[Octopus]: Unidentified Flying Octopus & Baby Cuttlefish

"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!
 
"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. :laughing:

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.
 
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.

WhatsApp Image 2023-05-27 at 22.22.42.jpeg
 
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.
 
Last edited:
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. :thumbsup:

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.
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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. :sob:
  • 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.
 
1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 70 - 9 June 2023
  • 1 in the main tank. Last spotted 9 June.
  • Perhaps good health comes with some fasting as well, which is why this fry has live so long.
  • It is definitely a lot smaller than the big boy who passed on, and actually a similar size to the biggest fry in my breeder box from the 2nd batch.
Look at it hunting a rili shrimp I just put in. He expertly moves to the rear to attack right between the tail and mid-section from behind.
You can also see 2 out of the 5 fries in the breeder box eating shrimp I just fed them. 5 mins after the video, 4 of them were each sucking on a shrimp, while the 5th one did not eat until the shrimp died.

2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 40 - 9 June 2023
  • Total 23 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1, Wk5 -1)
  • Refugium 18 fries
  • Breeder box 5 fries
Octopus Day 29 - 9 June 2023
  • Coming out every night now, eating 1/3 of a clam every 2 out of 3 nights.
  • No more curled arms or wrapping arms around with suckers faced outwards for about a week now.
 
1st Batch Cuttlefish Day 72 - 11 June 2023
  • 1 in the main tank. Last spotted 11 June.
2nd Batch Cuttlefish Day 40 - 9 June 2023
  • Total 5 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1, Wk5 -1, Wk6 -18)
  • Refugium - did a refugium clean up, and rinsed the chaeto and bio rings. Did not find a single fry, and not even a single amphipod. I had not spotted a fry too for almost a week now. I think more than I noticed were probably caught and killed on the sponge and the rest should have starved as the amphipod population was probably decimated very quickly.
  • Breeder box 5 fries - At least 3 of them are eating very well. If I feed twice a day, the first meal 4 out of 5 will eat, and the second meal 3 out of 5 will eat. So I can't tell if one of them is not eating at all, while one eats one meal a day, or if 2 of them eats one meal a day only.
Cuttlefish Day 3 - 11 June 2023
  • My cute hippo(sepia bandensis) baby came in on Friday night. It's almost 3.5 inches so I think it's already fully grown.
  • After acting like a rock for 20 minutes, a peppermint shrimp caught its eye in between the rocks and it immediately attacked.
  • My 2 peppermint shrimp were caught and eaten right away.
  • I added a molly to the tank, but it can swim right by, and it does not care for it.
  • At night it moved next to my octopus's den and chilled there. The octopus came out and touched it with her arm, then retracted her arm and stayed still. The cuttlefish didn't seem to mind, except to move aside an inch when the octopus touched her.
  • They sat next to eat other for an hour until my octopus went around exploring.
  • Keeping a close eye on them, but so far so good. :love:
1.jpg



Octopus Day 29 - 9 June 2023
  • Looking healthier now. No signs of senescence, still not eating much.
 
1st Batch Cuttlefish Fry Day 75 - 14 June 2023
  • 1 in the main tank. Last spotted 14 June.
  • I will drop a rili shrimp next to it every other day to make sure it's eating.
2nd Batch Cuttlefish Fry Day 45 - 14 June 2023
  • Total 5 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1, Wk5 -1, Wk6 -18)
  • Breeder box 5 fries - They seem to be eating less except for just 2 of them now. I will decrease feeding from twice a day to once a day.
Cuttlefish Day 6 - 14 June 2023
  • I found a pom pom crab shell, so I think it ate the pom pom crab. Unlikely that it was my octopus as I have witnessed her walk past the crabs several times almost grazing them without a care.
  • My cuttlefish does not take mollies(unlike what the LFS recommended), does not seem to be interested in my other fish as well, and ignores the baby cuttlefish too.
  • I tried glass shrimp and they bite immediately. I don't think there's any other affordable option except to start getting them used to some pieces of food later on.
Munching on a shrimp.
WhatsApp Image 2023-06-14 at 01.31.39.jpeg


Octopus Day 34 - 14 June 2023
  • Feeding every other day.
 
1st Batch Cuttlefish Fry Day 76 - 15 June 2023
  • 1 in the main tank. Last spotted 15 June.
  • I will drop a rili shrimp next to it every other day to make sure it's eating.
2nd Batch Cuttlefish Fry Day 46 - 15 June 2023
  • Total 5 fries (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1, Wk5 -1, Wk6 -18)
  • Breeder box 5 fries - Dropped in 3 rili shrimp. Only 2 were eaten, 1 died a few hours later.
Cuttlefish Day 7 - 15 June 2023
  • Feeding 2 glass shrimp daily.
  • It does not seem to be particularly diurnal or nocturnal. Just seems to take short naps throughout the day.
  • First time I saw it get some dark markings around the eyes, when it was eating a shrimp and the octopus showed up. It's never done this when it wasn't eating. Anybody knows what it means when it does this? Looks angry.

Octopus Day 35 - 15 June 2023
  • Feeding every other day.
 
1st Batch Cuttlefish Fry Day 79 - 18 June 2023
  • Passed on the morning of 16 June 2023. Found it floating around in the tank.
  • I fed it a rili shrimp 1~2 days before it passed, so I don't think starvation was an issue.
  • I had been treating ich in my tank for the past week, with some meds that have phosphates and turned off my skimmer during treatment as well. I checked my phosphates and it was a bit high. Not sure if this was the cause.
2nd Batch Cuttlefish Fry Day 49 - 18 June 2023
  • Total 4 fries in breeder box (Wk1: +36 -1, Wk2 +5 -5, Wk3: -10, Wk4: -1, Wk5 -1, Wk6 -18, Wk7 -1)
  • The biggest one passed away on the morning of 16 June 2023 as well.
  • I put them side by side and they were the same size. This fry was definitely eating a little too much as well.
Cuttlefish Day 10 - 18 June 2023
  • Feeding 1 glass shrimp daily. Not sure if this is sufficient.
  • It has a habit of swimming against the glass going across the width of the tank every now and then. Is this normal behavior? What does it mean?
Octopus Day 38 - 18 June 2023
  • Feeding every other day. On the night of 16 June 2023, it ate a whole clam for the first time!
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top