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New keeper - A few questions

Amygdalan

Blue Ring
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Dec 9, 2008
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I got this guy on Saturday from a fish store in Palm Bay, Florida. I believe he's a male from his sucker size. He's from Haiti, I think he may be O. Vulgaris. I will post better pics soon, but they're on my other camera. He is primarily brown with a white underside. He changes colors very quickly and changed either completely white or brown/purple with white streaks.

I've got a 92 gallon corner aquarium, all of the water tests have been good. There's 100lbs of live rock in the tank. The salinity is a bit low, but I'm raising it slowly. He was active upon first being in the tank, but since has picked a den and I haven't seen him do much but stick a tentacle out. There are some snails and crabs in the tank, along with four damsels that I assume he will eat. When should I be worried if he doesn't start eating? He's been in his den for about 40 hours now. I'm not sure if he's come out at night though.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

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Awww, really? Poor guy. I will get them out tonight then. He's probably afraid. The guy that sold him to me told me he would eat the damsels. I asked him a few times, too. He seemed quite sure. I'll post better pics soon.
 
All right, so I got the bastard damsels out finally. Holy crap.

I have tried to put a few crabs in front of his den, a snail, and some thawed frozen krill. He sticks his tentacles out and feels them, then pushes/blows them away. What should I try to feed him next?
 
Here's some more pics, had to convert them from RAW.

More to come, they will just take forever to convert.
 

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More pics to help determine species.
 

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Thawed frozen krill is about the only thing my mercs won't eat. What kind of crabs are you using? Some will eat hermits, some only fiddlers. Frozen or live mysids usually work well, as does cyclopeeze. Give your guy a couple of nights to settle in. He will be strictly nocturnal and easily lost in a 92 gallon tank! You can try using red lights at night to view him. Check Trapper's or Vary's logs (or their offspring) for more details on mercs.
1. Trapper’s babies (O. mercatoris) [Octopus Eggs]: - Trapper's Babies - Tank Raised Mercatoris
2. Varys’ babies (O. mercatoris) Varys' babies (O. mercatoris)
 
Some exciting news, I tried to feed him thawed Mysids today, no go, but I also picked up three live hermits and he grabbed the first one he felt and drug it into his den. I hope this is a sign that he's becoming more comfortable in his new home.
 
Amy, he may or may not eat the contents of the shell :biggrin2: as it is likely he had taken it as a door. Try to get some fiddler crabs and/or shore shrimp. Wait until lights out and put one on the end of a straw around his door, then wait until you can't hold your arm there much longer. With luck, you will see little arms waving and removing the offered food.
 
ANY time I do anything near his door he waves his arms out inquisitively :smile:

He definitely ate the crab and is using the now empty shell (I have a decent view of it from the angle it is at) as a door. When he grabbed it his tentacle went INTO the shell before he pulled it in.

How do I get the crab to stick to the straw? Lol...
 

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