[Octopus]: Pablo - O. Hummelincki First time First Octo

Just a quick note to say things seem to be OK so far. The main concern is that the ammonia spiked a little. It is two much of a jump from bits of bloodworms for the damsels to chunks of shrimp. I think I have it under control with 5 gal water changes and have not seen it go much above .25.

Pablo gets pretty active in afternoons and evenings and visiting more places in the aquarium. He touched my fingers 3 times over the last two days and I used D's strategy to be firm. Last night when I fed him he ignored the shrimp which was on the end of a stick and came up the edge to get at my fingers. After letting go he still ignored the shrimp. I was worried but I let he stick go and then he went for the shrimp. Maybe he was happy to have both the stick and the shrimp where as on previous feedings he would continue to tug on the stick and I would not let him have it. I offered a second helping but he did not take it so I fished it back out after a while. I guess its good if we do not need to be putting too much in right now. Maybe he is not a female with eggs which is also good.
 
The ammonia is a cycling issue that we try to warn people new to saltwater about. Octopuses are messy eaters and will stress an aquariums biological filtration. If a member joins early enough we stress cycling longer than when the standard tests show a cycle has occurred (a minimum of 3 months with heavy feeding is recommended). I suggest additional water changes often as any detectable ammonia is a bad sign and can kill the occupants. The heavy biological load of an octopus is another reason for a species only tank. Removing the fish will also help as well as adding clean up crew but you need to concentrate on keeping ammonia and nitrite to zero (nitrate, the end product of the ammonia->nitrite->nitrate cycle is far less of a concern). Your tank has minimal biological filtration (the live rock) so staying on top of water changes will be very, very important. The other rocks and substrate will slowly take on the needed bacteria (the more porous the better). After Pablo and before the next occupant, adding more live rock (and letting it cycle) will improve the environment for future residence (octopus or otherwise).

"Capture the feeding stick" is one of the "games" I failed to mention that we see in most octopuses. There are no good suggestions on why this seems to be universal. Occasionally we see other items that take their interest as well. LittleBit would take possession of my cleaning siphon, El Diablo had a toothbrush that he seem to covet and another animal (O. briareus) claimed the bulb of a turkey baster. I keep wanting to get a video of Shiitake taking her supper, casually attaching the offering to her suckers and slowly moving the food to her mouth while insisting on exploring my hand. Unfortunately she is still feeding when the lights are too dim to film her.
 
I wasn't suprised there was a problem but I did forget to check ammonia until 3 days into and I also forgot to stay on top of the skimmer. I got caught up in other issues like the octopus escaping, feeding and generally the new experience of having one.

We started checking out Tonmo even before we joined and from what I was reading it seemed like we were in for a long wait anyhow. It seems people aquiring them mail order and only if they are lucky to contact the right place at the right time. Back in July I tried calling a few places not intending to buy but just sampling to see if they actually had one and they did not. I wanted to see what i could expect but it seems its a matter of luck.

Pablo was a suprise and the instant I saw him I strong feeilngs running in opposite directions. However this was our plan and the tank was more then 3 months old and so momentum carried us forward.

Anyhow, I did a 5 gal change and then 10 more this evening. I have been comparing the samples to contols where you can see a slight difference. Otherwise, against the chart, it would be easy just to say its zero. I'll keep changing water keep it as low as possible.

But I am worried it was too high for him the past few days. Tonight he was not out. No one was home until after 9 and he was already in hiding. I was not planning to feed him anyhow so I did not try to coax him out. We'll see what tomorrow brings.
 
