[Octopus]: Sir Octavius Spindlius - Abdopus Aculeatus

Mysti

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Feb 3, 2014
Messages
6
Location
Dallas, TX
So I got this little fella, whom I've named Sir Octavius Spindlius, from Odyssey Pets in Dallas TX on October 2nd. Took them a year to find what is supposed to be a pygmy or dwarf octopus since I have a small tank due to apartment living.

I think he's (or she if female) the greatest thing ever. But all the packaging said was "East Asia" and my roommate is itching to know what species he is exactly. So I'm posting here for ID help.

His default color seems to be black with a white stripe down his head or off white/tanish. But as masterful as he is with changing colors and textures its hard to say for sure.

First picture is from yesterday when he decided to wear black with white pocadots.

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Next two pictures was a few days earlier when he was yellow but still wearing the white stripe.

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He is all legs! His mantle/head is about the size of my thumb. But those legs can almost stretch from one end of tank to other. He's supposed to be tiny octopus. My biggest fear is he's going to outgrow the tank.

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He was missing two legs when I got him. Thankfully they are growing back nicely.

Thank you for the help!
 
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Best guess (strong possibility) is one of the animals in the Abdopus complex and very likely aculeatus. They are considered a medium sized octopus run to the smaller end but much larger than a dwarf. You don't mention your tank size but a 40 gallon or larger is suitable.

Searching TONMO forums by title for aculeatus brings up 4 pages of references that you may enjoy. Doing the same for only journals will let you read about other keepers' experiencs.
 
In spite of your posting shyness, I hope you will continue to journal you experience and, with your permission, I would like to retitle and move this thread to our journals.
 
In spite of your posting shyness, I hope you will continue to journal you experience and, with your permission, I would like to retitle and move this thread to our journals.

I've been posting his progress on FB. Been thinking of making his own FB page. But I 'll try to remember to post here as well! Please feel free to repost this wherever you deem best fit.
 
Best guess (strong possibility) is one of the animals in the Abdopus complex and very likely aculeatus. They are considered a medium sized octopus run to the smaller end but much larger than a dwarf. You don't mention your tank size but a 40 gallon or larger is suitable.

TY for your Octopus Knowledge! My roommate will really enjoy learning about Abdopus aculeatus! But sadly you've confirmed my worst fear. My tank is only 30gal.

Which i knew was small going into it this. But that's why I waited for pygmi/dwarf size to become available. I knew I could keep one of them in 30gal. And being a first time tank owner in an apartment I was afraid of going larger. Only aquatic pet I've had before this is Betta fish.

I'll keep close eye on him. I'm on great terms with the aquatic shop I got him from. It was their confidence in me and their knowledge and willingness to look out for me that got me this far. (Salt water tank keeper for 32months now!) I know they will help me out when Sir Octavius is going to need something else.
 
Hi Mysti,

Welcome to Tonmo.com!

I have to admit that I'm the one who told Mike that you must sign on to Tonmo and ask for an ID of your octopus, especially when I learned the size of your tank. I was concerned about you and your new friend, and I'm so glad you posted. I hope you will continue to post, because this will benefit you and
Sir Octavius, and we will enjoy reading your posts and seeing the photos.

Mike and I have been known each other for a long time, and he and his team help me out with tank maintenance and saltwater. So I was very interested
when he told me of a new octopus in Dallas. I have kept octopuses and have also co-authored a book on keeping Cephalopods in home aquariums, so it's obvious that I like octopuses.

Although he has long legs, Sir O. Is not really so large.

Good luck to you both!

Nancyocto
 
From your description, I suspect you do not have a sump (additional aquarium, usually underneath the tank that holds most of the filtration and usually contains between 10 and 30 gallons of additional water. Looking at your pictures, the animal does not appear cramped and is not likely to get (guessing here) considerably larger. HOWEVER, water quality is going to be something you will have to pay very close attention to and do far more frequently than with a larger display and a sump. If this tank has been active for over a year, you should have a good bacteria base but you will be significantly increasing the biologic load with the octopus. I would suggest 5 gallons twice a week and monitoring ammonia and nitrite with each water change (more frequently would be better initially as the ammonia converting bacteria will begin to increase over time, detection = immediate water change). I suggest (although many people frown on them) picking up a bottle of test strips that show nitrite. There are separate strips for ammonia that you test in a glass of tank water but they cannot be dipped into the tank. Both are deadly and you need to maintain them at a detectable level of zero. Nitrate, the end product of the ammonia->nitrite->nitrate cycle is a minor concern and the water change suggestion will actually keep it lower than most of our octopus tanks.
 
Nancy: I'm glad you had Mike remind me about Tonmo! It's a great resource. Almost a must have. Mike showed me your book, I would have bot one from him except he didn't have anymore to sell. It's still on my wish list.

Hopefully we'll run into each other sometime. Would be great to meet you. :smile:

DWhatley: you are correct I do not have a sump. But it has a three tier filtration system (live rock and filter with more rock and then pump) in the back. If you want to know the name of the tank I'll look it up when I get home. I've actually been thinking of making a video of it and the steps I took to octo-proof it.

But thank you for the great tip about the more frequent water changing! I've only been changing about 2.5 gal every two weeks. Will keep eye on it and if that isn't enough will definitely up the changing.

How can I tell if he's feeling cramped? Right now he seems to prefer to hang out in his home he made under a rock.
 
How can I tell if he's feeling cramped? Right now he seems to prefer to hang out in his home he made under a rock.
Good question! (a common expression used when the responder does not have a succinct answer :roll:). Stress (caused by poor water quality, pestering fish or shortage of space but also end of life senescence) will often be identified by rapid breathing and gray coloring, change of eating habits, refusing food and/or a change in "personality" (from active to in active or visa versa - the later often at senescence). At this point a personality change won't be obvious as there is almost always a change in action/interaction after the first month in captivity. I honestly have a problem deciding when to transfer a baby from its smaller grow up tank to its adult tank and gut feel is not a helpful guide for others. @Taollan 's latest summer intern vlog (see below - the release scenes are a fun watch) makes mention of octopuses forgetting to be octopuses in the tiny, crowded lab environment yet most survived the summer.

Your tank is about 25 gallons (10 for the display and 15 for the sump) smaller than I am comfortable with as a minimum but the photos suggest there is comfortable room for exploring (but not swimming but a 60+ would be needed for that). The water volume definitely concerns me the most for both water quality and oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange.

IMO once you have an octopus, it is not an option to return it to the pet store as most do not have facilities for keeping them. For the same reason, finding another home is not a viable solution. In most cases altering what you have (removing fish, adding live rock/dens or additional water changes) will be the best choices. These are short lived animals so, unless you have acquired a very young one, cycling a new, larger tank for this specific animal is impractical but something you may want to consider for future pets.

 

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