Need Help!!

[kishan73]

I need help. My pet octopus is behaving funny. I can't tell if he's eating. I've bought small crabs (emerald) and shrimp (peppermint) but I can't tell if he's eating them. The crabs are still there but the shrimp are gone. I thought they were messy eaters?? I don't see any carcases. I don't know if the crabs are eating the shrimp or what? The Octopus (Fred) isn't as active as when I first got him (last week) and he stays on the the glass (of the aquarium) a lot, kinda balled up and I noticed that his tenticles (arms) are always curled up now. What does that mean? All of 'em are swirled up kinda like locks of hair or something. He didn't do that before so I'm kinda worried. In the tank with him are a SailFin Tang, small Green Spotted Puffer, Emerald Crabs, Saltwater feeder shrimp and live rock. I built a cave for him but he rarely goes inside. Sometimes during the day but he mostly stays on the glass. He hasn't tried to escape. I've tried feeding him thawed shrimp and other meaty foods by rubbing them on his suckers but he just pulls away. He's not very big. His mantle's a little bigger than my thumb and his arms stretch out about 12-15". Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

kishan
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[corw314]

First...get the puffer out.. Not a good tank mate at all. Have you checked your water parameters? Any ammonia reading is not good for an octopus. The curlicue look to the arms is not a good sign, but I have seen them come back if it is a water issue which is resolved quickly. Please keep us posted.

And

 

[monty]

and for Fred... I can't really offer any more advice than Carol did, but it might help people to know more about the tank and the history: how long have you had Fred, were the fish in the tank before you got him, how long has the tank cycled, how big is it, what kind of filtration do you have, etc. The corkscrew arms are usually a sign that something is seriously wrong, but in an octo that small it's less likely to be just at the end of its lifetime, so it may be something you can fix.

 

[nickcoletti]

my octo did that for the first few hours when i put it in the tank but quickly began exploring after that...

 

[Jean]

Test your water ASAP, this sounds like water chemistry issue. Also you may want to get some small crabs or shrimp for him, he may not be ready to eat dead food yet, you generally have to spend some time weaning them onto dead food and some never make the change!

J

 

[gjbarord]

Do you know what kind of octopus it is?? Where did you get it? Did they tell you any background history of the animal?

Greg

 

[kishan73]

Sorry for the delay, it took a while to find my posting. Fred died the other day. I checked the water and it was fine. The puffer doesn't even have teeth (Green Spotted Puffer). The only thing new was that I'd added these bait shrimp from the gulf and I think they were sick. Another fish had died two days after I added them. I should've rinsed them in tap water or something before I added them. I'm really dissappointed. I only had Fred for a little over a week. He was my 1st octo. I plan 2 get another one. They're very interesting creatures indeed.

 

[monty]

RIP Fred

it may be worth explaining what tests showed "fine" to make sure you didn't miss something, since a lot of very knowledgeable folks seem to think it's likely some sort of water quality issue, although the bad shrimp theory is certainly possible, I suppose... but perhaps the gurus can help you figure this out to make sure it's resolved for the next octo!

 

[Jean]

Sorry for the delay, it took a while to find my posting. Fred died the other day. I checked the water and it was fine. The puffer doesn't even have teeth (Green Spotted Puffer). The only thing new was that I'd added these bait shrimp from the gulf and I think they were sick. Another fish had died two days after I added them. I should've rinsed them in tap water or something before I added them. I'm really dissappointed. I only had Fred for a little over a week. He was my 1st octo. I plan 2 get another one. They're very interesting creatures indeed.

RIP Fred

Kishan, puffers do have teeth, they're fused into a plate, and Green spots are known to harass tank mates, but you're likely right about the shrimp. What I'd do rather than rinse them in tapwater (which could contain copper, fatal to cephs) is quarantine the shrimps in a small tank or bucket of seawater for a few days and change the water a few times.

Sorry about Fred

Jean

 

[Thales]

I would like to know your water parameters, including salinity before another occy goes in that tank.

Also, how long has the tank been set up?