New aculeatus story

Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
17
I posted about my new ceph in the ID section earlier this week (thanks all for your input) - and have now determined I have a male a. aculeatus.

I have refrained from posting much until I was confident he was over the acclimatisation, but we seem to be doing well so far.

To begin with he was kept in a small critter keeper within a larger tank to allow me to confirm he was eating and give me a chance to introduce him to the feeding tongs.

A few shots from day one:

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So far he has taken live amano shrimp introduced directly to the tank and raw prawn on a feeding stick.

He is now occupying my 27" cube (approx 70 gal at a guess) and has taken up residence in a cozy LR hole. Hopefully I'll be able to get some shots of him in his new abode soon.

I would love to hear the experiences of those who have kept this species before.

"He" is currently being named Merlin by one of us and Malcolm by the other, so any votes on which to stick with would be nice too :P

Hannah
 
I like Merlin!!! He's very cute and I hope he does very well for you! I just received my new octopus today! They are enchanting aren't they?

And in case I did not say it :welcome:

Carol
 
I like Merlin! What a handsome little guy! I am also an octo newbie with an aculeatus, and am totally in love. How are things going for you? I was nervous to start posting, too, in case things didn't go well but we're doing fine now. Al has started to grab for my hand when I'm in the tank, he likes to rub his mantle against my hand. He's stick feeding on shrimp from the market, has tried soft shelled crab but his favorite is hermit crabs.

Does Merlin have any fun habits or stories yet? I read Octopus Prime's journal at first to get more info on aculeatus. It's good to know someone out there in the same place as me! Good luck and keep us posted.

Have fun!

Sedna
 
Well just a quick update on Merlin; he hasn't got a great range of habits thus far, he tends to slink off into a rock once the lights go out and pop up out of nowhere each morning. One thing I will say is he's a hopeless hunter, you have to get the food right in his face before he works out he should be eating it - I think he is a little over reliant on the feeding stick.

He doesn't seem to cope very well with crabs and much prefers the shrimp.

He is in a 70 gallon cube which seems HUGE for him, I would have happily dropped him to a 50gal if I had one but he seems to be enjoying the room. Ill get a few shots of his home tonight for you to have a nosey at.
 
I love having my Abdopus in a 60 gallon. Lots of room to swim, which is something I don't see my larger octo do much because there just isn't the amount of space it would need.

My Abdopus doesn't seem like much of a hunter either. Anything it would have to work for it avoids. I've seen it grab the big snails in the tank and it usually wrestles with them for a few seconds and gives up. Doesn't make any attempt what so ever to catch the shrimp.
 
Well I guess I spoke too soon about him not being much of a hunter.. he hasn't been out for food in two days and James thought he had seen him with his legs corkscrewed before this, so I was resigned to losing him...

However it seems he was just enjoying finding his own food for a day or two; I retrieved a gorilla crab carapace and an empty bivalve shell from the tank this afternoon so at least he has been eating something. He nipped out of his hideyhole (he has a few now across the tank so I'm never as sure where he is anymore) a few minutes ago and has just accepted a piece of raw king prawn from the feeding stick.

I am starting to wonder whether I put him off the "stick" earlier this week.. the implement wasn't very long and I think he is much less offended by the longer slimmer stick I used today.

Anyone else's octo prefer one method of feeding to another in terms of equipment used?!
 
Merlin gets that bit braver every day - he now has a set spot on the glass he sails to every evening, expecting food or attention. I try to get the camera out when hes around but between his shooting off and my cack camera skills I have hardly any good shots of him.

He isnt one for human attention really, he will reach out to touch James' hand if he offers it but would rather not be stroked or petted. He did decide this week to pull James' hand towards his beak, so I dont think the "hand holding" is very affectionate :roflmao:

He's also found himself a whole host of little nooks and crannies to sleep and hide in, though he doesnt make much effort to really hide himself and will wave his arms at me if he thinks I've spotted him.

Managed to grab a few shots for you to enjoy:

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Are you having more success with stick feeding? I use a thin, rigid piece of air line tubing my LFS gave me and we've never had a problem. Sometimes Al seems to do a little tug of war with it, but he always takes the food off of it. I don't hand feed him or put my hands in the tank if they smell like food- a trick I learned for feeding my snakes so that my hand isn't associated with food. Al does love to snatch up hermit crabs as soon as I drop some in- not so much hunting as gobbling! Have you tried those?

As soon as someone puts a hand in the tank Al will grab it toward himself, then let go and play shy. He likes to grab a hand then go away, then slowly come back, over and over. Like Merlin, my Al doesn't seem to want to be pet but if we sit quietly with a hand in the tank close to the glass, eventually he'll crawl along between the glass and my hand, brushing his mantle against my hand. I think partly it's his game and partly he needs to be in charge of the touching. Sometimes I have to sit like that for 15- 20 min before he makes contact, but he usually always does.

I love the shot of him hiding!
 
Ive never had a problem feeding him from a stick, in the beginning he spent two days hunting for himself then went back to preferring the feeding stick. I use the end of an algae scraper as it has a pronged tip which spears food easily.

He doesnt seem to consider hands food and hasnt gone for the since the episode with James, it seems hes worked out its only the feeding stick that brings food. Interesting that you mention snakes, I have kept rear fanged venomous colubrids for a few years, so I dont do hand feeding either :smile:

He isnt so keen on hermits, to be honest I think he is lazy and knows mum will give him something else if he leaves them alone! He likes various "ordinary" crabs like porcelains and ghost shrimp when hes given the opportunity.
 

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