Orange - O. briareus Teacher Kim's New Octopus!

[Teacher Kim]

I think I get it. So, assuming that she is a female, at some point she will lay eggs and brood no matter what. Correct?? How many days might she stay inside her den before she would lay eggs? Are their any other behaviors or color patterns, etc... that I might be able to look for to give me a possible idea of her situation as far as her longevity goes?? Thanks!!

 

[DWhatley]

Kim,
The answer is probably but we have not recorded timings well. The best posting I can suggest is the one for Mama Cass (

 

[MikeHoncho]

Kim, where did you purchase your octopus? I'm dying to know how things work out.

 

[Teacher Kim]

Thanks again D for your help educating me! I'm getting there! As of today I know she is still eating because she took a male thawed fiddler crab and I now see the remains outside her den. By the way, it appears that she has moved her den to another area of live rock to the right of her first den.

I still really haven't seen her out at all, but she likes to move things around at night. I have to admit, it's not like I'm staying up all night looking for her though! The other thing I have figured out is that I have probably put too many smaller pieces of live rock and shells in the tank. She piles them up all over so it's pretty much impossible to see even an arm of her during the day!! Ziggy was too small to move much, so it was pretty easy to glance in and see her once in a while.

 

[Teacher Kim]

Hi Mike, I see that you live in Fresno. We live in Salinas, near Monterey! I got this octopus from Diver Tom in Florida. It's a really cool one, but is taking it's sweet time at deciding to let me see it! The other possibility is that she is getting ready to lay eggs, which means that she really won't come out and unfortunately will pass away after they hatch, assuming they are viable. Wish us luck!

 

[DWhatley]

Mike,
This year when the source is posted, I am trying to put a link in the "List of our octopuses 2013" sticky at the top of this forum. I have been listing the source (when known) for a couple of years but am now attempting to put links when I can get them.

 

[Teacher Kim]

Orange appears to be doing good right now! I got frustrated again and was pretty sure she was behind this rock I could easily pick up, so I did!! (Naughty me!!) There she was, looking good. Nothing unusual that I could see about her mantle. Healthy coloring. She sat there for maybe 5-10 seconds and then moved behind another rock. I am posting the only pic I got, which is NOT good, but at least it's proof that she's alive aned well! I think I will blow it up and tape it to the front of the glass! Haha!!

 

[Teacher Kim]

Will try to post pic again! Not sure what happened!

 

[Teacher Kim]

So as of today, Orange is still doing good. She's eating and still looks good, at least when I get to see her!! She is definitely a shy one!! No eggs so far and she is now taking food from me. In the beginning I had to leave the crab sitting by her den and wait and watch for her to decide to take it. Now she reaches out fairly quickly and will take it from my hand.

I will be honest and say that I have been having a problem being consistant with feeding time! Of course with my job, it's hard to be consistant with anything!! LOL

 

[Teacher Kim]

So today I decided to try a krill and see if Orange had any interest. She took it from my hand pretty quick and I also noticed that I could see much more of her body when she came to get it! Maybe I will really get a good look at her one day! Haha! I was happy it looked like she was going to enjoy the krill. Just as I was giving her a second one, she stuck her arm way out of her den and threw the first krill out!! And I don't mean dropped it, I mean she really threw it! Too funny! I think I better order some more fiddler crabs from SACS tomorrow before I run out!! Obviously she's spoiled! LOL !!

 

[DWhatley]

Keep trying with the frozen though, either shrimp or krill, or blue crab claws (if you can find them, we have had slim pickings and there were none at all today when we shopped, fortunately, neither of mine are large enough to eat them at this point.). I firmly believe they need some variety.

 

[Teacher Kim]

An exciting day! Orange has moved her den to a spot where we can actually look in and see her! Of course she's still pretty hidden, but I actually saw her looking back out at me today! I am hoping that maybe she is finally getting over some of her shyness! I might even try the go pro again! I came to the conclusion that she might be able to see it when it is attached to the outside of the tank and that might explain why we don't see her when it's on. (This is her 3rd den, so I'm pretty sure she's not brooding, at least not yet.)

Anywhay, I think I will try attaching it to a chair about a foot or so away from the tank and see what happens tonight!!

 

[DWhatley]

I am always happy when they chose a den where the sighting is two-way and do think it has something to do with comfort level. It also has something to do with size

Some absolutely get camera shy. I don't know if it the focusing light or the tripod that intimidates them but Margay knows when the camera is out and retreats. I have been known to leave the tripod (sans camera) sitting in a precarious spot in front of the tank to try to reduce the fear and may have to resort to this with Margay.

 

[Teacher Kim]

Poor Orange! Here we go again! Yesterday Orange was more visible than usual and now tonight she is out on the back of the glass! Obviously she is getting ready to pass away. She also stopped taking food day before yesterday. So the question is.... what to do next? The kids have experienced 2 live octopuses now, so am wondering about maybe a cuttlefish??????? Am going to read up on them a bit. Cost and tank size will be part of the deciding factor. Also availability...... I have no patience and tend to go for immediate gratification when I have an empty tank!! Bad habit, but that's how I got into octopuses in first place! LOL!!

Would love to hear if there are any major differences in cuttles vs octos... Ex: are cuttles out more? Easier or harder to keep? Thanks!

 

[DWhatley]

The kids would probably love cuttles and they usually come as eggs that they could watch hatch BUT the first month is both expensive and labor intensive. They need to be fed live mysid shrimp until they can be weaned onto frozen. It is very hard to keep the shrimp alive (they eat each other) so most keepers end up ordering weekly for 4 to 6 weeks. Survival for the first couple of months is not assured but they seem to do well if you get past this time. You should be easily able to keep at least 3 in a 75 gallon tank (3 is pretty much max in a 50). Multiple males in a tank can be a problem when they are sexually mature. Mating is common with mixed success for the offspring.