New owner...what do I do?

[jake91]

Tonight I bought a Blue ring Octopus. I've had him for maybe 5 hours and he's not active at all. I would think that he would be swiming around and exploring his new home by now. But he hasnt moved from his original spot, isnt reacting at all and theres is what looks like saliva stringing from his head. Is he sick...am I doing something wrong? I really want to know how to make him happy....what am I doing wrong? If anyone could help me with some info I'd appreciate it.
Thanks
~Jake

 

[Feelers]

Whoa man just thought I'd make sure you you know not to put your hand in the tank - you might come down with an accute case of death!!!

(Youd be surprised how many people wouldnt know about the above statement.)

Welcome to tonmo.

Well, blue rings generally have a bad reputation for being boring compared to many other types of octos, and apparently they dont flash their rings as they would in the wild.
In terms of him not being active many people dont see their octos until they get settled in properly. I think this can take 2 weeks in some cases.

Can you post a pic of the stuff coming from his head? It doesnt sound too serious, but without a pic its hard to tell.

What did you pay for him? Just letting you know he probably has a very short lifespan - 2-3 months at best from what I have heard.

What tank are you keeping him in?
Make sure you have some good (preferably live food) for him to snack on.
And be incredibly careful about being bitten!!, (having said that they dont bite very easily apparently) ,


If you havent already check out the cephcare articles here on tonmo......
http://www.tonmo.com/cephcare/cephcarejump.php

 

[corw314]

That's quite a little deadly pet to start with. Please use extreme caution as stated above, a bite IS FATAL...How long has your tank been operating? Sounds to me like he maybe reacting to water conditions. Did you acclimate for at least 30 mins to an hour? I would love to see a pic.

Carol

 

[Colin]

They are very sensitive little cephalopods which don't travel well at all... how is it today?

They are also very secretive assuming it does acclimatise to your tank

 

[cthulhu77]

Welcome to Tonmo.

In a case like this, the best thing is to just fall back on the basics. Are your water parameters ok? Make sure to keep the lighting dim, and don't bother him too much. As Colin and the others have said, blue rings don't travel well, and suffer a high mortality rate in captivity...which is one of the reasons we really don't recommend them for hobbyist's.
Hope the little guy does ok, be sure to keep us updated !

greg

 

[Scouse]

Funnily enough whilst your on the subject.....

Did anyone notice the sump, filters, skimmers, water changing equipment, spare pumps and all that rubbish on octopussy for her little blue ring...??!!??

 

[Mizu]

Funny
never thought of impulse shopping as deadly
last time i saw and Octopus that was non moving, Not hiding, and had slime on him it died less than 30 min later.
Reasearch FTW

Whoa man just thought I'd make sure you you know not to put your hand in the tank - you might come down with an accute case of death!!!

QFT

 

[cthulhu77]

Scouse, you don't need all of that stuff for a rubber octo.

 

[Armstrong]

Funnily enough whilst your on the subject.....

Did anyone notice the sump, filters, skimmers, water changing equipment, spare pumps and all that rubbish on octopussy for her little blue ring...??!!??

Ya, I saw that movie once and even though it's not generally even about the octopus...the woman owning it had a beautiful home as well as an octopus. Considering it was rubber..I sure would like to see it now. Having a rubber octopus looking THAT realistic...I would totally buy it, lol.

 

[cthulhu77]

The octo shots were in a tank from a pro aquarium...the one that leaps out onto the bad guys face was ....rubber.

 

[Scouse]

Scouse, you don't need all of that stuff for a rubber octo.

Ya, I saw that movie once and even though it's not generally even about the octopus...the woman owning it had a beautiful home as well as an octopus. Considering it was rubber..I sure would like to see it now. Having a rubber octopus looking THAT realistic...I would totally buy it, lol.

An island full of women an a pet octo...got me thinkin..better write my christmas list

 

[cthulhu77]

flexible women too !!! Yikes!

 

[joefish84]

anyone notice he hasnt responded to anything since the first message?... this guy could be dead!!! do we need to do something?! or let his body rot while his blue ring contently feeds on his arm? seriously!