Fletcher - O. Hummelincki

I am beginning to think the same thing. :shock::oops:
Yes He/She has His/her arms curled up, or at least did about an hour ago. On page 31 of nancy and Colin's book there is a picture that somewhat resembles his/her pose. The eye looks completely fine now, It was just that weird thing he did was a little strange to me.
On another note, What is the closest an octopus can focus on something. I will put my finger about and inch or less away from his/her eye and he/she doesn't move back as a human would so they could focus on the object.
Oh and once again congratulations on your new job. :wink:
 
Yep, that is the pose I was asking about. It is a typical identifier pose for the mercatoris (either sex) but females of other species seem to use it as well (not sure about males).

SueNami cannot see anything closer than about 8" (and I think is the reason for his shyness and possibly the extreme arm damage before he arrived). I have not been aware of any of the other octos being farsighted but that may be lack of observation. SueNami's is so extreme that it is obvious. His sight issues have had me wondering if I have missed an observation that you have noticed and I will likely experiment with all the next octos out of curiosity. One of TONMO's grad students, fillup, in New Zeland is studying octo vision so we may get some scientific info in a few months.

Oh ... and thanks, I have not see the post yet :oops:
 
Well I think that maybe he does not like the shrimp. Ever since I got it from a different place he won't eat it. I figured a fish market would have better shrimp than the grocery store but I guess I was wrong because I just tried feeding him again since he hardly ate anything earlier today. He took it and about 2 minutes later threw it out of his den and then gave it a big puff of water to push it far away from him. I'm getting some fiddlers monday so Hopefully he will eat shrimp tomorrow. I took a video of tonight, If someone wants I'll put it up but it's not much to see.
 
I took a video of tonight, If someone wants I'll put it up but it's not much to see.
I miss not having one so if you are willing to take the time, I would very much enjoy a vicarious viewing.

You may be trying to over feed but to be honest, we are having similar issues with SueNami (he eventually eats his crabs but his appetite is waining) and I tried going out to the Korean market only to find that their shrimp are farm raised (it did not say fresh or saltwater) and that there is some kind of sulphide used to keep them fresh (don't know if this is also true of the grocery). We are thinking about a cheap end of summer road trip just to get a bunch of live shrimp, maybe get our feet wet and coming home.

No money is the worst part about not finding a paying job:banghead:
 
At the Grocery store, they had wild shrimp that were fairly big so i did not get them, should I try them? Also I will post the video but it is not much to see, Hopefully tomorrow I will have a better one. I did play with him a little, Well I was trying to lure him out. The video should be up in a few minutes. (and I will use tonmo's video upload instead of vimeo this time :wink:)
 
For SueNami (who is larger than Octane) we find that breaking the shrimp in half is a better feeding size. We usually offer both halves (one in the top tube and the other in the bottom) and he will often take one early and then eat the other later. If the second piece is left over night it goes down the toilet (eliminating a shrimp stinky garbage can). He seems to prefer the smaller size where Octane would take a whole shrimp and eat it at one sitting. I suspect that SueNami is more the norm though as none of our others would eat a whole medium to large shrimp at one time.

I have not isolated what makes one shrimp better than an other but that may because we don't know what they do with them before they hit the counter.
 
Well I've made the mistake of putting the left over shrimp in the garbage can in my bathroom and the next morning when I went in to brush my teeth, The smell nearly knocked me over. :yuck: I haven't made that mistake again. I don't think I am over feeding him because he only ate about a quarter of a small shrimp earlier today.
While on the topic of Fletcher eating things, I just realized that there is not a single living snail in my tank, however when I added fletcher a couple weeks ago, there was well over 150. He likes his escargot. Oh and the video upload feature is not working, it says missing security tokens or something so I'm just going to use vimeo. Fletcher Taking a Shrimp
 
They did some experiment with cuttlefish and found that what they could see while still in the egg became their preferred food after hatching. This is not likely the case with octopuses though but their preferences may have to do with what is available, ie what they get used to. Since Fletcher has eaten shrimp, it is not that he does not recognize it as food (one of the thoughts on what young of almost anything will and won't eat) so it is likely he is either not yet comfortable with being given food (ie he has to find his own but then isn't hungry when he is given more) or he just likes the taste of snails. I have yet to have my octos eat snails or hermit in any detectable numbers but others have a different result.
 
