posthumous care

[Minuano]

i dont currently own an octopus right now, but im curious as to what the proper way to take care of a dead octopus is. and this might be useful later

 

[tonmo]

Arguably our greatest TONMO member and staffer ever, @DWhatley (who sadly passed away one year ago this week), had taken to freezing one of the octos she kept, with the idea it could be donated to science for further evaluation / confirmation on cause of death. This is useful if a) the life and death of the octopus is well-documented, and b) there's an interest or reason in confirming cause of death, or anything else related to the specimen.

Otherwise, it's likely a simple burial of some sort; I know some members have dug a small grave, for example. I suppose other methods are standard as with other fish, (e.g., garbage, toilet). Maybe even a return to the sea if that can be arranged.

I'd be interested in learning of first-hand experiences as well.

 

[Minuano]

Arguably our greatest TONMO member and staffer ever, @DWhatley (who sadly passed away one year ago this week), had taken to freezing one of the octos she kept, with the idea it could be donated to science for further evaluation / confirmation on cause of death. This is useful if a) the life and death of the octopus is well-documented, and b) there's an interest or reason in confirming cause of death, or anything else related to the specimen.

Otherwise, it's likely a simple burial of some sort; I know some members have dug a small grave, for example. I suppose other methods are standard as with other fish, (e.g., garbage, toilet). Maybe even a return to the sea if that can be arranged.

I'd be interested in learning of first-hand experiences as well.

the ink wouldn’t do anything bad to the soil?

 

[tonmo]

I suppose it depends on what purpose the soil serves, but anything likely to be contaminated by ink would also be impacted by the carcass itself! Generally, it's a biodegradable corpse.

 

[Minuano]

I suppose it depends on what purpose the soil serves, but anything likely to be contaminated by ink would also be impacted by the carcass itself! Generally, it's a biodegradable corpse.

if i were to freeze it, is there a specific way i do it or do i just put it in a freezer?

 

[tonmo]

You could use a ziplock bag or a mason jar, perhaps after wrapping it in parchment paper.

 

[pkilian]

Depending on where you are located and where your animal is from I would recommend against putting the animal back into the ocean. While extremely unlikely, there's always a tiny chance the dead animal is a pregnant female and you could somehow accidentally release a non-native species into your local waterways, and you don't want to be responsible for that. I would recommend freezing any carcasses of non-native animals.

 

[tonmo]

ah, great call!

 

[Hadla]

I have some of mine wrapped in paper towels inside a plastic bag in my freezer along with multiple mantis shrimp… couldn’t bring myself to just throw them away.