Sedona - O.mycropyrus

[Joe-Ceph]

NUTS! I'm sorry to hear it.
Very few people have kept this species, and so you were a bit of an intrepid explorer to begin with. Good try.

 

[SabrinaR]

NUTS! I'm sorry to hear it.
Very few people have kept this species, and so you were a bit of an intrepid explorer to begin with. Good try.

I had the thought of ordering from the same supplier as I did before in the hopes that I would get another one. I wouldnt recommend them to anyone because they are dishonest but they did supply an octopus we dont see often which makes me think about trying again.

 

[DWhatley]

Sebrina,
The little ones don't live very long and with the mercatoris, they often would start coming out more and even during the day near the end of their natural lives. The mark on her mantle may have been a sign of aging instead of damage.

I see that Jenn already mentioned this possibility. Great minds ...

 

[Joe-Ceph]

Your having a California lilliput octopus has peaked my interest in this species, which is local to me, and yesterday while I was at the beach collecting live food for my baby bimac (a giant compared to Sedona) I couldn't resist digging through a kelp hold-fast that was ripped up and washed ashore by recent storms here in So Cal. I didn't find a lilliput, which is good, because I'm leaving for a week tomorrow, and I couldn't have taken one home. Maybe I'll try again.

Thanks for the measurements. lilliputs are unbelievably small. I'm drawn to the novelty of it, but the decision to get a nocturnal octopus with a mantle the size of a nickle is almost silly. You did it by accident and necessity; but I would have no excuse.

 

[SabrinaR]

Do we know if they are cannibalistic?

I had thought about either asking you to catch a few for me or trying to order a few from that guy at -the store which will remain nameless- so that I might get another one or two or so. If they arent as cannibalistic as others I had hoped to be able to keep a few together like we do the mercs. Of course the problem with this guy is I may order 3 and end up with a baby GPO or something. And while cool as hell we all know that would end up being very bad for everyone involved unless I could donate to a local aquarium.

You are right about the size. Watching her was amazing. You may think its silly but I will tell you, I LOVED how small she was. While somewhat of a novelty just to see her was amazing and I loved it for the short time I had her/got to enjoy her.

It was a frustrating and confusing time for me but I wouldnt change a thing... except maybe having a red light sooner lol.

I am currently looking for another dwarf octopus. I feel the count down is on for Isis as she is behaving in an odd maner by not excepting food from me.

Not keeping an octopus for the time I did after HP died was a really depressing time in the house and I dont look forward to that at all.

One other thing I will add... I never kept a lid on this tank. I had about a 4 or 5 inch gap between the water and the edge of the tank and we never had any escape attempts that I am aware of. I know that in another post someone said they read that they are escape artists but I never had a problem with Sedona.

 

[Joe-Ceph]

I'm likely to have a lot of trouble finding any because I have to wait until a storm tears up kelp hold-fasts, then I have to find them before the tide leaves them high and dry for too long, then I have to tear the kelp hold-fast apart and find a well camouflaged octopus the size of a dangley earring, without hurting it in the process. Maybe every kelp hold fast is filthy with the things, but I wouldn't bet on my ever finding one.
I'll bet that if you ask that supplier for a local pacific octopus with a head bag no larger than an inch, you'll either get a baby bimac, a lilliput, or the dwarf that D mentioned. He must have some local people in Mexico collecting wild animals. Tell him that the tiny octopus can be found in kelp roots washed up after a storm, or in small shells. If he can get one he can probably get more, and if you end up with one of the other species I mentioned, you might not mind. GPO's don't live in southern california or mexico, so don't worry about that.

BTW. The water temp in San Diego right now is probably about 63 degrees, and gets up to about 70 for a few weeks in the summer, so if you get one of these, you might need a chiller (but I suspect nobody knows). The water is usually a little colder and the temp is more stable at 40 to 90 feet deep where kelp roots are, than it is in the shallow tidepools where you find bimacs.

Cannibalistic? Who knows? Somewhere between nobody and almost nobody has ever kept any of these, so that might make you the Tonmo authority on this species. Maybe some scientist kept them and wrote something down, but I can't find a reference to any such paper with Google.

 

[Lmecher]

Oh no! I have been busy with the holidays and have not been checking the threads. I know how much you loved her. This is sad.

Good night Sedona

 

[SabrinaR]

Oh no! I have been busy with the holidays and have not been checking the threads. I know how much you loved her. This is sad.

Good night Sedona

Thank you, It is rather sad. Just as I was starting to figure her out she was gone.

I have noticed that when I spoke about him being stong and interesting he was a him.... but once she was damaged, and dying she was a she, fragile and delicate and capable of being taken away. Its very interesting to me as I reread the last few weeks of this thread that I did this completely subconsciously.

I have been doing more searching on my mycropyrus and found that they are also spelled micropyrus. Apparenty Roy had one back in 2007 but he didnt post much about it, only that it was very small and didnt look red or white and that it wouldnt even come out at night.

From reading this I believe that Sedona was at the end of her life and thus that is the only reason I was able to see her. It would make sense that her mantel became damaged because of her going through senescent and was either damaged by a crab or rock or something else.


http://www.tonmo.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-8234.html

 

[Nancy]

So sorry about your loss. RIP Sedona

Nancy