In case you missed it , Ken had three octopuses he asked me to post to see if someone would take them before the holiday shutdown. Two are briareus (nice small size) and one,
Ken is getting better about identifying octos in spite of himself and I volunteered to take the little guy. I was half hoping for a joubini just because I really have not kept one (other than an overnight post hatch female that I THINK was joubini). This little one is all mercatoris though. It has been almost a year (Wiley died December 23, 2008) since I have kept a merc so I need to go back and read Greg (GHolland)'s and my own journals as a refresher. This one is well formed and looks so tiny compared to the briareaus. It fit into my smallest barnacle shell during acclimation and my tank raised group used the large ones at 5 months so I am guessing 4-5 month and possibly not yet sexually mature (otherwise we have a female, no enlarged suckers and no curled arm but Medusa was a late blooming male so I won't stand on the missing signs yet but I will call it a her for convenience).
Neal wants to name her after one of the 7 dwarves but they were all male. He did suggest Sleepy's infamous cousin but I'll not name her Sleezy.
She got tired of me taking pictures after I released her to the tank and wandered off into the LR. I have not seen her since and have discovered that the switch is bad on her light. That we should be able to fix this weekend but I also failed to remember that I took the Skilter off the tank because (we have had 3 to do this) it was leaking at the pump connection and replacing the O ring does not solve the issue. Unfortunately, I will have to buy a fourth because it is the only filter and small skimmer that will fit the tank (it does a decent job on the 15 but the pump connection leak is a headache, I think I will try putting teflon tape on it this time). Needless to say my Xmas present is a new one (fortunately my brother and sister-in-law are furnishing the PH meter - at least I think they are - as a gift to both of us this year) but she will be fine for a couple of days with just water changes and an air stone.
looked like it was one of those pygmy type octopus rather than just a juvenile of some bigger species
Ken is getting better about identifying octos in spite of himself and I volunteered to take the little guy. I was half hoping for a joubini just because I really have not kept one (other than an overnight post hatch female that I THINK was joubini). This little one is all mercatoris though. It has been almost a year (Wiley died December 23, 2008) since I have kept a merc so I need to go back and read Greg (GHolland)'s and my own journals as a refresher. This one is well formed and looks so tiny compared to the briareaus. It fit into my smallest barnacle shell during acclimation and my tank raised group used the large ones at 5 months so I am guessing 4-5 month and possibly not yet sexually mature (otherwise we have a female, no enlarged suckers and no curled arm but Medusa was a late blooming male so I won't stand on the missing signs yet but I will call it a her for convenience).
Neal wants to name her after one of the 7 dwarves but they were all male. He did suggest Sleepy's infamous cousin but I'll not name her Sleezy.
She got tired of me taking pictures after I released her to the tank and wandered off into the LR. I have not seen her since and have discovered that the switch is bad on her light. That we should be able to fix this weekend but I also failed to remember that I took the Skilter off the tank because (we have had 3 to do this) it was leaking at the pump connection and replacing the O ring does not solve the issue. Unfortunately, I will have to buy a fourth because it is the only filter and small skimmer that will fit the tank (it does a decent job on the 15 but the pump connection leak is a headache, I think I will try putting teflon tape on it this time). Needless to say my Xmas present is a new one (fortunately my brother and sister-in-law are furnishing the PH meter - at least I think they are - as a gift to both of us this year) but she will be fine for a couple of days with just water changes and an air stone.