sized shells that would serve as a doorway. If you can locate some frozen Cyclop-eeze, just before bedtime, squeeze some in front of the shell every night at about the same time. She may move into the shell if she has not already started brooding eggs and she may show her arms if she is already brooding. No guarantees, of course, but it is something proactive you can do and cannot harm.

 

[simple]

Yea, i was worried that she might have laid eggs, but this morning she was out and i fed her a thawed shrimp on a skewer which she took immediately and kept trying to pull the skewer from me. She is a lot stronger than i thought. I might try your idea with the barnacles, because right now i have not been able to locate where her "den" is. She seems to switch around every now and then, but i have narrowed it down to three different rocks, where she appears most often.

 

[DWhatley]

Simple,
Since I only know a little about the Mercs, my suggestions may not apply but I try to only recommend things that won't harm. If Fecha is moving her den often AND is following the small amount of common behavior I am seeing, she would be a he. Do try the barnacles as many octo keepers have them in their tanks but rarely mention them (photo reviews will show them though). The barnacles may just become another den but at least you would see Fecha when in use. If this is successful, try to offer food in front of the barnacles at the same time each night to see if you can help establish a mutually agreeable time. The strength is a very GOOD sign as a dying octo losses its strength noticeably.

There is another possibility. Young octopuses seem to be very shy. This was true of all my Mercs as well as Carol's assumed Vulgaris. Given Fetcha's strength, this could be a VERY good thing!

 

[simple]

ha, so its either very good or very bad. My guess is she/he is young because i see her/him trying to hunt the live shrimp very often as well as occasionally jetting across the tank. I will try the barnacles, is there any place were i would be able to buy or find some?

 

[DWhatley]

I picked up several small ones at a tiny tourist trap in the Keys during the TONMO conference but I have seen them on eBay. I suspect if you come up with a diameter (use well know items, like dime, quarter sized opening and not measurements ) and ask the various vendors if they have a cluster that will suit your needs, you will easily find a reasonably priced cluster. Search on barnacles and you should see several at auction and more in the buy-it-now section (after the auctions in the store listings). Before you purchase, be sure to as if you can get them without any kind of treatment (some people apply varnish) and explain it is for a fish tank. It would be best to gently boil them (they are somewhat fragile) first and then let them sit in a saltwater bath or a few days before introducing them into the tank.

Miss Broody is in the set she was born in (actually, the very same shell) even though she is quite a bit smaller than her mother. You may have seen me mention that HideNSeek "visits" her and come out to feed and I am referring to the barnacle cluster in those posts.

 

[Nancy]

About barncles - I think they must be available at most seaside tourist shops - I've bought them in Galveston, but they also wash up on the shore, and I've found some nice clusters.

However, they're being made in resin now, and some of those resin replicas can have sharp edges.

Barnacles are not easy to find online by searching - if someone comes across them, please post.

Nancy

 

[cuttlegirl]

This place is Ferguson's Marine Specialties, I have purchased from them in the past. You could just call and ask for a barnacle cluster. This is an old-fashioned shell shop. On the website, barnacles are listed as sea-life oddities...

http://www.fmsshells.com/index.htm

 

[simple]

ok well i haven't updated this in a while. Fecha came out during the day for the first time today. I am a little worried that maybe she is going through senescence, but i offered her a piece of thawed shrimp and she happily took it. Hopefully she is healthy and she has realized that light isn't so bad.