Alright thanks, I'm just going to try mixing it up a bit and see how that goes, I'll try some fiddlers and stuff. What is the method used to feed them clams?
(also just to point out, The video was taken at 10:45pm yet the song to it is peer gynt morning prelude.)
 
Clams and scallops have both been an initial success followed by total failure for me so only buy two or three at a time. If you watch them daily, you can put a live one in the tank. It will filter sand some while alive and they usually do quite well. If Fletcher takes and interest (there is a picture of Octane opening one but it was the only one he ever bothered with) it is entertaining (for both of you) to see them pry at it until they succeed. Alternately, serve on the half shell. Be prepared to suck out (turkey baster works for this) any parts that don't get eaten. SueNami only eats the softer parts and leaves the rest so I don't give him them any more. You can try an oyster the same way as Bel ate those for a short time.

I give up - where is the video? (When you post a video, add a link back to the thread as there is no automatic way to connect the journals and videos.) I suspect it may still be loading - yawn.
 
The link is in the end of post 67. When I buy the clams at the fish market, are they alive? and how do I prepare them for the octopus?:smile:
 
I see you are not much of a seafood eater :wink:, Yes, they must be alive to be consumed by either you or the octo. If they do not close up tightly when disturbed, they are no good.

The best way I have found to work with the clams is to find a shallow (1-2 inches high) container and fill it with saltwater so that the clam is almost covered when propped up against the side. Eventually, you will see it open (half hour at the most but usually sooner) about 1/4 inch. You don't have to monitor it as once it opens to feed it will usually remain that way. At supper time (for the octo, unless you are dining too :razz:) gently slide a dull (butter) knife into the opening. You can do this in advance and leave the knife in place but be sure to prop the clam and knife securely or it will manage to spit it out.

There are two strong mussels on each side of the clam back toward the hinge (one on each side). Holding the clam cupped in your hand over the sink with the hinge in the palm work the knife down the toward the hinge (this is why you need a dull knife, use a cutting board if the knife is at all sharp but it is harder to hold this way). It is usually easiest to cut one mussel and then work on the other side (after one side is cut, the other is easier). Don't let the knife come out of the shell until you have cut one side or you will need to try one of the other clams and come back to this one another time. If you are using an old knife (or a proper clam/oyster knife) that is not table wear, you can twist it to help break the mussle (you will likely bend a normal knife if you twist and that cost more than the clam to replace, not to mention the ire of other family members).

Alternately, a quick wack with a hammer on concrete (not the counter top and not the tile floor) works to crack the shell but it comes apart in lots of pieces and it is hard to get the meat out cleanly.

You can keep them in the bowl for a couple of days in the frig but I usually just put them in an aquarium after a few hours (to be sure they stay alive and flush them a bit) if I am not using them within 24.

SueNami only eats the outer slimy part (clams are tougher than oysters) but you can offer all of it and see what Fletcher will take. If you split the clam successfully, just scrape everything into one side of the shell and place it near the den. If you chose the smash method, put all the soft parts, minus shell, in a small plastic bowl (one that will sink) filled with tank water and carefully put the bowl near the den. Clams, Oysters and mussels are messy to feed but keeping it on the half shell is less of a mess getting it into the tank. Of the three mussels are the easiest to open.

I suggest disgarding the shells in a zip lock bag to avoid another ill smell the next morning.
 
Yeah, I do enjoy my seafood but clams is the one thing that I just cannot stand. Therefore I never order them so I lack the knowledge of eating and preparing them. However I do know how to open them, I learned that from fishing. Thanks D, I'll Maybe try a clam today, I just was unsure about if they should be put in a bucket of saltwater first and little things like that. I'll post a video of the clam feeding later on. :smile:
 
Well he just took his first clam, He seems to be enjoying it but it was pretty big so I doubt he will eat the whole thing, I'll post some pictures in a couple minutes. Once again I took a very anti climactic video of him grabbing the clam. If anyone is interested I'd be glad to post it, But it's not much to look at.
 
Tommy,
How long mollasks SHOULD be left in clean saltwater to flush them is something I have been wanting to research but have not taken out the time to hunt down. We have not seen problems but it would be a good precaution and particularly valuable for animals taken directly from the wild (not sold as supposedly safe food).

Even boring (:roll:) videos have merit. You asked about how to feed - a video shows it and the next person can see what to expect.

One of the tasks I hope to take on is to work on some cross referencing to be able to easily provide the links that take me awhile to remember and dig up :biggrin2:
 

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