[Octopus]: Octane - O. Hummelincki (filosus)

More Colors of Octane

Just some shots of Octane dressed in white. Note that the eyespot is barely visable. If he is upset, it turns very deep blue and holds with the thoughts that the bright color markings have to do with threatening behavior. Again, note that these photos are taken about 4 seconds apart.
 

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Mimic Hummelincki

OK, so bats are not a natural sea creature but I can't help thinking Octane is mimicing one when he does his flat against the wall trick. He certainly looks as much like a bat as a "Mimic" looks like a sea snake.
 

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camouflage

Can you tell I am avoiding some techincal reading I need to do tonight? One last set of Octane photos showing more of his camo looks. He is not really making much of an effort to hide here but the colors came out interestingly enough to post the shots.
 

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Just a couple of pics and some worries.

Octane has not been eating well for a couple of days and is often in drab grey coloration. He will still show color and skin changes but the dull grey is new and worries me. He has also taken to sleeping on the tank wall rather than in a den and it seems I recall this as being observation reported in aging octos not long before the end. Two nights ago he was flashing like a cuttle fish. I went to get the camera but he stopped once I came over to the tank, I hope I am just a paranoid keeper and he was just trying to get my attention.

Two little interesting things this week. There is a live shrimp (we brought back a dozen or so from our Charleston trip) in the tank with Octane and he has ignored it for over a week even though it has touched his arm and he has scared it out of the substrate several times. He does not seem to be afraid of it and has eaten them in the past. I was giving Octane his nightly massage a couple of nights ago and the silly shrimp swam up to my hand to see what was going on :biggrin2: I may just have to do a mantis this year (hands out of the tank though).

Tonight I was doing a water change and stirring up the substate and Octane litterly jumped on my hand. He did not bite and the contact was very brief but he was making a point to tell me he did not like my actions. He has zipped over to my hand before when I was cleaning but never quite like this. Everytime he reacts, I picture Bills hand after Ollie tried to express the same dislike (or I am assuming Nancy's octo was sending the same message) and feel that I am doomed to experience a beak eventually.
 

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Surprisingly, it did not bother me at all and I did not even jump. The contact was very brief and the intent was very clear - STOP MUCKING WITH MY HOUSE!. It was actually quite interesting but I may not have thought so if he stuck (waiting to be bitten might have been a bit much as I do not identify with that human guinea pig fellow that Dale entertained a month or so ago). 'Tane has attempted to drag a finger under his webbing a couple of times but is not insistent when I decline to be sampled. He comes to the corner to be massaged every night and seems to prolong the attention by leaving and returning over and over again and then finally sitting still for a good 30 seconds or so. If I think he doesn't want any more attention or I have something to do and start to close the lid, sometimes he hurries back up to the corner as if to say, "not yet". All human interpretations of course but even Neal agrees that he notices me specifically and approaches me without encouragement.
 
Octane's behavior is very similar to Ollie's (my bimac of a few years ago). When she wanted me to come, she'd sucker on to a certain place on the front glass. I'd see here and come play with her and pet her on the head (head massage, as D calls it). In fact, Ollie had a little ritual where she would slowly swim around my hand and touch me with one sucker. Then she'd work her way back, and stick up her head. She kept coming back for more. It was usually me who had to break it off - I got tired before she did. But I always tried to remember that touching a friendly octopus is something very few people ever get to do.

Nancy
 
Nancy,
Where Octane does not circle, the behavior is similar in that he slides up and down and back and forth on the tank wall. I have found that if I just dangle my fingers in "our corner" he will slide up underneath them until my fingers are positioned where he wants his massage (usually just below the eyes, but sometimes on the mantle). I also find that if I put multiple fingers in the tank, he will sometimes reach up and touch the one not petting him. Interesting that the behavior is so similar.

When are you getting another? I know you and Bill have been thinking about it but I see no new journal.
 
New Tank for 'Tane - maybe

Anyone reading the cephs on eBay thread I started for ceph stuff (not live) found there may have noted my last post:sagrin: was for a 50 gallon tank with connecting tubes. This tank is now in residence and its use being debated. It will be an octo tank but I have mixed emotions about moving Octane.

