Grover

4 days and the peppermint shrimps still all accounted for. So far the best I can tell Grover comes out around 9pm. I don't know how long he is active but he's usually perched on a rock somewhere when I go to bed. He usually comes out after the lights go out but doesn't seem to mind if I turn them back on. The lighting on this tank is 4x15 watt T-12 vho's for the sake of information.

I found out where he's been hiding out when he's not active. I noticed a small pile of dime sized pieces of rubble on top of a rock I hadn't noticed before. After I fed him tonight he climbed up onto another rock directly above the pile of rubble, and he slipped right into a crack about 1/4 inch wide. Next out came an arm holding yet another small piece of rubble, and he tossed it out, and it landed among the other pieces. I assume either A) he meant to use the rubble as a doorway for his den and because of the angle of the rock it isn't going where he wants it, or B) he's just making more room for himself inside his home.
 
Past 2 mornings Grover is out on the glass at 5am. No activity during the daylight as far as I can tell. He usually pops his head out around 9:30pm.

His legs are much longer than I realized, about 8 inches completely stretched out.
 
Grover doing one of those neat Abdopus tricks...



Can any of the Abdopus experts answer what exactly this behavior is? Seems to me like mimicry of sorts, be it mimicry of a rock, algae, crab or snail. Reminds me of cartoons... where the character disquises themselves in a box or bush or something like that... and you see their feet pop out, walk a few steps, stop, repeat.
 
Growing back a missing arm.
IMG_2317.jpg
 
I wished I'd had the camera ready a few minutes ago. Grover's grabbing rocks and whatever else he can and carrying them back to his den. The rock he just dragged back to his cave is considerably bigger than he is. This morning I had noticed a large gorgonian was shoved underneath the rocks and flat on the sand. Watching him move that rock was quite a sight.
 
Al does that thing, too, where he stops in a spot and digs his arms into the substrate, then just moves on. Sometimes he does it when he has been active then decides to watch me back, like he's making a stand to stare me down or something.

Grover is awesome and I love his name!
 
The part of the video I'm talking about is just the last 3 seconds or so. He tucks all his arms up underneath him and just scoots across the sand like "I'm a rock, I'm a rock, I'm a rock"... He does dig a lot too though.
 
Grover has relocated every small piece of rubble, shells, and coral to his/her den. He/she has filled every hole with something. I hope this doesn't mean I will stop seeing him/her very soon but given the experience in the past, I won't hold my breath. I'll try to get a picture of the construction soon.
 

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