Puddles is a male
After 3+ months I can finally say Puddles is a male. He does not carry his hectocotylized arm curled but does curl the tip differently than the other arms. Close observation (and finally seeing him in a little bit of white light) shows the modified tip (ligula) of the third arm to the right (which is in itself hard to find because of the constant arm motion of this species). This is one of the short arms of the species and I think it is the shortest of the eight. I am not sure whether this means the species is not particularly cannibalistic or if it guarantees nutrition for the female. Both my female and my male were/are extremely passive animals in the aquarium.
The photos are hand held and the one that would best show the ligula is out of focus but if you look carefully you can see one tip that is held at a bend rather than curled in a loop. The last one shows the difference the best and you can almost tell that the tip is blunt and not a fine point like the other arms.
He was out with the under stair lights on and stayed out when I turned on the overhead lights again tonight but was not happy with the flash (but still did not retreat) and his color is very dull (he has never shown the bright red of Beldar). This combined with his lack of interest in food and lack of growth since arrival make me I think we are entering senescence. Males tend to be more interactive a this time so I am hoping that he will continue to interact and will be with me for a few more months.
He also did an odd thing tonight. There is a cowrie in his tank that has been there for months (I don't remember for sure but I think it was there before he was introduced) and he has never paid any attention to it. Tonight it was on the front glass and Neal noticed he kept going over to it and touching it. I kept an eye on the process for several hours since one member reported that cowries can slim a tank badly if they feel threatened. Eventually the cowrie moved on and once off the front glass, Puddles ignored it but I will check again later tonight.
After 3+ months I can finally say Puddles is a male. He does not carry his hectocotylized arm curled but does curl the tip differently than the other arms. Close observation (and finally seeing him in a little bit of white light) shows the modified tip (ligula) of the third arm to the right (which is in itself hard to find because of the constant arm motion of this species). This is one of the short arms of the species and I think it is the shortest of the eight. I am not sure whether this means the species is not particularly cannibalistic or if it guarantees nutrition for the female. Both my female and my male were/are extremely passive animals in the aquarium.
The photos are hand held and the one that would best show the ligula is out of focus but if you look carefully you can see one tip that is held at a bend rather than curled in a loop. The last one shows the difference the best and you can almost tell that the tip is blunt and not a fine point like the other arms.
He was out with the under stair lights on and stayed out when I turned on the overhead lights again tonight but was not happy with the flash (but still did not retreat) and his color is very dull (he has never shown the bright red of Beldar). This combined with his lack of interest in food and lack of growth since arrival make me I think we are entering senescence. Males tend to be more interactive a this time so I am hoping that he will continue to interact and will be with me for a few more months.
He also did an odd thing tonight. There is a cowrie in his tank that has been there for months (I don't remember for sure but I think it was there before he was introduced) and he has never paid any attention to it. Tonight it was on the front glass and Neal noticed he kept going over to it and touching it. I kept an eye on the process for several hours since one member reported that cowries can slim a tank badly if they feel threatened. Eventually the cowrie moved on and once off the front glass, Puddles ignored it but I will check again later tonight.
sorry
sweet little baby!
