• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Octopus Suddenly Passed Away

Akn587

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Oct 27, 2022
Messages
1
Location
Casselberry, FL
After about only one month, my octopus suddenly passed away. I am hoping to find out if there was a way I could have prevented this or if it was simply senescence.
My octopus had been more active the past couple of weeks and was even accepting frozen clams from my hand, however last night, it would not accept any food from me. It came out of hiding earlier than usual and moved around the tank a bit, hiding, exploring, changing color. Eventually, it climbed to the top of the glass and sat there for a moment. After a while, it fell down to the bottom of the tank, tentacles curled into a ball and wouldn't move or react to anything. The next morning, it was found in the same spot, dead.
I tested my water parameters the night before:
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: <20ppm (This was one day before my scheduled water change)
Temp: 78F
Specific Gravity: 1.024 (Instant Ocean)
My tank includes an IceCap protein skimmer, a power head with a sponge over the intake, and two lights, white for day and red for night. A canister filter filled with ceramic media is used for filtration. I do a 30% water change every two weeks.
This all happened so sudden and caught me completely off guard considering how well he seemed to be doing just a few days prior. I came here hoping I could get some insight on what happened to my octopus.
Unfortunately I don't know the exact species as it was sold to me as a "pacific brown", but I do have a few pictures. Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
20221026_235524.jpg
20221020_000138.jpg
20221013_002344.jpg
 
I'm sorry this happened :sad: -- one common troubleshooting question -- any chance copper was somehow introduced to the tank?

I don't have any experience on this, so I can't help on the "why," but I'm sorry you're dealing with that - disappointing for sure. As @Tomh notes; very difficult to diagnose these things.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top