There is a new tenant in the aquarium, so far without a name. He arrived on Friday, Jan. 10.
I ordered this guy on ebay (seller "wmsfm" from Florida). I asked about the species, size, and original home and was told Octopus Vulgaris with 6-8" arms, coming from the Upper Key, FL. Based on this I expected a Briareus with 6-8" arms, and received a Briarius with >12" arms. Compared to my last little guy, this octopus is *huge*!
Interaction and communication with this seller was very good, and the octopus arrived well packed with a bag of hermit crabs and snails included as a free extra.
I drip-acclimated him for a few hours in a covered bucket, empty except for a cobalt-blue pint glass on its side (available as a 'cave'). He never climbed into the glass during acclimation, but it was pretty easy to gather him into it and then transfer him into the tank (by just resting the glass, with him in it, on its side on the floor of the tank).
He climbed out slowly after an hour or so and started exploring the tank, and seemed very comfortable and relaxed -- not overly shy, but also not overly frantic like "I've got to get out of here!"
He's much less afraid of low light than my previous octopus, and is comfortable wandering around and exploring in the early evening.
I put a few hermit crabs into the tank, but they are very small -- not sure if he'll even bother with them. I also have a shipment of fiddlers on the way from Sachs systems, which should be more to his taste. Yesterday evening he was out exploring so I tried to feed him a silverside fish on a bamboo skewer, not being sure if he would be interested in it or even comfortable with me sticking things into the tank. To my pleasant surprise he took it like an old pro (as well as the feeding stick). Again, he seemed interested, curious, hungry without seeming desperate or frantic. He settled into the back corner and ate for about 30 or 60 minutes, then alternated exploring and resting for the rest of the night.
All in all, so far so good. This appears to be a pretty mature specimen, so I'm not sure how long he will last with me, but overall he appears very healthy and happy. I'll try to shoot some video tonight.
I ordered this guy on ebay (seller "wmsfm" from Florida). I asked about the species, size, and original home and was told Octopus Vulgaris with 6-8" arms, coming from the Upper Key, FL. Based on this I expected a Briareus with 6-8" arms, and received a Briarius with >12" arms. Compared to my last little guy, this octopus is *huge*!
Interaction and communication with this seller was very good, and the octopus arrived well packed with a bag of hermit crabs and snails included as a free extra.
I drip-acclimated him for a few hours in a covered bucket, empty except for a cobalt-blue pint glass on its side (available as a 'cave'). He never climbed into the glass during acclimation, but it was pretty easy to gather him into it and then transfer him into the tank (by just resting the glass, with him in it, on its side on the floor of the tank).
He climbed out slowly after an hour or so and started exploring the tank, and seemed very comfortable and relaxed -- not overly shy, but also not overly frantic like "I've got to get out of here!"
He's much less afraid of low light than my previous octopus, and is comfortable wandering around and exploring in the early evening.
I put a few hermit crabs into the tank, but they are very small -- not sure if he'll even bother with them. I also have a shipment of fiddlers on the way from Sachs systems, which should be more to his taste. Yesterday evening he was out exploring so I tried to feed him a silverside fish on a bamboo skewer, not being sure if he would be interested in it or even comfortable with me sticking things into the tank. To my pleasant surprise he took it like an old pro (as well as the feeding stick). Again, he seemed interested, curious, hungry without seeming desperate or frantic. He settled into the back corner and ate for about 30 or 60 minutes, then alternated exploring and resting for the rest of the night.
All in all, so far so good. This appears to be a pretty mature specimen, so I'm not sure how long he will last with me, but overall he appears very healthy and happy. I'll try to shoot some video tonight.