Meet Mr. Octopus

DHyslop

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Dec 22, 2004
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Mr. Octopus arrived on February 23rd from Zyan. He's bigger than Sleipner was, and certainly a bigger eater. I figured I'd let him munch at will on about 10 crabs that were in the tank for a week before removing the remaining crabs and feeding him on a regimen. He decided he'd take all of them instead. I've been feeding him a fiddler a day or so since, and he supplements with snails as he finds necessary (I find the meaty carcasses almost untouched, so maybe he just enjoys extricating them from their shells and throwing them away). He doesn't have a specific name per se, but I've been referring to him as Mr. Octopus.

He's not terribly fond of us yet but isn't really afraid, either. He spends most of his time in his den, but for the last few days has been spending more and more time outside. He'll play tug of war but in a merely exploratory way until he discerns that we're not food and gives in.

Here's a three-minute video I took last night of him gallivanting around the tank. His mantle is about the size of a lime. Dialup users beware.

Google Video - Mr. Octopus out for a stroll...
 
Very nice, and may I complement you on your tank also? Nice growth on your rocks !
 
cthulhu77;89898 said:
Very nice, and may I complement you on your tank also? Nice growth on your rocks !

Thanks--I'm a little embarassed because I have some cyanobacteria that you can see towards the end of the video. Otherwise I take a lot of pride in keeping a nice purple color!
 
More of Mr. Octopus

I tried to convince Mr. Octopus to release my right hand by giving him a crab with my left. Unfortunately he can do two things at once (three if you count continually squirting me in the face).

Once I extricated myself I took these two pictures:

03-20.jpg


03-20a.jpg


When we play tug of war near the surface he doesn't seem to mind having much of him pulled out of the water. Should I be worried about air being trapped in his mantle?

Dan
 
DHyslop;90219 said:
I tried to convince Mr. Octopus to release my right hand by giving him a crab with my left. Unfortunately he can do two things at once (three if you count continually squirting me in the face).

:sagrin: That's part of the fun of bein an octopus :sagrin:

DHyslop;90219 said:
When we play tug of war near the surface he doesn't seem to mind having much of him pulled out of the water. Should I be worried about air being trapped in his mantle?

Dan

In a healthy animal it should be OK but just be careful you don't pull him all the way out. it can be a bit hard on them, also make sure your hands are wet before you touch him, that reduces the chance of skin lesions.

Air in the mantle seems to be more of an issue when it's fine bubbles like from an air line, they don't sem able to deal with it. I would attempt to minimise time out of the water though.

J
 
i have the same struggle with my guy...he doesnt know when to let go. tonight he had my hand for a little over 5 minutes and ive fairly new with these guys (5 days in) so i just let him sit there and play tug-o-war. your octo is beautiful by the way! what kind is it and how long have you had it?
 
He's a bimac, Nick.

Mr. Octopus will nibble at the skin of my fingers if I let them get too close to his mouth, but he doesn't usually draw blood. I know his beak is large enough that he could take quite a little divot out of me, though. My wife prefers to offer a toothbrush for tug-of-war rather than a hand!
 
A toothbrush would be a good idea but in my case i haven't got my guy to grab any object except my hand. I've tried rocks, a pen, the temp tube that floats around my tank and it just wants my hand. Very cool feeling when they constrict your hand but i've yet to get bitten. Well see how that goes when he decides to take a taste. By the way mine is tank raised too, since the second i let it out of the bag its been curious to find out who i was. Well keep the pics coming, i love to see them!
 
I wonder if there is something about the shape of a hand that is less frightening. Mine is a Mercatoris (pygmy) that started brooding after 2 months (wild caught). I got her to eat dead fiddler crabs by lowering them on a piece of air tubing but had to really "tease" her to take it and she would often blow it out of her den if she could not get it off the tube. I had noticed earlier that she was less afraid of my hand IN the water than outside so I tried hand feeding the crab. She takes it every time (about 3 weeks now). Twice she lingered an arm on my finger but without aggression or even trying to push it out of the way. Now she ignores my hand when I feed but withdraws further into her den if it is there for another reason but she doesn't put up her "door".

Additionally, I have worked with trying to get her to reach out and "touch" my finger on the other side of the aquarium almost since day one. She will now put an arm out if either Neal or I rub the "glass" but will only do it once and then often closes her door if either of us continues to rub the aquarium wall. Unfortunately, I have no real guesses as to what this "contact" means :sad:
 

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