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Lot's of questions......

Spring

O. vulgaris
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Joined
Jan 2, 2004
Messages
90
Hi everyone! This is my 3rd day being an octopus owner and I've got a lot of questions to bombard you guys with. I haven't been able to get a picture of it yet, as it won't come out. It has been real busy with interior decorating though, rearranging things as it likes them. I have kept all lights, but the moonlights, out on the tank trying to make it feel more comfortable. At his point, I am inclined to think that I have a Briareus. As I mentioned in my introduction post, The pet shop guy said it is a caribbean variety. How many different species are found in the caribbean waters that are offered for sale in the hobby? Also, am I correct in assumming that the prefered temperature would be a tropical one? Say, 76 to 78 degrees? Can anyone fill me in on the personality traits of briareus?

Upon Nancy's advice, I made a trip to the grocery and purchased some raw frozen shrimp and some fresh scallops to offer as food. Last night, I placed one of the thawed shrimp on a wooden skewer and offered it to my new friend. It acted like it wanted it, but I thought it might have been too big so I tore it in half and offered it again. It fumbled around with one leg trying to get it, but it never seemed to get a good grasp on it. So I took it off the stick and left it in a spot I thought it could reach from it's den. This morning, it is gone. I'm not sure whether it ate it, or if it got buried from the extensive excavation. I'll do a good search for it later today. How many shrimp/scallops should I feed? What size and how frequent? The shrimp I got are jumbo variety, fat and meaty. The scallops are 1" cubes. Yumm... makes me hungry! I should eat so good!

Anyway, I guess I'm getting long-winded here. I'll save the rest for later.

Thanks in advance,
Spring
 
ok, one at a time then... :smile:

How many different species are found in the caribbean waters that are offered for sale in the hobby?

difficult to say... i would think about 4 on average... but vulgaris, briareus, filosus, mercatoris, joubini, burryi, macropus and maya could all potentially be found.

Also, am I correct in assumming that the prefered temperature would be a tropical one? Say, 76 to 78 degrees

Yep :smile:

Can anyone fill me in on the personality traits of briareus?

Shy to start and more nocturnal than bimaculoides. Very muscular and strong and very likely to push and shove at every part of your tank's hood to get a way out.

Not aggresive but a heavy feeder (enthusiastic)

I only ever had one female.

How many shrimp/scallops should I feed? What size and how frequent?

I'd try every day or second day as long as its eating. I think that octopuses will take frozen shrimp but only if nothing else is on the go, they are not always enthusiastic about it.

Anyway, I guess I'm getting long-winded here. I'll save the rest for later.
nah... keep it coming :smile:
 
Thanks, Colin. I did a search for the shrimp and found it buried in the sand. So it did not eat. I offered half of a scallop and it wasn't interested in it either. I'll try again tonight. By the way, my picasso trigger (in a different tank) loves that I have this octo. He's getting to eat what I've pulled out of the octo tank! :lol:

Spring :smile:
 
Ok, I'm starting to worry now. I got my octo on friday and it had just arrived at the fish shop that day. It was probably shipped out on thursday, so that means it hasn't eaten since Wednesday. I tried offering the fresh scallops again tonight and it is actually pushing the food away. I put it on the stick and the octo takes it off, fumbles it a little, and then pushes it away. It did this several times. What else should I try? How long can it go without eating? Is it normal for them to refuse food for a while?

Spring
 
Yes, try some live food. I think amost all species like crabs. I ended up buying some pretty expensive fancy aquarium crabs for my octo trying to get her to start eating right.

Nancy
 
Joel, The trigger is in another tank. My octo is by itself. It did finally come out of hiding last night. It explored the tank for several minutes and finally rested just above its' den. I have a zebra moray eel in my 125g reef. I had it for 2 months before it ate. I had been trying to feed it with a stick and it would never take the food. Then one day I got brave enough to offer the food with my hand, and voila! It took it. I worried myself sick until that day. How many of you feed crayfish? I think my lfs carries them. What size crabs do you suggest I get. Obviously blue legs and scarlet reef crabs would be too small.

Spring
 
Wasabe isn't an octo but I fed him crayfish quite often. Octo's should have no problem with them but make sure the crayfish isn't too big. One of our members here had his octo killed by a large one. :cry:
 
You might try to get female crawfish - they have smaller claws. I always put them in with big tongs, so that the tail was facing the octo. The octo should be quite a bit larger than the crawfish.

Nancy
 
I got 3 fiddler crabs today. I used the net to put one in the tank. I'm not sure the octo saw it. I never thought to use my tongs. Can the octo smell it? How long will fiddlers live in saltwater? Will I find any remains of the fiddler, claws or anything to show that the octo got it?

Nancy, couldn't you break the claws off of the crawfish first? I live in Kentucky, and winters here are pretty cold. Can you find crawfish in streams this time of year or do they bury themselves and hibernate or something.

Spring
 
Hi Spring,

About Fiddler Crabs - they will live in salt water at least a couple of weeks.
You can keep them in a bowl with about an inch of shallow water, if you want to feed them to your octopus one at a time. When I do that, I use half salt and half RO/DI water. They will eat good quality marine flakes. I've kept them for more than a month this way. They do appreciate a few rocks or shells, and like to be put under a lamp (just an ordinary lamp) to sun themselves from time to time.

You can blunt the Fiddler claws with scissors - they will even grow back in time. I used tongs to put them in near my octo. Yes, you will find remains, the carapace and the big claw.

I don't know about finding crawfish this time of year in Kentucky. But people do remove the claws at times.

Hope this helps,

Nancy
 
Thanks, Nancy. I put the fiddlers in with my ghost shrimp that I feed my seahorses. I didn't know if they might eat the shrimp, but so far they haven't bother them. My octo has been hiding out deep under a rock. I don't know if it ate the fiddler last night, yet. I'll do a good search for it later. I also checked my water params.

0 ammo
0 nitrite
20 nitrate
ph 8.2
sg 1.022 (refractometer)
I'm mixing some saltwater right now, so that I can raise the sg. Would low sg affect the octo's appetite?

Spring
 

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