Behind the tank you can just make out a sump that is connected to a well cycled tank (several years but with bottom substrate only a few months old) that was intended for seahorses. My decision is to break down the 37 gallon (that we were sold as and believed to be a 45 until doing the math recently) and use the live rock and substrate to set up and quick cycle this tank. In addition to the LR in the old tank, I have a largish piece of LR in its sump and another in 'Tane's current sump that I can add to the new tank so I should be good there and can steal from Octane's tank if need be. There is some octoproofing necessary but it should be quite easy since the top is flat with simple cutouts. There is a hood with FW lighting that we think we can modify so that it can be easily raised (the original design is not maintenance friendly and requires full hood removal just to feed). We are working out where to install a couple of overflows and returns as well as looking for a new skimmer but I think we can have it safe in less than a month. If Octane still appears healthy, I will make the transfer but his age is a concern. He needs a larger tank for both water (I fight nitrates in his current tank) and for swimming room but if he becomes frail or the tank does not hold cycle I will not move him.

:confused: How does one go about moving an adult octo? I don't want to use my hands for the obvious bite concerns as well as not wanting him to become afraid of my hand but I am not sure how to go about catching him and I don't think I could coax him into a bucket.
 

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very cool! I'd be a bit worried that the interconnects could fail in an earthquake, but that's 'cause I live in California... Is this the acrylic you were concerned about in the other thread, or is it glass? I predict amusing behavior as the octo develops habits for traversing between the sides... I wonder if it would consider it mean if you feed it on the other half from where its den is....
 
Monty,
Yes, this is acrylic and I am pretty sure it was a fresh water tank. There is a residue that could be buffer but the scratches are minmal and I am not going to buffet (can't get tickets anymore ). I don't believe the prior owners are available for comment but I might try asking the seller if they would mind asking.

Because it is acrylic, the tubes should not be a problem since the "gluing" process actually melts the material and proper seams are as strong as the solid material (or so the literature explains and proper is a key word). Acrylics don't tend spring leaks, ever, they just scratch too easily but are still my choice because of the ease of modification, error correction and low failure rate.

I am almost sure 'Tane will use the tubes and they are much larger than I expected so I am hoping he will learn their location and be able to swim the length of the tank. I will put a couple of the Hydor water mover pumps facing in opposite directions, one on each tube to move the water between the sections. The tank price was super and we can use some of the stuff from the other tank but we still have to spend several hundred more dollars to get it ready.
 
Flashing video

Not the best example and you will have to watch closely to see it but here is a video of Octane doing the Cuttlefish Flash

 
Moving any aquarium inhabitants just use lots of patience, and trickery always helps too. How big is Octane? A gentle hand move into a bucket or container with maybe some food in it , you could put the container in a couple of days early and feed there so Tane can learn not to be afraid of it then when the time comes just lift it out .
 
How thick is the acrylic? Just curious because I used to hate acrylic due to having to drain and buff a 350 gallon reef just to get rid of a scratch is a serious pain in the butt.....HOWEVER, I have since grown to LOVE acrylic due to how easily i can take out scratches without draining the tank at all.....

Algae Free makes a scratch removal kit, EVERCLEAR , which is basically a type of rubber "sandpaper" that you attatch to either one of their magnets(rated to the thickness of the acrylic) or the appropriate sized Magnavore. Basically, you start at 1500 grit and work your way down (step by step) to 6000. This is for DEEP scratches on the inside of the aquarium, and I usually take about 1/2 hour per sq.ft. on these areas.... However, on light scratch areas , it usually covers 2-3 sq.ft. per 1/2 hour. The best part is you can do 1/2-1 full hour a day, and(depending on the size) have it done in a fairly short time (while getting a little arm workout!) and not have to rush around while you have an empty tank needing buffing and its inhabitants in a holding area(my customers love this)

There is also a hand kit for the exterior, which is basically the same thing, except the pads are made with the rubber material on both sides, whereas the magnet kit has the rubber on one side and the other being more cottony so that you can affix it to the magnet. The exterior kit also comes with a little stopwatch, wax pencil(for marking heavy scratches),a chart to corallate to the marks you made with the wax pencil, and a cotton polishing/finishing pad.

Sorry , not trying to sell a product, but this changed my outlook on Acrylic aquariums forever. Anyways, you can order all of this either at your LRFS(Local Respectable Fish Store) or at algaefree.com
:notworth::notworth::notworth:
 

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