Overfeeding?

[Eagleray]

Is it possible to overfeed an octo? I'm sure it is, but how do I know what is too much. Will an octo eat if there is food in its tank, but isn't hungry? We feed Alice 2 good sized bait shrimp a day, or vary ir with a shrimp and a crab, but sometimes she will act like she is hungry very soon after eating. Just wondering. She's a big octo, and maybe she needs more food. What do you all think>
Funny side note: When she has finished eating a shrimp or crab, which she always eats in her den, she will bring all the shells out and deposit them for pick up (by us) in a specific corner of her tank. She has kept all the shells from the clams in her den, however.

 

[ant]

I dont think that they will eat if their not hungry but theirs food in the tank(correct me if im wrong) Maybe some octos are different. IMO i think to see if shes still hungry just put in another shrimp or whatever.

NOTE: I dont have an octo yet but im workin on it.Thats just a logical theroery(sp)

 

[Nancy]

First of all, I have no idea how big a bait shrimp is. Being inland, I have only the seafood market and its categories of large, extra large, etc.

Ollie was bigger than Alice is now, and she often ate two good sized shrimp with maybe even a fiddler crab thrown in. If Alice sill seems to be hungry,you might offer her more food to see what happens. Many of us leave some things in the tank (like crabs or live shrimp) so that the octo can free feed a bit.

Nancy

 

[joel_ang]

I find that cephs usually are full when they only eat if the prey/food is very close to it, if its far away , it won't really chase it.

 

[Colin]

the biggest problem with overfeeding is that sometimes they start to eat something and then hide/stash/leave it somewhere in the tank that you cant see it.. then it rots and fouls the water

i prefer to feed little and often

 

[Nancy]

Feeding smaller amounts often worked for me, too. I never gave my recently deceased bimac, Ollie, all her food at once. I could then see immediately when Ollie didn't want another piece of shrimp, and could remove it. Sometimes she would take a piece of shrimp, eat a few bites, and then hand back the remainder to me!

Nancy