Isis O. bimaculoides NEW OCTOPUS Surprise from my Husband!

[DWhatley]

Biting is rare and antecdotal experience has been that if you allow the pulling but resist being pulled she will not leave the LR and will eventually decide you are not something to eat. However, Penn proved that this is not always the case since he grabbed CaptFish with all eight arms. One thing I have found to work but others have not always been successful trying is to put a finger on the top side of one of the arms that are pulling.

 

[SabrinaR]

Biting is rare and antecdotal experience has been that if you allow the pulling but resist being pulled she will not leave the LR and will eventually decide you are not something to eat. However, Penn proved that this is not always the case since he grabbed CaptFish with all eight arms. One thing I have found to work but others have not always been successful trying is to put a finger on the top side of one of the arms that are pulling.

So far I have been able to make sure I am not in the tank when she is roaming about but if given half a chance I know she would be on me like white on rice. The question becomes what does she want to do with my hand once she has it... I am not so afraid of her biting me but of hurting her in the process of trying to make it stop or because I was surprised.

 

[SabrinaR]

Tonights dinner pictures. I did the whole zip tie and floating octopus toy trick and worked REALLY well.

 

[Joe-Ceph]

Has anyone ever been bitten by a bimac?

Both of my bimacs have wanted to pull my hand into their mouths and or dens. I let one bring my hand to her mouth, and expected to feel a single tiny "curiosity nip". Instead I felt, nip, nip, nip, nip, ...
It didn't hurt much (little pin pricks) but I didn't see the point of continuing the experiment, so I peeled her off my hand and gave up on the idea of being that close. I had no reaction to the bites at all, and could barely find them, so either I'm immune to the "venom" or she didn't deliver any. It wasn't a traumatic event, but it seemed a little pointless to try again. I'm happy to keep things platonic, and not get physical (why risk spoiling the friendship?)

 

[SabrinaR]

I had noticed that Isis has been coming out less and less and less...

The schedule was as follows...
5pm comes out to eat-get one fiddler crab.
5:30pm Still hungry so she would get some shrimp.
Eat shrimp and go nap until around 10 or 11 and then be up all night long lol. But she would hide all night so I couldnt see her.

So tonight I tested a theory.

Tonight I only gave her the fiddler crab and nothing else... and TAADAAAA She stayed out lol. I will be feeding her earlier and earlier in the day as I see her I think and only give her a shrimp at bed time. That should help control her outing behavior.

Here a pic of her being out and about...

 

[Lmecher]

I am so happy the floaty toys are working for you. It is fun to watch them try to pull it down. She is really beautiful, the blue is amazing.

 

[SabrinaR]

I am so happy the floaty toys are working for you. It is fun to watch them try to pull it down. She is really beautiful, the blue is amazing.

I LOVE the floating toy trick... It is so helpful I have no words... It keeps her from grabbing me I dont have to look for the shell because its normally still connected and when shes done it just floats to the surface.

I think is so funny because with the naked eye you dont see most of the green/blue coloration. It wasnt until I took the first pic that I really could see it with or with out touch ups.

 

[SabrinaR]

Something funny and a little bit scary happened last night. Isis was out on the glass doing her little dancing flashy thing. I had been paying attention to her for a bit and she was bobbing up and down at the surface. I was looking over the top and shot her cannon at me 5 times in a row. I was like a little girl giggling so much it really didn't matter that she was getting water all over my carpet. lol So then I turned around to talk with my husband for a sec and when I turn back to the tank Isis is looking at me OVER the edge of the aquarium! She was sitting on the trim of the tank! I quickly got her back in the tank, fed her, and put the lid back on. I wish I had gotten pictures but I was to worried that she would fall onto the floor. Kind of an interesting night.

As a side note, I have been noticing an incline of free ammonia in the tank this last week. I had cleaned the sand which could have something to do with it but I am not sure. I had also taken out some of the live rock to put in Sedona tank though this was a few weeks before. I changed my carbon to a better brand (which looks amazing-the water is crystal clear- it looks like everything in there is suspended in air I cant even see the water unless I am really looking) and added a filtstar XP4 canister filter to maybe help a bit. I also did an EXTRA LARGE water change. I don't know why I am having this problem now unless cleaning the sand really did cause the ammonia spike. I have been staying on top of getting Isis poop out and picking up food remains so hopefully this will pass. The escape attempt was hours after the large water change.

 

[SabrinaR]

HOLY COW she did it again! Tonight my son and I were feeding Isis and she tried to get at me again. After seeing it twice I would have to say this was not an escape attempt so much as she really wants to get at us/me. The only time she does it is when I am near the tank no other time. Though I can not say for sure that she wouldnt given the chance. Tonight was different though because I was ready in case she decided to do it again and had a camera with me and I was ready to catch her if she started to fall.

Heres the pic...

 

[CaptFish]

that picture is awesome!

 

[DWhatley]

Isis looks like a "shelf sitter" critter .

There have been several bimacs that have taken curious trips out of their tanks without problems (the keepers were present) so you can likely expect this on occassion. Since they are tide pool animals, a small top side adventure is not odd behavior BUT if you have an overhead fan in the room, you might want to try to remember to turn it off before doing maintenance. The fan will dry the skin very quickly (as I found out with Octane) and that can be fatally damaging.

LOVE your new avitar!

 

[Lmecher]

Oh my god, looks like Diablo in that photo with those yellow spots. Although Diablo has the water cannon blasting the entire time and it is usually aimed at my face. Very cute yet scarey. You are going to have to be diligent as I am and keep the top locked down. Looks like you have your hands full with that curious little girl

 

[Lmecher]

Alright, you get the prize for coolest avitar EVER! I am jealous that I could never get a photo like that, the water would ruin my camera.

 

[SabrinaR]

Alright, you get the prize for coolest avitar EVER! I am jealous that I could never get a photo like that, the water would ruin my camera.

I was SOOOO worried about that at the time too lol considering how long it took me to be able to get a good shot.But I had to try. Now that I know to expect this I think I will keep a cooler head about it. It FREAKED my husband out and THANK GOD I wasnt hold my son at the time. He doesnt like for me to even touch her (hes afraid for me). But it was just AWESOME... There is no other word for it. I wonder if that wasnt her saying HELLO FEED ME! lol.

Try having someone else holding the camera lol

 

[Lmecher]

My family cannot be counted on and we usually miss great shots. My husband dosen't know how to work the camera and my daughter get me in the photos I have learned its better to do it myself