Is this an O. briareus?

lexcanaves

Cuttlefish
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I was supposed to receive a Pygmy/Dwarf species of octopus from my LFS. He looked like one at the store, but as soon as he got in the tank and spread his legs...uh-oh. A bit larger than expected. I have gotten a good opinion that believes it may be the O. briareus species. I don't know much about them to agree or disagree, but the different coloration and lack of that "irridescence" makes me wonder. Thanks for any help here!
Side note: I have a 36 gallon tank, so if it is a briareus, he will have to be returned the ocean at some point :[

Mantle: About 1.5 inches
Arm tip to Arm tip: Around 7-8 inches. I haven't been able to measure since the 1st day, but when he slinks up the sides I can tell they are longer than the original 6 in. that I measured.

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O. briareus has deep webbing between the arms, and this octopus appears to have almost none. So it doesn't seem to be a briareus. I looked back at photos of my briareus at 4 months, and webbing was apparent.

Find out from your LFS if this is a local species or comes from somewhere else (and ask where).

You might also try to post a couple of additional photos.

Nancy
 
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Alexis,
Do you have any idea of what ocean it came from? The arms look too long to be Mercatoris but it does not appear to have enough webbing to be a baby Briareus. The Joubini is supposed to look undistinguishable from the Merc but Normans photos actually show quite a difference. Do you see any faint striping on the arms (left to right)? Does it ever show eye horns? Is it always red?
 
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just to add that i agree that it is not looking like briareus - more pics would help though
 
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Yes it is local, from the coast of Florida. They go diving around the Florida Keys and that is where they picked them up. Their other catch was a small O. vulgaris (that was my observation, not theirs; they actually had both octos listed as "O. vulgaris"). Those are all the photos I have right now but I always have my camera ready at night, so I'll post as soon as I get some more.
Yeah, the webbing that I have seen in briareus pictures is non-existent in Doctor.
Never any eye horns that I have seen. And he seems to always stay that reddish-brown color, sometimes with a little grey like in the picture where he is feeding.
And now that you mention the striping, one night that he was exploring (which is not too often, he is pretty shy), it looked like he had some horizontal striping on his arms. It was under the red light so I couldn't say what color, maybe white-ish or tan stripes. And they were faint as you said dwhatley. Not pronounced or very noticeable.

This is the only other picture I have that is not blurry. Its during acclimation, the only time he has ever looked completely grey.
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AM,
Is Kalypso ever Merc red though? 'Tane never is (although he turns almost every other shade of brown, including patches of the orangish color in your photo).

I still think the arms are too long for a Merc but the color is right and the arm tapering (different from you pic of the young Kalypso I think) and Norman points out a pale striped look on the Joubini but I have never seen one alive or a photograph of a confirmed one (other than in Norma). The grey, however, was not a color I see in my little group (and I have seen on Octane) and the picture in Norman shows a greyish tint to the stiping. The Joubini is native to FL and is supposed to be abundant so I will stick with my guess unless it starts to grow :razz:
 
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Yes, when Kalypso was still fairly small she usually stayed deep red/brown. With exception of her arrival, I didn't see a trace of blue shimmer on her body or the pale blue/white coloration on her arms until I'd had her for several weeks.

It's from the Gulf/Caribbean Sea area. VERY long arms. I'm convinced personally.
 
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From things I have read about dwarf species personality-wise, and Doctor Octopus is just as reclusive and VERY nocturnal, if there is such a thing. BUT the physical descriptions are closer to the briareus that A.M. is describing. All I have to do is wait and see, I guess. Thanks for the replies they have all been very helpful.
How long do briareus typically live in the wild? I know that dwarf species are typically shorter lived.
 
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Your advice was wonderful. I read the journal and it helped me out a lot. Thanks!

Secondly,

Animal Mother was right. I officially have an Octopus briareus on my hands. I put in the first fiddler crab last night, and within 15 minutes Doctor was stalking the rock it was on and WHAM. That whole time he was trying hard not to be seen by me either.
I tried to catch a picture while he was taking it to his den, but they came out pretty crappy. Although, it is enough to show that the orange-y irridescent glow has appeared.

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I didn't want the flash to scare him during the hunt or I probably would have gotten a better picture.

This is a little sad because I will have to release him eventually, when he gets too large for a 36 gallon tank :hmm:.
 
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lexcanaves;117326 said:
This is a little sad because I will have to release him eventually, when he gets too large for a 36 gallon tank :hmm:.

There are a couple of things you might investigate before you consider this option. I am not an expert but was afraid I would have a dilema if Miss Broody had too many hatchlings that survived so I went through the scenario of considering releasing them.

Things to consider:

1. Most (this IS changing where public aquariums have flow through systems and local animals only and a recent post noted that the keeper was able to get a special permit to release a GOP, several west coast aquariums do rerelease and Jean has pointed out the Portabella research aquarium trys to always release before sesenence) aquariums will not release back to the wild. Florida releases none of its conficated animals (it does try to find aquariums for them). The concern is two fold. The obvious is for species not indigenous and not in need of discussion. The second, however, is something of importance. If you have any creatures in your tank that are not indigenous to the water, they may harbor other critters that can flourish and be harmful. Additionally, there may be bacteria in the tank that does not severly effect your aquarium because it has grown slowly and the creatures have adjusted but can spread in the wild and cause major havoc. Massive bacteria (unknown source) caused deaths of long spined urchins in the Keys are one of the primary reasons for the FL no rerelease policy.

2. I don't know if there is a concern about your tank raised octo being able to survive in the wild. At one time this was the rule but I don't know if the current success with octo release includes tank raised. JEAN?

In addition to thinking about wild release, you might consider trading it to a pet store :sad:, offering it to your local aquarium or offering it for sale to an experienced TONMO member - OR - you can start cycling a new tank NOW :biggrin2:
 
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does that also mean bacterial additives? i think i figured out why i lost my macropus. i added a additive from dolfin pharm. at every water change. ithis was the first time i used it and i think thats what killed him?
 
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