chaostheory;121208 said:
I'm 14 and new to the ceph addiction. I got a small octopus in a biocube for my birthday and the people at the store said it was a "pigmy", I was going to get a 75gal tank (which I haven't managed to get yet). She hasn't grown much during the time I had her so I knew that I wouldn't need a tank to soon. But during interaction she mistook a piece of food for my finger so I stuck the handle of a net in her tentacles and she grabbed that and was getting aggravated and I saw that she had the blue ring pattern. Needles to say, I'm not going to hand feed her anymore.
Even though I didn't know that she was a blue ring, I kept her water quality perfect for her and made sure I did %15 water changes in the water.
She is happy and well.
Oh yeah, I thought of pictures but then I couldn't find the cord to hook up the camera to the computer. I'll let you all see her some other time.
Yike!
I'm glad you're OK!
That raises all sorts of concerns: please, of course, be really, really careful.
Although we're not aware of any casualties from blue-rings kept as pets, the potential for fast and lethal poisoning is very real. I would never advise keeping one in a room where anyone sleeps, and make very sure to keep out any pets, siblings, naive visitors, and anyone else who might get into the tank. I believe Roy Caldwell has a policy that in his lab, no one is to be in the room with the blue-ring tanks alone, ever.
If you are bitten, don't waste any time getting emergency attention: the primary symptom of the venom (TTX, Tetrodotoxin) is rapid onset muscular paralysis, to the point where the victim can't breathe and can't seek help. It's treatable if there is someone who notices and can call for an ambulance so the victim is on a breathing machine for a few days.
I'm sure you're attached to this octopus, but I want to point out that Mote, a professional aquarium, decided to euthanize an blue-ring that was donated to them because they didn't want to accept the risk of having the animal. At the very least, I would encourage you to demand your money back from the store, and make it very clear that selling this animal to anyone without properly identifying it and explaining the risks is homicidally negligent.
it sounds like you're pretty clear on the ID, but since I'm suggesting making a fuss, I suppose I should also make sure that it's not just two eyespots, it's blue rings all over the octopus that were flashed, right?
I also recommend Roy's article at
Death in a Pretty Package: The Blue-Ringed Octopuses - The Cephalopod Page if you need to convince anyone of the risks involved, but it sounds like you're pretty much aware of what this means, just unsure what to do about it, right?
edit: if you're comfortable with it, if you let us know where you're located, we might be able to help you find a local facility that is equipped to handle blue-rings safely, like Roy's lab in Berkeley. I wouldn't recommend mailing the animal to Roy, though, since lest a postal worker be bitten inadvertently.
edit2: I just read on an earlier thread that she bit your finger on the nail a few weeks ago! That's pretty concerning!