RE: zeus the octopod

[elusya]

We finally got our octopod last night... and he put on the most amazing display for us. Once he go acclimatized to the water he swooshed into the tank, and began exploring all the different rocks, as well as changing vibrant colors and textures to match all of them, from brilliant red, to hot pink, to green to white (the most amazing sight!! he's our first!!!)

problem is we don't have an idea what kind he is..he doesn't have the eye markings of a bimac... all the info we could get is that he might have been captured in the indian ocean, doesn't mind daylight, is friendly and likes warm water..we were excited that he didn't just go hide in a cave...his mantle is about 1 1/2" and when he is fully stretched out is about 6".....i'm including pics as well..
it would be great to figure, seeing as we don't know if he is an adult and what he loves to eat!!!

 

[tonmo]

That's a big octo!! I'm sure someone here will be able to help ID him.

Have you added your tank to our OCTO database? (I gotta work on linking those up with member profiles... )

Thanks for posting those great pics!

 

[elusya]

re:zeus

thanks tonmo
we haven't added our tank..should do that...


i wonder, are any young octopus that big??? or should we just assume he is an adult?

 

[Colin]

Hi

yep ive had that species before on at least two ocassions and i beleive it to be octopus aculeatus, look back for my posts on that species.

They are very active and will soon settle into being hand fed.

They dont grow much bigger than the one you have now and most are caught off the shores of Bali

Cheers
C

 

[elusya]

RE:zeus

colin,

wow hand fed...
talk about getting lucky the first time around...and active...

is there any way we can tell his roundabout age?
and we have hermit crabs in the tank right now as wll as some damsels...he has already munched on one of the crabs,
but in your experience what are some tasty treats for aculeatus' s
..i saw on a past post you were feeding them caught shrimp and crabs? will any type do? wanna reward him for the awesome color displays....

 

[Colin]

Sad news is that is about as big as its gonna get, maybe a bit more but not much.

One of the sad facts about cephalopod keeping is that many species are short lived and adulthood may only be at a mantle length of an inch or two and a year old at most. Sad but true I'm afraid...

Please watch out for the damsels, it has been known for them to attack octos! I'd remove them if you can

Also, any crab will do as a reward, they dont seem fussy.. as long as its fresh and preferabky alive! All are nice to an octo

good luck
C

 

[elusya]

re:zeus

uh oh..they are fast,those damsels..
any way zeus will eat them? they are the same size as him..slightly smaller..
i have heard that octopods will eat anything..which is why we got the damsels to help cycle the tank. being under the impression they will be eaten..i guess that was a bit of misinformation..

i have seen posted here that people use mollies..guess we will know for next time... hmmmm

 

[cthulhu77]

A friend of mine was actually attacked by damselfish off of the coast of the Yucatan a couple of years ago...heard her shrieking and slapping at the water while we were all snorkeling (nope, didn't see any octos, but did bump into a large barracuda) and low and behold! There were over a hundred large damsels launching themselves at her feet (no swim fins)...turns out she had metallic nails done that day in town...they must have thought it was a smorgasboard!!!
They didn't do any real damage, but she did have some bloody spots...they are aggressive little critters!
Greg

 

[elusya]

Re: zeus battling the damsels

so we got home and the damsel fish were definately bugging him...we managed to take all three out and zeus is happy as can be exploring his new home...and munching hermit crabs..

thanks for all the info everyone.

 

[Melissa]

Greg, that story about your friend attracting aggressive fish is scary and funny!

Vacation plans are in the making, and the choices are narrowed down to the Yucatan, New Zealand, and Brazil/Argentina/Chile. Now I know not to bother with a manicure before leaving.

Melissa

 

[alfordap]

I have had many damsels in the many years of keeping marine aquariums and I have never had a damsel that didn't attack me when I put my hand in the tank. My most aggressive one to date was a domino that would attack me every time I put my hand in. Even if I chased him like I was going to catch him he wouldn't back down. They are strange fish.

 

[J.Scott]

I have a long armed Octo very similar to yours. Each arm is around 12" for the record. I tentatively call mine a O. defilippi, as some specimens from the same shipment were carrying eggs in their arms. Although I must confess I'm not sure, which is often the way with Octo ID. Anyway it is quite active during the day, and was hand feeding within a few days. I normally feed it live shrimp, frozen cockle & prawn. Mine does a bit of digging, especially around and under rocks. It has superb camouflage, about the best I've seen

BTW
If you thought damsels were bad, their close relatives the Clown fish can be even worse. Normally they only bite when they have spawned and defending their eggs. A few years ago I had one that was so aggressive it would bite as soon as you put your hand in the aquarium, even though it was not spawning. The bite was painful, as each bite would draw blood!

J.Scott

 

[Colin]

has to be the same species? What do you think J?

 

[dabest]

Hi,

This has to be the same species as Zeus !
Yours has the same tufts coming out above each eye, and they look
exactly alike..

does yours have a fascination with the edge of the water at the top
of the tank ?

How ofter do you feed your guy ?
Zeus was eating a hermit crab a day, but yesterday he ate 3 .
We want him to be well fed, but not overeating..

Thanks for posting the photo..