Isis O. bimaculoides NEW OCTOPUS Surprise from my Husband!

[SabrinaR]

Day two of the lower temp...

Isis has been out and about all day again. It could still be a fluke though I am hopeful. I fed her around 11 and she came back out. So, either shes happy that I have stopped taking pictures of her with a flash, shes decided she likes her home, or the temp is just right for her. Other option, its a combo of the 3.

 

[SabrinaR]

I am starting to worry that there could be something wrong with my tank.

I have noticed this last week that Isis has some spots on her body. I have tested for copper and nothing registers but even the smallest amount could do something bad. Or maybe she runs into the rocks and thats where they come from? I would remove some of the rock but I did that to jump start Sedonas tank and it sent Isis' tank bio load out of control.

Are there some other things I should be testing for? Everything in the basic test looks normal. Any suggestions would be helpful... or if you think moving the rock work to a more open plan would help... Just tell me what you think.

Would it be a totally horrible idea to switch Isis to Sedonas tank while Sedona is still in there? I know the answer already but I just dont know what to do. What happened with HP was so horrible and sad I just dont want to go through that again if it wasnt her natural end.

Could bristle worms be the cause? The other day I was working in the tank and got fingers full of barbs... maybe that could be whats affecting my octos? If so I guess I should trap them. Got any ideas as to how?

 

[Joe-Ceph]

I don't know, I've never had a sick bimac, but I found a thread that asked about bristle worms. On post said:

Even bigger bimacs don't seem to like the bristle worms much. My bimac would poke at a worm when she saw it and make it retreat. After she had eggs, she killed bristle worms, even large ones. I found the pieces in the tank. She must have thought they were a threat to her eggs (and I have read that bristle worms will eat eggs).

Nancy

You were vague about what tests you've run and what the numbers were, so it's hard to help you. Can you list everything you've tested, and add any relevant info (water temp, diet, water change % and frequency, etc) How is your tank's filtration set up?
Did you get the tank used? Is there any chance that someone used a copper based medication it it?
Do the rocks feel sharp when you touch them? If not, I don't imagine that they are a problem.

Describe what exactly you mean by "spots".

 

[Lmecher]

It's been a while...how is Isis? I am so hoping she is alright, I love reading your thread.

 

[SabrinaR]

Isis is doing just fine Thank God! I think the spots I saw was either sand or her coloring. I have been keeping an eye on her and the water and all is good. I am sorry I didnt post an update sooner.

 

[Lmecher]

Just happy she alright. Thank you for the reply and kind words.

 

[SabrinaR]

You are very welcome. In truth I felt a little heart broken for you. I know how much you loved Diablo.

 

[SabrinaR]

So I had the GREATEST experiance with Isis the other day. Isis was at the top of the tank. She was flashing and dancing back and forth. I knew she wasnt hungry because I had just feed her an hour before. So I thought I would take this time to try and pet her. I never had before as I was trying to give her time to get used to me. Anyway, She didnt try and attack me or swim away she just let me pet her and put her arms up to try and control how I pet her. It lasted for about 2 min but it was amazing. God how I love this octopus.

 

[DWhatley]

SK,
I have found and am trying to monitor that after first contact (since it was short, it may be the first time it is long - part of what I am trying to observe) they become recluse for roughly 3 days and then start interacting on a fairly regular basis. If you don't mind, would you remember to report if you observe this and the duration of the reclusion if it occurs.

 

[SabrinaR]

Oh sure. No problem. This event happened 2 days ago then yesterday she hid all day long not coming out until lights out. She came out around 10am today but when I tried to interact again she moved away. I was able to feed her but I had to make the crab touch her so she knew it was time to eat instead of me just trying to get to her.

I will add that everytime we have something like this happen... like when she touched me with her arm for the first time she then became reclusive for a time (a day or two). It took her a while to realize that I wasnt something she could eat just the bringer of food. Now she gets it and almost never attacks my hands at all.

 

[DWhatley]

Thanks, I need to hand record some of these types of observations to try to define them better and then try to gather information. We have a new tool that will help if I can establish clear criteria and it would be fun to document the interaction, reclusion and return to interaction timing. I still have a few things I am behind with but hope to play the the tool next week. The biggest thing will be to come up with easily identifiable actions and making it very simple to use.

 

[SabrinaR]

Something a little scary happened last night. I had noticed that Isis wasn’t really looking to good and I was really starting to worry. Her coloring was off and her behavior was off as well. She normally swims all over the tank but she was only staying right next to water flow either from the return or the power heads. She also, I don’t know another way to say it, but she looked tired and her breathing seemed off too so I tested my water.

Ph 8.1
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
Ammonia 0

Since water wasn’t the issue I went over my equipment to make sure everything was as it should be. As I checked the sump I noticed my air stone wasn’t submerged... It normally is but because of evaporation it wasn’t in the water so I made the adjustment and put it deeper in the sump and added water. The second I put in the air stone her behavior changed. It was like someone hit a switch from inactive to active. Her colors began to dance and her breathing seemed to go back to normal.

Just goes to show you not to take any small thing for granted and to double check your equipment... often.

On a side note... I have octopus fever I think lol. I so desperately want to get my other tank up and running so I can get an octopus from Tom. Having multiples in different species would be great.

 

[Lmecher]

I bet you were really upset to see her acting strange. Different is usually bad with octopuses. I feel your anxiety. I worried about power outage and lack of oxygen so I purchased a unit that has a battery back up.

Hmm....I keep my airstones (2) in the main display, they are on the bottom. I am wondering if it is better to keep them in the sump or main display? Although my skimmer has a diffuser, there are still some tiny micro bubbles that get into the main tank, wondered if I have too much? We know there can be too little but can there be too much oxygen in an octopus tank?

 

[SabrinaR]

I was petrified to be honest because you’re right, changes are normally bad.

I don’t think to much O2 is the problem so much as the micro bubbles. I had read something written by Robert Fenner about him believing that’s what causes some illness. I cant for the life of me remember which one it was but I do remember reading something about to many micro bubbles being a big problem for some fish. I do not however know if this would relate to octopuses.


Because of the scare yesterday with the O2 I put an air stone in Sedona tank. I don’t have a sump on that tank and everything is hob so I didn’t have a choice but to add it to the display. I have been looking into getting a HOB refugium for that tank as there really is no room for a sump under the tank.

I am no expert but I don’t think, at least for Isis or Sedona, that air bubbles should be a problem. Being that they are inner tidal animals it would make sense that they are exposed to air bubbles constantly.

 

[DWhatley]

There are several scatter discussions on bubbles and potential fatal problems with them getting under the mantle so allowing air exchange outside the display tank is the savest avenue (Here is one thread but it does not have a lengthy discussion and I did not turn up the one I was trying to remember). Bubbles near the surface don't seem to be a problem but then you have the evaporation issue that may leave it useless.

Bubble or breaking the surface allows for air exchange, it does not actually add oxygen. As CO2 build the surface disruption allows it to escape and be replaced by air (which contains more oxygen and less CO2). The bubbles themselves do not add oxygen to the water. Your protein skimmer return and any other open water flow (like water open to the air flowing to a separate sump) all provide this function. In an all in one tank, there is less opportunity to create air exchange and the bubblers help to aid this process.