Mercatoris Pair Journal

I decided to simplify the rock arrangement in the tank because of the number of empty carapaces I keep finding in the back of the tank. I did not want to risk an elevated ammonia level due to the decaying food remnants.

I removed a bunch of rocks and coral so I can moved them to my home tank. In the process, I moved a big rock I had in the back and saw the two octos. One of them was holding a small loose rock as a door. I slowly put the rock back down and made sure I wasn't squeezing them. I was very happy to see that they are both doing well.

I am trying the experiment again tonight. Let's hope we don't have a repeat of yesterday's incident.
 
Dino,
To pacify your sensitive office mate, you might try putting the crab in a clear jar with a small opening (I found that the double shooter style glasses will keep them contained for awhile but not overnight so the opening needs to be reduced after the crab is in place). This might help minimize the image of a sacraficial goat and it is unlikely your sabatour will put his hand inside the tank :sagrin:

Here is a link to an experiment that Greg did with his merc using a glass jar and lid:
Varys' babies (O. mercatoris) (look at post 82 and below. I think his first attempt is back somewhere on page 4).
 
Here is another idea one of our members videoed:
Little Chef's Reef

Keep in mind that LittleChef is a diurnal hummelincki and a good bit larger (and smarter IMO) than the mercs but a clear hang on container with holes might be something to add to your experiment list.
 
The experiment was a failure once again as I found the crab still dangling this morning. I moved him back to the feeder tank so he can relax.

The octos did not come out to eat last night... I think they must have stressed out when I moved some rocks earlier.
Also, I am guessing that they preffer their food closer to the substrate. They must not have felt that the hanging crab was safe enough to reach for.

I am trying a different aproach tonight. I will be feeding them crabs in a bowl in the substrate. I am hoping that this will keep the crabs in one place and make it easy for us to see them eat.

More after 7pm.
 
The saw one of the octopus come in and out of it's den last night. It's captured on video at about 3 or 4 in the morning.
He did not eat any of the crabs though. I am starting to think that they are only picking on the dead ones that die when they are in the tank too long and are still unable to hunt crabs this big.

These crabs' carapaces are at an average of .6 inch to an inch in width... and the ocotpi are about the same if not just slightly smaller in mantel size.

I will try feeding them krill tonight instead.


if you guys want to analyze the video here's the last segment:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/964390
a:ctivity from the den, right above the bowl happes at these secific timecodes:
02:18:12 [going out]
04:21:22 [going back inside]
3:57:00 [out again]
5:18:03 [out?]
 
I tried hand feeding Boots and it worked! I used a thawed out piece of shirmp.
He's holding on to the tail right now and scooping out chunks from the inside while still hiding it his den!
Really cool. I'm leaving another chunk on shrimp meat in the tank for Hugsy. I haven't seen her. I hope she is fine.

If the chunk is uneaten by tomorrow, I'll take it out.



Dino
 
thats the same way mine acts. he doesnt leave his den. just puts his tentacles out, grabs it, and starts munching.
 
I am glad I did not read your post before you experimented with the frozen shrimp because I have never had a single merc to accept it (my hummelincki has it for supper several nights a week). Don't offer frozen until it is room temperature. I always thaw in saltwater to avoid any chlorine absorbtion.

You have the right idea about removing any shrimp daily as it goes bad and starts an ammonia process very quickly (there is a method of cycling a tank just using shrimp because of the high ammonia output). I would suggest leaving live food over the weekends so that you don't have a problem with the extended period. For your webcam, I would continue offering food in the same place nightly but if you switch to hand feeding during the week, this still might work out well for the weekends (they do have to learn and trust and are which takes time and repetition). Paul has started offering a reduced price on a lot of 20 smaller crab (I may have helped make this offering while I was raising Wiley and co since I would continually ask for the smaller ones). I think 20 are around fifteen dollars shipped and you can finde the link in a prior post (at the moment the scammer screener doesn't like me if I post a link and pricing)
 
Two really awesome things happened today!
I was in the process of doing a water change, removing about 30% of my tank's water when all of a sudden Hugsy came out of the sump and started crawling into the tank. She got on my officemate's hand who then gently guided her into the water. She darted in between two rocks. I totally thought that Hugsy had died or something! I'm glad to see I still have two Octos!
Here's some video of her.

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/968717

We tried to feed her a crab but she pushed it away.

This is when the other awesome thing happened... Mr. Boots darted out of his tank and attacked the crab! He crawled around with it around the rock but ultimately found a dark area in the back of the tank to munch on it.

Here's some video:
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/968825

Here's a photo:
945084e5286461698f05d95de6249b1b.jpg


Have a great weekend guys!
 
I came in the office today and peeked in the tank to check on Mr. Boots and I saw him looking straight back at me from his den. He's a little less shy everyday.
As I was doing my water check I see him dart his arms out and catch on of my hermit crabs. After an unsuccessful attempt to yank the crab out of it's shell, he let it go and came back into his den. Mind you, the lights are on as this is happening... it lead me to think one of two possibilities, he is either really less shy or just very very hungry... or both.

I take the opportunity to see if he'll eat some frozen krill. I found this brand from Petco. http://www.pets-warehouse.com/vpasp/shopexd.asp?id=87213

I carefully place a krill in his den and he instantly grabs it. Success! He likes it I think. Lets see if he'll learn to enjoy this more over time. The crabs are getting expensive and I want to see if I can make those a weekly treat instead.

I throw another krill in the tank for Hugsy... I still don't know where her den is so I am hoping she can grab this snack on her own. I turned off the lights to help her feel safe if she comes out to eat.
 
Happy New Year guys! It's been a while since my last post.
I am happy to report Hugsy and Mr. Boots are doing well. I've been visiting them at work over the holiday break to clean up after their mess. (They seem to be dropping all the carapaces off in the same area in the back.) They've been eating the free roaming fiddlers I've been dropping in the tank.

Yesterday I put a couple of crabs in a glass bowl and Mr. Boots tried to attack them through the glass. I guess he's still trying to figure it out. Here's a short clip: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1024491

Here's a longer 50 minute clip of him relentlessly trying to attack through the glass.
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1024498 He tries to attack the crabs from both sides of the bowl... It's pretty funny. You'll have to scrub through the video to see the action. Mr. Boots does not seem to be too smart.

There was only one crab in the bowl this morning so maybe he figured it out eventually. It's hard to say because my recording stopped after an hour. The crab could also have escaped on an updraft current. I'll try recording again tonight.

Dino
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top