[Octopus]: Unidentified Flying Octopus & Baby Cuttlefish

[sedna]

"It works 'til it doesn't" is always what we say about mixing fish and cephalopods. Sorry for your loss, it's a hard way to go. At least your octopus is doing well!

 

[Hahmlet]

"It works 'til it doesn't" is always what we say about mixing fish and cephalopods. Sorry for your loss, it's a hard way to go. At least your octopus is doing well!

Thanks, yeah I'm going in with the mindset that everything else in my tank is supposed to be potential food for my octopus. It's just that she only went for the biggest and most expensive fish I have.

I have a smaller yellow eye kole tang that she does not seem to bother for some reason. I immediately got myself another smaller white tail kole tang. Let's see if size matters.

 

[Hahmlet]

1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 57 - 27 May 2023

• 2 in the main tank. Last spotted 26 May.
• I let the one in the breeder box out into the main tank. It didn't eat for over 2 days, and I couldn't figure out what it was, but I figured it would have a better chance out of the breeder box.

2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 27 - 27 May 2023

• Total 24 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, 25th -1)
• Refugium 19 fries
• Breeder box 5 fries
• I feed the fries twice a day and they eat about 1/3 to almost the whole rili shrimp body except for the head.
• It seems like only 3 of them really eating well. The other 2 might only be eating shrimplets or less often.

Octopus Day 16 - 27 May 2023

• Ok.... maybe she is an algae octopus.
• Actually, all her different colors and actions vs. my previous algae octopus can be explained if she's going through senescence.
• Not eating.
• Only coming out at night.
• Grey coloration.
• I just took this picture, exactly the same spot and pose as my previous girl the day before she started eating her own arms and passed away a few days later. I believe it is not normal for octopus to stay in a pose where their suckers aren't latched on to anything.

 

[Hahmlet]

1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 59 - 29 May 2023

• 2 in the main tank. Last spotted 29 May.
• I noticed that the fry who is in the main tank for 2 months now is sort of detecting food with his arms out.
• At 0:17 you can see the fry caught a peppermint shrimplet and eats it.
• The big boy who was in the breeder box is right next to him in the video on the sand bed next to the pulsing xenias. First time spotting them together.
• 0:29 the peppermint shrimplets sticking on the glass.
• 1:27 the big boy zoomed in. The big boy didn't seem excited about the peppermint shrimplets. They may be too small for him to eat.

2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 29 - 29 May 2023

• Total 24 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1)
• Refugium 19 fries
• Breeder box 5 fries
• I starved them a bit and fed 5 rili shrimp to the breeder box, and 4 of them hunted immediately. Seems just one of them is not a go-getter

Octopus Day 18 - 29 May 2023

• She's coming out every night, but her arms are curling up, hanging around weird spots around the tank at night.
• Unlike my previous algae octopus who had a quick senescence, this girl seems to be deteriorating slowly.

 

[Hahmlet]

1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 61 - 31 May 2023

• 2 in the main tank. Last spotted 31 May.
• I see the big boy also doing the same thing now, using his "antennae" detecting for food along the rocks.

2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 31 - 31 May 2023

• Total 24 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1)
• Refugium 19 fries
• Breeder box 5 fries
• I probably have much less fries in refugium, only able to spot 1~2 at a time now.
• Also more amphipods are spotted as well, with lesser fries.
• At least 4 fries in the breeder box are healthy and feeding well.

Octopus Day 20 - 31 May 2023

• My algae octopus girl in senescence always starts off the night by going to a corner for 1~2 hours in very pale colors, curling and distorting her arms with her suckers showing.
• After that she will come back to her natural brown color and roam a little bit. During this time she looks almost fine, even her arms.
• This has been going on for over a week now.

 

[tonmo]

It's interesting - I don't think senescence goes "on and off" like that. It might be hard to isolate the cause here given all the tank activity... but it might not be senescence!

 

[Hahmlet]

It's interesting - I don't think senescence goes "on and off" like that. It might be hard to isolate the cause here given all the tank activity... but it might not be senescence!

I hope so! I suppose she could be a different nocturnal species, and taking longer to adjust to the tank, hence the arm curling and showing of suckers.

Last night she took a clam immediately and ate it for very long. It was late so I had to sleep without waiting to take the leftover clam out. This morning I can't find the leftovers, but I feel she may have eaten most of it this time, and the CUC probably took care of the rest.

 

[Hahmlet]

1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 63 - 2 June 2023

• 2 in the main tank. Last spotted 2 June.
• Spotted both together last night. Dropped rilishrimp into the main tank. The smaller one took the shrimp, but the bigger one did not. Hope he's just not taking rili shrimp anymore. He does seem less active and just staying in one spot whenever I spot him.

2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 33 - 2 June 2023

• Total 24 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1)
• Refugium 19 fries
• Breeder box 5 fries

Octopus Day 22 - 2 June 2023

• Coming out every night for awhile now and for the past 3 nights, she took the clam and ate some.
• She also grabbed my hand and grinded her beak on it quite hard.

 

[sedna]

Your posts are great, and make me feel lazy! I agree that you have a nocturnal species and not an algae octopus. They are so difficult to ID, but your notes on behavior point to something nocturnal.

 

[Hahmlet]

Your posts are great, and make me feel lazy! I agree that you have a nocturnal species and not an algae octopus. They are so difficult to ID, but your notes on behavior point to something nocturnal.

Thanks! Their appetite is also very different. My previous algae octopus could eat twice a day if I would feed her. The current girl eats once every 1~2 days and not much each meal.

1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 66 - 5 June 2023

• 1 in the main tank. Last spotted 5 June.
• Big boy didn't make it. He died last night. I saw his lifeless body in a corner.
• I never saw him hunt anything in the tank, despite seeing him almost every night. While I have seen the other fry hunting.
• The other one has also been taking rili shrimp that I drop next to him every time I spot him.
• The big boy was mostly white and still in a corner, while the other one was brownish and well camouflaged looking around for food.
• So it wasn't a breeder box related water quality or stress issue.
• It wasn't a food issue I think, since it should have hunted and eaten in the main tank like the other fry.
• I suspect it may be over feeding. It just stopped eating one day after eating 4-5 rili shrimp a day for a few days in a row.
• I also noticed how fries would puff up right after eating and would get visibly smaller when their stomach is empty. The big boy however stayed big and puffy, so maybe there were some indigestion or constipation issues.
• For my 5 fries in the breeder box, 2 rili shrimp a day seems just right. I will feed them on a strict schedule twice a day and no more.

2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 36 - 5 June 2023

• Total 23 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1, Wk5 -1)
• Refugium 18 fries - found a floating cuttle bone today.
• Breeder box 5 fries

Octopus Day 25 - 5 June 2023

• Came out tonight but refused clam.