Being able to Identify ife on Mars (or elsewhere) IS a major question posed by many scientists. Identification is only the tip of the unknown ice burg with the Octopus classification. If you look at the species naming of most common animals you will see that it has changed multiple times, often falling in and out of the "vulgaris" species identification. Octopus used to be THE genus but relatively recently, we have added new genus names, Abdopus being one of them.
Yes, three months would be too long for an acclimation personality change. We do see stages of behaviors but diurnal to nocturnal would not be one of them. It is possible to train crepuscular animals to interact in the early evening (or predawn morning) with regular feeding and attention but truly nocturnal animals have been a big disappointment to many. Sadly, she may be about to lay eggs. Since she has been in the aquarium for 3 months, there is only a small chance the eggs would be fertile and, sadly, no chance that any will survive if she has already mated and retained the sperm. I do remember reading that there was one Abdopus species that laid large eggs but the majority have the small, pelagic hatchlings that we (the collective professional and hobbyist we) have not been successful at captive rearing.
Yes, each animal adventure is different and should be enjoyed for the experience. Some experiences are more interactive than others. Sometimes it is the species but the best times are because of the individual animal.
Yes, three months would be too long for an acclimation personality change. We do see stages of behaviors but diurnal to nocturnal would not be one of them. It is possible to train crepuscular animals to interact in the early evening (or predawn morning) with regular feeding and attention but truly nocturnal animals have been a big disappointment to many. Sadly, she may be about to lay eggs. Since she has been in the aquarium for 3 months, there is only a small chance the eggs would be fertile and, sadly, no chance that any will survive if she has already mated and retained the sperm. I do remember reading that there was one Abdopus species that laid large eggs but the majority have the small, pelagic hatchlings that we (the collective professional and hobbyist we) have not been successful at captive rearing.
Yes, each animal adventure is different and should be enjoyed for the experience. Some experiences are more interactive than others. Sometimes it is the species but the best times are because of the individual animal.
Abdopus eggs seem to take 10-14 days to hatch. She may have laid them (even if infertile) about the time she stopped coming out. I am not aware of any known elevated chemical levels associated with laying or even decaying of eggs as they are quite small.
