[Octopus]: Puddles - Callistoctopus aspilosomatis ?

Final Photo

Puddles did not make it through the day. I am not sure when he passed on as Neal saw him still on the glass this AM. I finally found him in the back by the Koralia (and expect that is why the tip of his right front arm is missing but that could be from predation).

When I pulled him he was completely white with a streak of red on the mantle. I have mentioned how hard they are to handle when they die and he slipped through my fingers when I was taking his final photo and dropped about 4 inches, mantle first. The effect was to instantly generate the color as you see it in the photo. Additional manipulation did not change the coloring and I don't know if it will hold through the formalin process.

I am so going to miss this one :cry:
 

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Puddles Goes To School


Anyone following my journals might have noted that I preserve the octos I keep if they die in good physical condition. All have gone to young students for school or personal projects. My boss's 1st grader enjoys unusual animals (she named the food crickets but not the pet lizard she kept :biggrin2:) so I offered to send Puddles and he and his wife decided Allie might enjoy seeing an octopus even in a preserved state. Puddles toured the first grade and her brother shared him with the second so hopefully Puddles will plant an interest in the ocean somewhere in the mix.

 

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D, nice that Puddles can still interact with (well, sort of) and inspire people even after passing. Just looked back through the whole journal - what a cool octo. Now that we have our own house, I suppose I should stop putting off converting the tank that we bought a few years ago with an eye to eventual octo-keeping... :roll:
 
Puddles and his alter ego Beldar (female) were a pair of my favorites but now that I work during the day, their 3:00 AM play time is just not viable (I did eye the Live Aquaria offering that looked like it may be the same Macropus species but belayed any button pushing).

I wondered when you bought the house if a SW tank was part of the plan :biggrin2: (as I recall you decided that the mess/damage was not a good idea for an apartment). I wish you would look at the potential for a Gloomy as they seem like an interesting local species (may be too large though).
 
Puddle Goes to School

Allie's middle school has started a small science lab and Puddles has become one of the first exhibits. Her mother sent the photos along with a note that having an octopus was a big hit.
 

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