My first O. Hummelincki

[skywindsurfer]

Here is a video of how my tank looks now after I've made all of the changes.

 

[skywindsurfer]

This is the second feeding I did by hand today ON THE REEF. I was so surprised by Bubble's boldness today. At first she was a little shy and flinched a little when I first offered the first piece of krill, but I stopped and let her reach out and take it. The second time she didn't flinch. I think she's forgiven me now.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I would just like to post a quick comment for anyone reading, referencing, or monitoring this thread. Through out my time spent on TONMO, I have received negative responses about my "methods" of keeping animals. YES what I am doing is experimental. NO I do not recommend or condone any run of the mill person to go out, buy a bunch of animals, and throw them into a tank and expect them to live happily ever after. I am NOT here to pick any fights or tell anyone that they don't know what they are doing. YES I know the risks and dangers of what I am doing. YES I know that one day all the animals could turn on each other and my tank would become a blood bath. I carefully monitor my tank every day to make sure all the animals are well fed and coexisting. I do daily head counts to make sure none have died. I check each animal for signs of injury and/or sickness on a regular basis. I am not here to try and change the way everyone keeps their cephalopods. I am just here to prove that with the right care and commitment, cephalopods can be kept with other marine life. You can clearly see in the video above that Bubbles is sitting at the top of the reef with all of the animals swimming around her, and not ONE of them goes anywhere near her. I would also like to note that I am not naive and that just because they do not attack her does not stop her from attacking them. I know she is more than capable of killing the other animals in that tank, as they can do the same to her. I will be recording any progress and/or failure with this "experiment", so that anyone can see and learn from my success/failure.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Bubbles has staying in her den most of the day. I coaxed her out with some food though just a little while ago. He's is just a little insight as to how I feed my tank. Fish come first(for good reason) and I feed them a mix of chopped frozen items. Once they have had their fill I feed Bubbles. I usually feed her about 1 - 2 pieces of krill. Last but not least comes the stingray(this whole time he is picking up scraps that the fish let drift to the bottom) and as I did Bubbles I feed him about 1 - 2 pieces of krill. The only difference is I have to tear them into smaller pieces(generally 1/4th piece of krill at a time) other wise he has a really hard time eating them. I generally feed my tank 1 - 2 times a day.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I just went in to check on the tank, and found Bubbles still to be hiding in her den. I guess she's taking the day off. She's probably exhausted from her little outing yesterday lol. I'm just glad she's trusting me enough to eat from my hands again. I may even let her crawl onto my hand. Little iffy about that, but you never get anywhere without trying. Maybe after my vacation though. I don't want to spend a week in paradise with tending to an octopus bite.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I think my temperature could be a reason she's being reclusive. It's been a little higher than normal lately, so I'm trying to cool it back down and see if she becomes more active.

 

[CaptFish]

I think my temperature could be a reason she's being reclusive. It's been a little higher than normal lately, so I'm trying to cool it back down and see if she becomes more active.

Actually it works the other way cooler means less active warmer means more active. I keep everyone at 78 degrees. Legs i kept as high as 82, I was emulating the water temps where i found her

 

[skywindsurfer]

Ya I understand the effects of water temperature on their metabolism and all, I'm just trying to eliminate all options as to why she's been reclusive (and it is not because of the fish or the stingray. She was just fine with the stingray, and became reclusive before I added the fish.) I don't know if it is the amount of flow that I have(doubtful on this), the higher temperature(I was keeping the tank between 74 & 76, but it has risen with all of the powerheads I have in there), or my actions of scaring her a while back. I awoke to her perched atop her oyster reef watching me get dressed. The other animals swam around her with no sudden reactions from her(another clue as to their "friendliness" towards each other). I'll feed her some krill before I leave.

 

[skywindsurfer]

I just got my shipment of crabs from www.ccritters.com. The second I placed them into the tank Bubbles came out and stood stick strait up on the very top of her oyster reef watching them. After a few minutes she pounced. She scooped up about 5 hermits in less than 2 minutes. Right now she's crawling all in and out of the coral reef scooping up as many crabs as she can hold. The wrasse is picking at some of them, but I don't think it's doing much harm. I just hope these crabs last the whole week until we get back. Of course I'm having someone watch the tank for me and I'll give them instructions to keep an eye and the crab population in case they have to feed her krill again. She's just loving it. Bobbing up and down, swaying back and forth, passing cloud like there's no tomorrow. I'll have to keep that tank stocked better with live animals. It was so amazing watching her hunt down those crabs. Of course when I move to the Texas Coast I'm going to, but anyone that's land locked knows how hard it is to keep their tank stocked with live, that is unless they're rich. I tried to take pictures and videos, but she was just moving so fast around that tank. I mean hell, you'd think I never fed her lol.

 

[Nancy]

Where are you moving on the Texas coast? It sounds like to plan to take your tank and Bubbles, too.

Nancy

 

[skywindsurfer]

We're still not sure where we're going to move to exactly, but I'm hoping to find a place in Port A. Ya we're going to bring the tank with us, but I don't think Bubbles will be making the trip with us. I figure she's almost half way through her life, and we're not moving until early next year. If she's still alive then yea she'll be coming with us, but like I said, I don't think she will still be alive by then.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Those "Octopus Food" crabs are a little expensive ($1.00 a piece, they used to be $0.25, wonder what happened) Bubbles seems to like the hermits, so I could probably keep the tank pretty well stocked with those. I think Bubbles would appreciate that. On the plus side, I got some culerpa with the crabs which I added to my mangroves. Hopefully I can get a nice little collection of plants to help clean the water and add to the beauty of the tank.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Here's a picture of Bubbles when she was hunting those crabs the other night after I had placed them into the tank.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Here are some pictures the next morning. The first is just Bubbles, the second is Bubbles and her roommate.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Another day down and another day everyone still lives. I fed bubbles and showed the sitter how to take care of everything. Tomorrow we leave for our wedding/honeymoon. I'm so nervous. I hope everything goes fine with the tank.