Huckleberry the antisocial red octopus

[Harbor WildWatch]

Huckleberry is a red octopus we have had since the beginning of September. She acclimated well to the tank, choosing a giant barnacle shell near the top of the tank as her den.

Unlike our other red octopus who came out readily, this octopus will not come out if the tank lights are on at all. She baracades herself in her barnacle with various shells and rocks. She can’t be bribed out with food, though I do try often. Lately she just jets some water at me when I offer her the feeding stick. She hunts for shore crabs at night, as evidenced by the pile of shells outside her den.


Is this just her personality, or do I need to be more patient with her?
She’s housed at my work, and though I’m occasionally there after dark, it’s not convenient. Is there anything I can do to encourage her to feel more safe in the tank?

 

[tonmo]

Wow, great pics - love it, and looking good! Here's a prior thread on entertaining your octo / providing enrichment:

Thread 'Entertainment ideas?'

Jun 20, 2019

Hey everyone, I’ve had my mimic octo for a few weeks now and he’s been doing great, he is currently only eating frozen krill and silversides. He hasn’t tried eating my two Chromis fish or clown at all! And he’s been interested in a few of my red and blue leg crabs but hasn’t eaten any of them, needless to say I’m looking for good ideas on how to keep him entertained and stimulated, I’ve tried LEGO’s and even putting his food in a jar to see if he’ll open it but he want nothing to do with any of that, he just seems to like to hang out stick to the glass and every so often poke his eyes out...

• Oakes_903
• care enrichment entertainment octopus toys
• Replies: 8
• Forum: Exotics and Rare Species

 

[Dr. Lizz]

I have four Bimacs, all house separately and all with differently personalities. My oldest is just about a year old now. I got it in early January 2024 as a 2 1/2” baby (tenticle-tenticle). It took about two months for it to come out of its den when I was around except to accept live Fiddlers. It now usually comes out upon my arrival looking for a meal (live clams or crabs). It continues to do well. We will see how long it will live as I acquired it very small and keep the water temp about 63-4 F.

The other three I acquired about 6 weeks ago. They are housed in a 180 gallon divided tank with three 60 gallon compartments. I acquired them quite small, but not tiny (about 6” tenticle-tenticle). For the first week or two all three remained in their caves when I was around as I also house my octopuses and other aquatic criders in an unoccupied location. It took a week to a month for them to be found wondering their tanks following my arrival.

BTW, you have a beautiful naturalistic setup.