Need some questions answered about my O. chierchiae (originally mercatoris)

[monty]

I assume that zonatus can't brood multiple times, which would mean that chierchiae developed that ability over the last 2 million years if what Nesis says is true?

That all could be right, or it could be more complicated. As an example, since some cuttles and nautilus (and I think some squids) lay eggs over a longer time, and don't brood in a big batch like octopuses, it's possible that the ancestral coleoid was able to breed multiple times, and that something pressured other octopuses to lose that ability, but for some reason chierchiae kept it, or some octopuses have kept a vestigial mechanism that was somehow "turned back on" by a lucky mutation or some unusual environmental pressure. As far as zonatus, it's quite possible that no one has ever raised them in a lab or observed them long-term in the wild, so no one knows if they have this ability or not.

As an example of the sort of thing that comes up in this research, this is a fascinating blog entry about evidence that mammals, including humans, still retain bits of the DNA of our ancestors that made a yolk for their eggs, and even still have unused yolk sacks early in our lives. Looking for the same sort of thing in O. chierchiae could teach us a lot about the history and mechanisms for octopus reproduction.

 

[Neogonodactylus]

I don't think we know if O. zonatus is iteroparous. The other beast that we should be looking for is the greater Pacific Striped Octopus which is reported to be gregarious, exhibit pair-bonding and mates beak to beak - along with being iteroparous.

Roy

 

[Jon Crossan]

Traveling from panama to Florida would be a rather great feat for an octopus wouldn't you think? The supplier might have gotten someone from panama to send them to Florida for easier sales. Anyways, below is a picture of these little things that are in my tank. I wanted to get some coral to liven up charleys home because right now all thats in there are a couple of pieces of live rock for him to hide in. I was told that these little guys will eat any coral I have in there and that the velvet nudibranch (also below) would eat them and prevent any destruction of coral I put in there. The problem is that I don't know how well charley would get along with the slug though. Can anybody help?

 

[Thales]

There are flatworms that eat SPS corals, but the one in the pic is not one of them. That one eats pods - I have them in my cuttle system.
You don't need to add the nudi.

 

[gholland]

Traveling from panama to Florida would be a rather great feat for an octopus wouldn't you think?

Actually, I just meant to point out that since the given locale was probably not true, the east coast of Panama *could* be the source although not as likely as the west coast. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

 

[Jon Crossan]

Well guys just to update you, Charley finally got one of those hermit crabs out of their shell and had something to eat. Also, I put some ghost shrimp in the tank because I didn't know that he had eaten the crab so I guess he has plenty of food now. He hasn't been coming out as much lately but it might be that I haven't been around as much lately to see him out. He's still in the same hole where I can see him and he can see me. Not a lot new, just thought I'd update you guys. I'm going to talk to my friend at fins about some coral soon I'll let you guys know what I get or what I want to get.

 

[monty]

thanks for the update on Charley. Have you read the "tankmates" thread? There are some stinging corals that can be a problem for octos, so make sure that the corals your friend is thinking of are on the "safe" list...

this is one of several threads that discuss this:

what are good tanks mates for a Octopus

I thought one of the articles discussed what corals are safe, but I can't find that right now...

 

[Jon Crossan]

Hey guys just another update. Charley's appetite seems to be back up to speed, so far hes eaten 2 hermit crabs and finally got hungry enough to tackle one of those fiddler crabs. He switched holes again but seems to be staying farther back in the holes now. I'm not sure if this is because he's digesting and doesn't want to be disturbed or what but he seems to be doing pretty good. Just thought I'd check in.

 

[Colin]

Hi Jon

any update for us here?

 

[Jon Crossan]

Hey guys I just posted something on the new O. Chierchia forum but I'll put it on here too.

I know I haven't posted anything in my journal lately but charley is doing just fine, he has lost all caution of fiddler crabs and now eats them frequently. I'm going to start adding purple up to my tank so I can put some nice looking safe corals in there for him and I to enjoy. Also if anybody can help me I can't seem to get rid of these different types of bacteria that form purplish blobs in the sand and I still can't get rid of the orange colored slimy algae that grows in my tank. Any suggestions?

 

[Thales]

From the other thread ( New Zebra O. chierchiae (now trying breeding!) )

Don't use purple up - its a waste of time and money and will likely irritate your octos gills. Most additives are a waste. If you want to boost calcium and magnesium to grow coraline, use a good two part like ESV or buy additives in bulk from bulkreefsupply.com which is very inexpensive. The other algae will work themselves out with time and manual removal.

I am glad to hear charley is doing will - has he become day active at all?

Also, please do the little work after the death of charlie to get the samples to scientists like Roy and his colleagues. IMO, its the least we can do to further our understanding of these probably rare and under studied animals. From what I understood, Roy was going to send you a 'kit' to use when the octo dies, so it should be really really easy to prep the body and arm tip. I would be happy to pay for the shipping if need be. This is part of the service, along with placement of cephs into homes that can keep them, that the ceph cert idea will helpfully include one day. IMO, with animals like these, we need to be more than just consumers.

 

[Animal Mother]

Hey guys I just posted something on the new O. Chierchia forum but I'll put it on here too.

I know I haven't posted anything in my journal lately but charley is doing just fine, he has lost all caution of fiddler crabs and now eats them frequently. I'm going to start adding purple up to my tank so I can put some nice looking safe corals in there for him and I to enjoy. Also if anybody can help me I can't seem to get rid of these different types of bacteria that form purplish blobs in the sand and I still can't get rid of the orange colored slimy algae that grows in my tank. Any suggestions?

You might try some serpent stars and/or nassarius and cerith snails. They'll help turn your sand over, keep junk from building up on it. Of course the snails might eventually end up being snacks, but they bury themselves all over the place all the while moving the sand and usually very well hidden from the octopus. And before you do any of that just try to get some more flow in the areas where the buildup is if you can get it there.

 

[Jon Crossan]

Just a quick update, I haven't seen charley come out much lately but then again i haven't been up very late recently. I've been feeding him fiddlers but the last two that he has come in contact with look like he just killed them and didnt really eat them. Usually they are torn to shreds and the guts are coming out and everything but these past two have seemed completely intact. He deffinitely killed them though, which i got to watch one of the feedings

i'll let you guys know if anything else strange happens. If anyboddy has some feed back thatd be great

 

[monty]

Make sure to check your water parameters and do a water change, if you haven't already, in case his appetite is down because of a water problem... that's the only suggestion I can think of.

 

[Jon Crossan]

I got his water checked today and everything is perfect. I'm not sure what his deal is he doesnt seem to be to active lately but then again i could be asleep when all that is going on. I'm going to get some more fiddler crabs tomorrow at work since we just got in some large ones. I hope he goes for them I'll let you guys know.