[Octopus]: unnamed - O. briareus

DWhatley

Kraken
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Moderator (Staff)
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Sep 4, 2006
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Location
Cape Coral, FL
A Krakenito has arrived!

It is that time of the year again (baby octo hatchings) and I was octoless so was delighted that KPAquatics let me know they had an O. briareus available if I wanted it. (Sadly, I missed their email that informed me about an O. hummelincki). This tiny (guessing it is a month or less old - was a hitchhiker on the live rock they collected from their farm two weeks ago) arrived in great water and was very alert. I offered a very small live crab during acclimation. It showed no real interest but when the crab came too close it became supper with the flick of an arm.

He/she had to go in one of the large tanks. Normally I would put one this small (guessing it is a month or less old) in the 40 and transfer after it was larger but Jabba (cuttlefish) is still with me. He is old and mostly blind so transferring him was not an option.

PS: I believe they still have a pair of O. mercatoris if anyone is looking for a Caribbean dwarf. See the availability thread for photos.

acclimation_01.JPG acclimation_05.JPG acclimationFirstMeal_02.JPG acclimationRelease_01.JPG

 
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Teeny-weencie. I cheated with a white flashlight last night and did locate the fluorescent green so she/he made it through the first night. Good Ol' Pesky (one of the red brittles I keep in each of the octo tanks) did his job and helped me locate the approximate area. He was back over on the other side today at feeding time so I don't know if the octopus moved or if he was waiting on dinner.
 
Still no name but I have not seen it since the one brief spotting. There are tons and tons of pods in the tank and I add a small crab when I can't find the last one. I see Pesky (the red brittle that lives in the tank and usually homes with the octos) keeping to one area and I "thought" I saw an arm draw back when I was working near the side of the tank. I have checked the overflow but suspect it is just being a baby octopus and staying well out of sight.
 
I've been putting off posting in hopes that this would not be my post but ... I have not seen this one since it entered the tank (with one possible spotting that could have been something at the back of the tank and not an octopus). There are still an abundance of pods in the tank so food is not an issue. The unhappy part is that I added a few tiny crabs that I thought were disappearing (only added when I could not locate a prior food contribution). Tonight I spotted 3 of the crabs happily munching, not a good sign as they are a favored food of this species. The tank has an uncountable number of deep rock crevices for it to hide but this one should have grown enough by now that I would spot it. I'll wait another month before giving up though, too many have located this species after giving up hope.
 
I don't hold out much hope. Pesky (red brittle star) was in an odd place last night after I posted so I was hoping the octopus would make me look silly and finally show up. No such luck :sad:
 

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