Mimicing

[alfordap]

I have Recently seen my bimac Ajax mimicing the turbo snails in the aquarium. He draws his eyes flush with the mantle huches his body like a snail shell and colors his body and very top of his arms the color of the turbo snails shell and the botom of his arms the color of the snails foot and keeps his arms the shape of a snail foot. It is the funniest thing I have ever seen. I was wondering if anyone else has seen this behavior in their octos. I will try to get a picture.

Adrian

 

[Nancy]

Hi Adrian,

I had to laugh at this one! No one has reported their octo mimicing a snail before on this website - I hope you do get a photo. Are your turbos very large?

Nancy

 

[alfordap]

My turbos have about a 1 or 1 1/2 inch foot with a 1 1/2 shell. When Ajax mimics them he is about the same size. I have seen the discovery channel episode on the mimic octopus and how it mimic other aquatic life forms but in all my research of the most common octopi kept in aquariums I had not heard of it.

 

[lawfish]

Hey Adrian:

The only thing that I have seen Tralfaz Mimic is a piece of live rock. (Although his impression of Jimmy Stewart isn't bad)

Has Ajax attempted to eat any of the Turbos? I've noticed that Tralfaz wil eat them immediately If I put them in the tank. Maybe he is attempting to hunt them this way??? Sounds like quite a character.

 

[alfordap]

Ajax will hug a snail every now and again but he never eats one.

I think he only does the mimic when hunting fiddlers and since I haven't had fiddlers in there for a couple of days I haven't seen the behavior. I will get some more fiddlers a week from this friday and if he starts mimicing again after that I know that it is when he is hunting the fiddlers.

 

[joel_ang]

Thats interesting, let us know if he mimics the snails again.

 

[cthulhu77]

fascinating! that actually would be a very successful (obviously) hunting strategy...let us know how it goes with the next batch of hapless crabs!
Greg