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Surprise! It's a Mimic!

I can assure you that octos can see through both acrylic and Plexiglas, and I don't have a reason to believe they cannot see through other kinds of plastic as well. I've done some interesting experiments with octopuses reaching through holes in acrylic sheets to grab crabs. The main motivator for their reaching behavior seems to be their internal state (hungry/satiated/agitated/etc.) so if your animal is eating every day, they will probably not be very motivated to "work" for their food, especially if they are used to hunting in their tank, rather than unscrewing jars.
 
I can assure you that octos can see through both acrylic and Plexiglas, and I don't have a reason to believe they cannot see through other kinds of plastic as well. I've done some interesting experiments with octopuses reaching through holes in acrylic sheets to grab crabs. The main motivator for their reaching behavior seems to be their internal state (hungry/satiated/agitated/etc.) so if your animal is eating every day, they will probably not be very motivated to "work" for their food, especially if they are used to hunting in their tank, rather than unscrewing jars.
Curious as to why this one has zero reactions to the crab in the plastic then? It is not averse to touching the plastic as it sat right on top of it the other day to eat but it shows zero interest (or even acknowledgement that there is a crab inside the plastic jar). Check out the first minute if this video when I add a glass jar to the tank with a crab (no lid, easy access).
 
What happens if you take the crab, spear it on a stick (ziptie or wooden skewer) and offer it to the octopus by gently rubbing the crab against its arm suckers? If the octopus shys away from the crab it's a sign they aren't interested in eating, and I highly doubt they would go for the crab if it is in a jar or not.

Typically I attribute a lack of prey-interest to the animal being full, rather than them not being able to find the prey.
 
What happens if you take the crab, spear it on a stick (ziptie or wooden skewer) and offer it to the octopus by gently rubbing the crab against its arm suckers? If the octopus shys away from the crab it's a sign they aren't interested in eating, and I highly doubt they would go for the crab if it is in a jar or not.

Typically I attribute a lack of prey-interest to the animal being full, rather than them not being able to find the prey.
Any time a crab is near her she typically grabs it. I don’t need to skewer them when she is actually hungry, she just needs to see it. Not discounting at all what you are saying but really curious as to why she completely ignores the crab in this and doesn’t even seem to be aware it is there. As you can see in the video I placed the jar right next to the plastic jar and she reacted immediately upon the crab moving (she saw it before that as well).
 
@pkilian , by the way, I really have no ideas rooted in any science on these guys as I have come across very little in the way of any studies or literature on them and what I have seen at times seems not just dated but also potentially inaccurate such as one article that had a photo of a Wunderpus in it. Everything I have observed here is simply conjecture based on anecdotal evidence from my now 16 day adventure with this Mimic.
 
I noticed that she did eliminate just before she became active. I have had several animals that would not eat until they emptied their digestive tract. However, she still did not eat but sort of made you think she was waiting to be fed. I did notice that she took a slight interest in the glass jar when the crab initially moved. I am wondering if she needs chemical cues to what is in the jar. What happens if you put a small piece of fish or shrimp that has been left out a bit (ie has some odor) in WITH the crab.
 
Hi Dave! We connected over on Octonation on Facebook, and Tony gave me a heads-up that you had a diary over here. Happy to chat here about my experiences with this species in my research lab.
Hey Robyn, your name looked familiar over there, glad you joined in! As you have worked with mimics before I was wondering if you had ever seen them go after a snail and dissolve the shell like the photo I posted earlier in this thread. Also, what knowledge might you have about their vision and how they hunt their food? I have noticed some odd behaviors in her that I am a bit stumped on.
 
I guess that as in common octopuses, mimics will also exhibit variation as far as hunting abilities go. Some octopuses are just better hunters I suppose...And some tend to eat A LOT more than others of more or less the same size...This, of course, probably has to do with their adaptability to aquarium conditions as well
 
Hi Dave,
I haven't seen the shell-chewing/dissolving thing you mentioned, sorry. I fed mine mostly live grass shrimp and the occasional hermit crab. They typically went for the grass shrimps immediately by enveloping them in the web. It's beautiful behavior - the whole body goes transparent and the mantle become extremely elongate and narrow, presumably to minimise the shadowing over the prey as the web comes over. As soon as the shrimp would tail-flip into the web the octopus would immediately flash its dark stripes. It was very cool to watch.
The other question you asked was about their vision - is this in relation to your animal's lack of interest in the confined crab? My impression is that their eyesight is comparable to any other species', but I also recall that most successful crab-in-jar trainings involve smearing the entire outer jar surface with fish or shrimp paste, which encourages exploration and often leads to incidental lid opening, and the animal learns the task by continued exploration driven by olfactory and not visual cues. I don't doubt the animal can see into the jar, but I suspect the correct combination of cues to prompt exploration are not there.
 
And I certainly don't want to hijack your thread, but here's a short video of one of the ones I had in my lab - this is shortly after shipping and in a small holding tank, but you can see the enthusiastic feeding behavior here well.

That video is pretty awesome! Mine shows zero interest in shrimp - she went into the jar last night and ate the two crabs that were in there but the shrimp that I put in the tank the other night is still hanging out and looking quite content.
 

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