New owner of a very shy Bimac - any inital thoughts/advice?

[Dr. Lizz]

Still shy When I extracted the damsels I had to move around a lot of the rock, and I intentionally left one big pile near the front of the tank hoping he’d make a new den there, which he did.

Overnight he excavated a little chamber by blowing the sand out, and even dragged a few seashells in there with him. So I can see him a little now and he seems fine he’s just… at home, I guess.

I lowered the chiller back to 67-69 as well. Hopefully as he gets comfortable he will be more willing to come out more. From what I can tell he has eaten 2 hermit crabs and 2-3 snails in the 2 weeks I’ve had him, but never when I was looking - I only find the dismembered crabs and empty shells. That doesn’t seem like much to me but there are more of both in there if he wants them. (Kind of surprised the camel shrimp are still going, they are big and not particularly fast).

I acquired two 1-2 inch mantel bimacs in January. Both, housed separately, took weeks to become extroverted. Both however, did prosper and rapidly grew to adults. I feed only live food (clams and Fiddler Crabs). The crabs I obtain from a Florida bait shop at $13.00 a quart. Since bait shops usually will not ship I paid another party to buy and ship them. In general, many crabs survived months. I recently acquired an additional two small bimaacs and they are neither to be seen, but the empty clam shells and crab exoskeletons tell me all is well. In due time they will be out when I am around, especially when live crabs, their favorite food, are introduced.

In general, they should be kept by themselves. For months I had a very small ray in a 220 gallon tank with a bimac until the ray disappeared.

I might add that my live clams cost me $.59 from the local. Whole Foods.

I keep the temp at 64-65 as I strive for max longevity and all my bimacs appear to do well at it.

 

[Hadla]

Live clams at Whole Foods? For less than a dollar?! Where are you located?

 

[Dr. Lizz]

I live in Oklahoma City. At Whole Foods here they cost 59 cents each. Call me at [admin edit: phone number redacted; send a private message instead]. I will pay for the clams if you pay postage.

 

[wise_s]

Sorry I'm late to the party. Looking at your original photos, I would suggest turning your lights down. If they're running on a day/night cycle, extend your dawn and dusk periods and lower your "noon" brightness (if it's at 100%, drop to 80 or so). You mentioned there is plenty of food in the tank. You may want to remove some of it as this encourages the octopus to be "efficient" (read lazy). Adopt a strict feeding schedule at the same time every day, preferably when the lights are low (early morning or evening). Place a live crab within sight of its den but outside the reach of its arms. If necessary, prod the crab to get it to move. This should encourage the hunting instinct. If done frequently enough, it should learn the routine and come out around that time in anticipation.

 

[victorlautreamont]

Hmm I will try that with the lights. He is still holed up in there but has been having a lovely time redecorating - he’s blown out sand under that big rock-complex to make himself a three-bedroom condo in there

He actually pulled in one of the larger decorative seashells, then when he excavated the sand around it, it became a load-bearing pillar for the whole structure above. I don’t know if it’s realistic to think that he ‘planned’ it that way but…

I have named him Archimedes

 

[victorlautreamont]

Thought I’d post an update: Archie is still very reluctant to stray too far from his den and I basically never see him just swimming around the tank like he did the first two days I had him. However I am thrilled to say he seems to be interested in interacting with me and with various shells and plastic toys I place near his den! Whenever I stick my fingers nearby he reaches out and gives me a little handshake, and he’s begun to come out a little further each time to wrap himself around my hand. Progress!

He still has no interest in eating those camel shrimp, which kind of surprised me, but he absolutely devours fiddler crabs.

 

[victorlautreamont]

 

[tonmo]

wow! love to see it!

 

[Dr. Lizz]

I currently have four Bilacs. The oldest I acquired in January and tenticle to tenticle only measured 3 inches or less. It is now a large adult. I keep it alone. in a 55 gallon tank with chiller set about 64 degrees. It usually comes out when it sees me as I keep the octopuses, eels, etc. in a vacant duplex I own. There is no doubt that crabs are a favorite food. I usually feed each octopus one Fiddler a day and if they see it they will leave the cave to get it. The staple are clams.

The other three Bimacs I have had about a month. They are housed in a 180 gallon tank with three separate compartments. All three have different personalities. One i never see, but because of the clam shells I know it is doing well. A second is quite adventuresome and is frequently seen wandering the tank while the third is in between. I do not feed at the same time each day, but it makes sense. As for longevity I have personally spoken to someone who had kept a Bimac for three years, but this is very much an outlier. For an attempt at maximum longevity I acquired the smallest specimens I could find even if I had to wait. Also, it is well known that the cooler the water (to a point) the longer they live. I keep mine at 63-65 degrees. The GPO ( Giant Pacific Octopus can live over five years in captivity and live in much colder water yet. Just my thoughts.