[Octopus]: My new Octopus

[Lov80]

In fact the heater stopped working today. Eventually already yesterday. Since I held my hand onto the front shield of the tank by 'coincidence' I noticed that the water was quite cool. The thermometer showed 17'C/63'F which seems to be quite scary. Fortunately I have an older used heater that still seems to work. Additionally I use another undersized tank heater to accelerate the warming process. I really hope that the decrease did not and will not do any harm to my little friend. I thought about the fact that in 10 meter depth in the ocean there might be a similar temperature or even less than 17'C/63'F. How do you see this?

 

[Lov80]

I guess that I should mention that my tank is in the basement. That's why it's kind of cool there.

 

[DWhatley]

That is 9 degrees colder than I am comfortable with but do heat the tank slowly. I recommend 72 as a minimum. That being said, the only octo I have had clearly damaged by a short term cold was one shipped in the winter and ended up caught in a snow storm. It survived shipping but not much longer and there were patches of skin that could no longer show color.

 

[Lov80]

Right now it seems that Heaty is doing ok.
However he did not hide over the day in caves. He just stayed in the half-shade over the day sleeping. But that's pretty much the same what he did the second day when I got him. Macropuses like to kind of wrap themselves in with their tentacles.

 

[sedna]

Welcome to Heaty!!! He looks awesome, glad you’re getting your heater issues under control. Many fun late night and early morning adventures coming your way!

 

[Lov80]

Coming back to my statement: Since many or even most octopuses are also found in deeper water a cooler water shouldn't be too bad for them. I mean that's how I think. JUST WONDER IF THIS IS TRUE?
That's certainly not an excuse to neglect to keep their prefered temperature in their tanks.

 

[sedna]

Coming back to my statement: Since many or even most octopuses are also found in deeper water a cooler water shouldn't be too bad for them. I mean that's how I think. JUST WONDER IF THIS IS TRUE?
That's certainly not an excuse to neglect to keep their prefered temperature in their tanks.

I was surprised at how low the water temperature in the Keys actually is over the winter time! We are going to be adjusting our tank temps to try and better match native environments from now on.

 

[Lov80]

I need to inform you here that Heaty has passed away. I m sure that the time in the cool water did a severe damage to him. After that he was not as active any more as before. Nitrite was around 0 and Nitrate approx. 25.
I repeat what I have said before here. Maybe it is better to let them live where they are born. Those Octos that come from warmer places in the world such as Indonesia or Carribean eventually shouldn't be brought to where its colder. I'm disappointed.

 

[sedna]

I need to inform you here that Heaty has passed away. I m sure that the time in the cool water did a severe damage to him. After that he was not as active any more as before. Nitrite was around 0 and Nitrate approx. 25.
I repeat what I have said before here. Maybe it is better to let them live where they are born. Those Octos that come from warmer places in the world such as Indonesia or Carribean eventually shouldn't be brought to where its colder. I'm disappointed.

I’m so sorry for your loss, but I implore you not to make a decision for everyone based solely on your experiences. I live in Michigan and regularly get octopuses from Florida with no problems. Possibly your supplier could be doing a better job, maybe there is a glitch somewhere in your system. So many of us have had excellent experiences, maybe you need to do some more research and let your systems settle for a bit...

 

[Lov80]

@ Sedna
What would be typical glitches that may kill an octopus on the keepers side?

In Heaty's case I guess it was the cool water. He may have been in 17'C/63'F cool water for up to a day.

The process of catching and caging and time of shipping leaves certainly a huge impact on them.
A shipping from Florida with a delivery to Michigan may be possible in (less than) a half day but certainly less than a day.
The very most octopuses that you can buy in Europe come from far away such as Indonesia or Philippines etc. The caging conditions there may not be as good as in the USA etc. A long flight and then they end up with a wholesellor that's sends them away again.