I definitely would like to see more biological filtration for your set up. After I posted I reviewed your tank and noticed you could help by adding more porous items. Live rock is (IMO) indispensable but anything porous will eventually culture bacteria. While you have an octopus, adding new live rock is not an option since it will need to cycle out the dead material but you can add dead rock (still a little risky) or other porous substrate (this would include man-made items, preferably made for aquariums to avoid toxicity). There would not be an immediate help but will slowly begin to help process the ammonia. Daily, smaller water changes will help keep the environment more stable than large ones as long as your ammonia AND nitrite show zero. PH and temperature changes are almost as stressful as traces of ammonia or nitrite so it is a balancing act. Keeping your new water in the same room as the tank overnight will help with the temperature match. I do this in the winter since my water mixing area is in the unheated garage. Some people use an aquarium heater if they mix in a colder environment but just keeping it in the same room overnight seems to work pretty well.

It looks like you may have a companion hummelincki to follow. I am not as confident with the species call but check out @MikeHoncho 's new classroom addition
 
I well definately work on the aquarium habitat in the future.

Pablos seems to have changed his habits. He has been staying in hiding much more. It is usually the very same place he chose his first night and at certain angle you can make eye contact with him and he reacts by either squinting or raising an eye bulge in a funny way. Even at the usual feeding time he may or may not come out.

Friday night he did not come out at all so I let him fast.

Saturday evening when I peered in at him he did come out to eat and he moved about the aquarium until sometime after 11pm. The next day you could tell he moved some furnature and positioned some rocks so that you can no longer make eye contact. But usually we can at least see an arm and a mass. Occasionally this spot appears empty so its possible he is in another place altogether completely hidden or tucks himself in enough to be hidden.

Sunday night he did not come out to meet us. He did come out when we put food in and he stayed out again until fairly late. He moved around and explored but did not take any opportunities to interact. He did ink suddenly as he was reaching out for the shrimp on a stick. I am not sure what triggered it and it was the first time I had seen it but he does seem less bold then the first few days. We had a water changed staged so after he took the shrimp I proceeded with the change and was able to vacuum up some of the threads of ink. I actually fed him a second piece which he took. I have not tried a whole shrimp yet not wanting to push the system any more then necessary.

At the moment (Monday evening) I cannot see him in his spot and no where to be seen anywhere else. I think I will let him fast again unless he comes out and acts hungry, like he is trying to get my attention.

Since Saturday morning we ammonia levels have been zero. We have been doing water changes daily but I am considering reducing that a little while keeping an eye on the ammonia. Nitrite has not been a problem so far.
 
After two weeks and a few days having an octopus around almost seems like a normal thing. It's also starting to seem as if he likes us too. Most of the day he stays in hiding. But if we make eye contact with him he may come out if it is later in the afternoon. Usually by evening he is out roaming around on his own. Some evenings he dances all over the front of the aquarium until we feed him. Usually we feed him about half a shrimp and if much more then we may not see him at all the next day.

We've improved our flashless photography though still not great. Here are some more pictures of Pablo:

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LOL, It does seem quite strange to find keeping an octopus normal. We notice an empty tank even after keeping one that is very nocturnal and/or reclusive. I am not sure what is so endearing about them but I suspect it has something to do with the way the eyes effect our empathy.
 
I like the way their (Pablo's) eye bulge sort of extends when they seem interested in something going on outside the tank. Its very expressive.

I put three live clams in for Pablo this afternoon. He came out for a moment just to see what was going on. I guess it was a different sound with the clam shells clinking against the side of the tank. I left them in a mesh bag until certain they were still alive. Pablo did not bother with a closer look but went back to bed and we did not see him again. We fed him a whole shrimp yesterday and must not be at all hungry this evening. With siphons out the clams seem very happy for the time being.
 
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Pablo was out mid day yesterday and ate all three clams. I noticed after he had opened the first and was just sitting there with the second clam in his arms. He must have been in process of consuming the first. After several minutes he repositioned the clam and began to strain. The clam opened a little and then much wider and then finally opened flat. Watching I thought of the trick where a strong man rips a phone book in half. And then, sitting on top Pablo did a funny dance which I am not sure is related to feeding. I might have caught a glimpse of him doing it before. He very rapidly twirled all eight arms at the same time in a way that gives one the jitters to watch. It could be a happy dance if there is such a thing but it is also consistent with what animals can do if they are irritated by something, trying to shed parasites, a layer of skin, or something.

