Kudzu - O. briareus

DWhatley

Kraken
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Ken found an octopus in a new batch of collected live rock and I was due some goodies



I am guessing 1-2 months old but need to review Cassy and Tatanka's pictures. He/She was release to the tank about 2:00PM and surprised me by coming out and sitting on the LR around 5:00PM (or at least that is when I noticed him). When he did not spook, it occured to me he was hungry. I normally offer food before release but failed to think of it this time :old: . With a little encouragement he/she chowed down on a thawed fiddler crab, ate for over an hour and depositied the crab legs arranged as octopus arms :sagrin: just outside his den. Sadly I failed to take a picture of the arrangement but will see if he repeats it tomorrow :wink:
 

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Answer to Find the Ceph

I have never observed an octopus looking like the base of a polyp before (rocks have been common) and wish the photos had come out clearer but here are the best close-ups I could take. This tank is very hard to photograph for several lighting reasons (both tank and ambient lighting as well as reflection from the back wall).

 

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So far so good. ? continues to come to the polyp hole every night for supper and will return there after lights out and he has eaten his meal. We installed a red light over the tank to be able to spot him (going with him for now because Cassy was so much plumper than Tatanka but that may not mean anything and sexual maturity is months off). So far he is just called the little guy but one "little" is more than enough in octo names and I declined Neal's suggestion Chastidy/Chas :roll:
 
I think you have topped me in the number of octopuses you have had the pleasure to have in your home!!!:wink:How awesome you have a new one!!!
 
Kudzu was out in the open fully against the back wall during the day today but retreated to the LR when he saw me so I did not have time to grab the camera. To my surprise, he is missing three arms (R4,L3,L4 - I think :oops:), removed up to the webbing with about 1/4+ inch growth. Because the growth seemed to be the same on all three arms, I am guessing they were removed in a single bite from something in the wild.

Kudzu came back out and I don't like the way he is sitting in the open in the corner. Breathing seems normal but arm tips are curled in almost a corkscrew and he did not retreat to the LR this time. He has grown significantly since arrival (almost double mantle size) but the fact that he is out in the daytime (there was a crab in the tank so he may have been hunting) and mostly the lethergy worries me. Checked the water and no nitrites or ammonia and sg of 1.026. Unsure on the PH my new meter does not read consistently and the strips I have are not clear on color.

Kudzu has died. I am frustrated and very sad. I have no idea why. This is the third young briareus I have lost this year, two that appeared healthy when they arrived. Kudzu was placed in the same tank where Little Bit and Monty were raised (and Little Bit just vacated), a different tank from the two that did not survive several months ago. Both Monty and Little Bit were very young entering the tank and remained healthy. Kudzu was obviously growing and eating daily. :cry:
 

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