Octopus begging for food

[Detritus]

As the title says, I neglected to feed Mimius last night. First thing this morning there he was pacing along the front glass, frantically waving his arms to get my attention. Don't worry he is well fed and getting bigger by the week. Cheers.

 

[tonmo]

He looks great!

 

[cthulhu77]

Fantastic pics !!!!! That is great !!! (but, are you sure he isn't waving frantically to warn you of that horrific thing behind you ???)

 

[Detritus]

Ha, could be with all the Lovecraft references around...Who knows what lurks behing the furnace!

 

[Colin]

Very nice octo... aculeatus?

 

[Detritus]

Unfortunately I have no idea as to the species. It has no ocelli, is diurnal, has a normal mottled brown color, very long arms...am still awaiting the octo world guide book. Thanks.

Ian

 

[Colin]

Hi Ian,
those would have been my next questions too, so yeah its a fair chance that it is O. aculeatus that you have. I have kept several of them in the past and enjoyed keeping them

Perhaps a search on TONMO.com will lead you to other threads and pics of them?

here is a pic of one of mine from early 2002

cheers #
colin

 

[lockburn]

Great pics.

I believe a lot of the success people have with interactive octos is due to their owners being in the room a lot. For example, watching TV or playing on the computer in the same room as the octo. The octo then gets more accustomed to you.

My bimac is still quite secretive. I just freed him from his critter keeper a week ago, so he's able to roam the tank, but he spends much of the time hidden in the live rock. I work during the day, and the tank is in an otherwise empty room, so I don't watch tv there, etc. When I'm in there I usually have my nose pressed up against the glass looking for him, or am doing some tank maintenance. I'm hoping he'll feel a little more social in the near future. Any thoughts?

 

[DHyslop]

Lockburn,

Good to see that you're taking the plunge again after the Lost Generation this last spring. I'd already have another one, too, but I'm using a cross-country move as an excuse to make some changes to my system.

Dan

 

[Detritus]

Thanks for the information Colin, you are indeed probably correct in the species being O. aculeatus. I did a search and superficially the characteristics are very similar, especially of note are the pronounced webs on the arms.

If the octopus deosn't get any diversion in the room it stands to reason it would be "jumpy" and shy. Mimius seems to prefer some action in the room and bobs its head up and down when its really interested in what myself or my family are doing. Mostly it seems to associate me with food which guarantees that when I come around its out in front waiting. Good news for octo owners!

 

[lockburn]

Well, it seems he's decided to come out of hiding after all. He normally prefers to do this at night, though. If I turn on the lights after he's out of the rock, he'll say out and cruise around the tank for a bit. I think I might have to set up some moon lights.

I gave him a quick IQ test... He failed. (pic soon!) I put a glass jar in the tank with a fiddler in it. There's no lid, but the fiddler can't seem to swim out of it. 'Squishy' (so I'm unoriginal, sue me..) sees him, trys to get him 'through' the jar, but hasn't found out he can reach in from the top yet. The fiddler is still hanging out in there after 2.5 days..

Dan, yes, the Lost Generation was a heart breaker. This batch of octos seem to have been doing much better. Looking back, John Doe was tiny! Here are some pics from back them.. RIP, John!

-Warren

 

[corw314]

During the weekend the subject came up on all the lost tiny babies a year or so ago. I didn't realize they were so young. And I too believe the more activity going on daily around your octopus the more curious they get and the less spooked as they consider all that normal after a few weeks. Egor is smack in the middle of my livingroom. He has taken up residence where there is always an eye watching. And Gimpy has also been in a very active area. Those are great pics!

Carol

 

[Nancy]

At the time these tiny babies were dying, I kept track of them and talked with Octopets. This helped them decide to send out older babies. We're not having problems this year - nice to see the little bimacs growing up!

You're on the right track with lots of activity and interaction around your octo - even if you just sit in front of the little one's tank, he gets used to you. Of course, they do have different personalities, but even the shy ones grow to trust you.

Changing the subject - please don't forget to submit your best pics to Tony for the Gallery!

Nancy

 

[DHyslop]

Its shocking to remember that my star-cross'd Gaius wasn't any bigger than John Doe in those pictures!

On the subject of the photo gallery, perhaps it will be possible some day when the database code is a little further under control to have a gallery for each octo.

Dan