Here you can see the tentacles in motion:
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I never saw him eat the third clam. He went back to his den before taking it but had evidently returned at some point to retrieve because the clam was gone when I looked in later. Three clams did not satisfy completely. he was out begging for more food that evening.
 
LOL, I don't remember a multiple clam meal from any of mine but I do recall O. hummelincki to like clams the most of the species I have kept. It may be that their arms are stronger for forcing the mussel open.

The arm twirl is mentioned in numerous posts and there is no definitive explanation but is often called grooming behavior. Sometimes they will even put an arm inside their mantle and cleaning may be one of the functions. The do shed the lining of their suckers but you will see small white/clear disks with center holes floating about when this occurs. I do think they sometimes this is done when their skin feels "itchy" but that is only an impression (I also think some of the interaction I have had is akin to using my hand as a scratching post). I was able to catch it on video with SueNami (O. briareus) as a newly acclimated animal (note the brittle start in the upper left corner. SueNami starts the action when it touches his webbing).
 
Thanks about the trilobite. It is a mortar cast of the original that has cured a long time, much of the time outside in the garden. There is a lot more populating my garden. It would be a dream come true for me to sit in the back yard on a giant trilobite so I am always glad to see Pablo on his.

We gave him three more clams Friday. The clams happened to be larger this time. Pablo responded quickly to the first and appeared to be concentrating on opening it. Something happened outside the tank that may have offended him. I think the reaction of one of us spectators when realizing their device had no memory to film. He suddenly decided to gather the other two clams and shuffled with all three back to his spot in the rear of the tank. It was disappointing to watch him leave it was something to laugh at too because it was obviously clumsy to maneuver all three clams. He seemed grumpy to be leaving and grumpy that his exit was more comical than dramatic.

However, I could see by the next day that he was not making the same progress getting through them. When I saw one was abandoned I pulled it out and put it in the front were it would be content to put its siphon out. I removed the second clam Sunday and could see that he had not even opened the first. By Sunday evening I decided to distract him with a piece of shrimp while I got enough of a grip on the one he was clutching it get it loose. He must have been hungry at that point. I put the clams in the sump for now. When he is out later I plan to open a clam before offering it to him.

Anyhow, what are the chances that he would have opened it eventually? I was fearing that he was simply going to long with out food and if I left the clams in he would just hoard them preventing them from filter feeding.

Back to the size of the clams, the first batch he opened easy enough. The second I am sure are stronger. They may be just about double in volume. But still he could just about hide one completely within his mantle.
 
I think I would leave one in the tank with Pablo but offer alternate food (even if he eats it). Fortunately, clams that die (unlike other mussels, shrimp or crab) don't negatively impact a tank much so I have come to not worry about them.

We have seen two different acclimation feeding reactions. One is that they eat more than would be normal for them and then taper back as they adjust to aquarium life, the other is not eating at all for a few days. The only caveat is for female about to brood who will consume almost as much as you will offer before laying eggs and stop eating altogether. The first scenario seems to have the best outcome but each animal is different and I am never comfortable until they have survived two full weeks (IME, it takes about a month to fully acclimate to tank life) and Pablo has made that target the rest of your experience will have to do with his/her sex, age and personality :biggrin2:

Each animal is a little different (sometimes a lot different) so we can only speak in very general terms but recording what you experience is helpful for both others as well as yourself if you continue to keep octopuses.
 
Wow a month already! it has been four weeks since he left his critter carrier and set up house keeping! time is flying by. Thanks for pointing that out.

The next big mile stone is going out of town next week for six days next week. A friend will be checking on him. She is a biologist too and loves Pablo so I feel like he will be in good hands. Maybe I can make her into a Ceph Head.
 
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