[Octopus]: Itza - Octopus maya

Carmen22

Cuttlefish
Registered
Joined
Apr 6, 2018
Messages
26
Location
Mérida México
Hi everyone!
I would like to share with you the story of Itza, (English is not my first language, so I apologize in advance for my writing and grammar)

After a rocky start, you can read about that here:
Growing an Octopus maya (inexperienced green novice)

...I think I am ready to start a journal about this beautiful Octopus maya named Itza (means water wizard in Mayan language)

We choose Itza in the octopus farm in Sisal (Yucatán México) its a 40 minute drive so he was in a bag inside a bucket with no pump, he is one month old (we think he is a he, but its to early to be sure)

I did a drop by drop acclimate for two hours I guess and then I released it in the fish tank, he is quite bold because the other octos were inside a pvc elbow when we put them in the tank, Itza didn’t hide so my boyfriend just catch him in the net, he immediately tried to get out, I got so scared that I didn’t get that in video ...luckily he moved very fast otherwise Itza would have landed on the floor, instead barely landed on the tank after a long dive, he proceeded to check out all the tank and finally found a spot he liked under the slide, after that he moved to several spots until he found his favorite in a broken shell, this was his favorite spot for the first week

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Welcome Carmen and Itza,
Itza is such a charming little octopus! I’ve read your other posts and have been looking forward to this Journal.
This is the first time I’ve seen your mini-habitat used in a tank. Looks like it’s working well.
What tank size did you choose?
I had meant to suggest Tropic Marin as a good salt for mixing salt water. It has a higher pH than many, which helps with an octo.
Looking forward to future posts,
Nancy
 
One funny thing Itza did a lot that first week was like grooming himself inside and outside... I didn’t see that before have you?
Here is a link to a SueNami's acclimation post with a video of the same behavior. This is a common observation and has been written up as grooming. I personally think it is stress related behavior as it does not seem to happen once the animal accepts its tank.
 
DWhatley thank you for the link. Nancy It’s a 80lts tank another 40lts in the sump, I am building a bigger tank to transfer Itza later, because he/she will grow a lot, (Octopus maya in captivity we think will reach about 60cm) he is making different caves now and likes to move around, about feeding Itza, we are giving him pellets developed by the researchers from the place we get him, they have been experimenting for over a decade and they make this strips that are a blend of all the stuff local fishermen won’t use after gutting their fish and vitamins and stuff and grenetin (they smell terrible) but Itza only know this as food, and seems happy with them... I would like to give him thaw shrimp or live shrimp, but I fear he wouldn’t eat his pellets then, so I won’t do it. The octo I had before Itza used to grab my hand when I fed her, and it freaked me a little, not because a bite, Mayan are really friendly, even wild adults are friendly, I just felt nervous ... so for now we feed Itza with a stick.



 
Itza is growing and enjoying every space I make on the tank, she is very curious, (I think is a she now because she’s almost 2 months and no boy parts anywhere) and she’s quite active; I know octopuses (octopi)? are supposedly nocturnal, but Itza is active every time we get close... maybe she is bored? I will try to play with her ...
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Play with an octopus... any ideas?

 
There are a couple of octopus species that are diurnal (hunt during the day) and a few that have been found hunting during both day and night. O. vulgaris is one that seems to be able to do either. I could not find much on O. maya but you may have better luck looking for papers in Spanish since most of the research on this animal is in Mexico (much done at your facility). Most of the animals I have kept will learn a feeding time and be active during some portion of light if you are consistent. I have only kept one species that would not acclimate to any form of daylight but was quite interactive at 3:00 AM :wink:.
 
Hi!! Itza is doing great, I have a new sump installed and she survived fine, I don’t get how the new skimmer works because it’s not collecting anything but I will learn about skimmers today, maybe is to soon and one with one small octo takes time? ... also with the pellets there is not any leftover food ever in the tank. I saw a worm yesterday, l am attaching a video Can it hurt Itza?




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Hi everyone! Itza is doing great, she is adorable, I am learning to not freak out when she comes to me (because I guess it’s easier now that she is small), and she is seeking the interaction, it’s amazing for me how curious and brave octopuses are, maybe she already knows I mean no harm? ... one of the experts at Sisal is a octo neurologist, I’m gonna ask her and let you know, I am totally in love with her, what a wonderful pet she is ❤️



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I’m loving her colors and this setup idea!!! I think I’m going to change mine over to this over time so I don’t freak him out too much at once... love the little rodent toys and never thought of using them in a tank for hiding places! Looks like I’m going glass vase hunting at goodwill!
 

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