"Wha, me attitude?" Not Ossie, the Octo

Nah Chris, my partner spends just as much time as I do, only as lurker status. She's the one spending time cutting and splicing up the movies for all to see!

So, Nancy, are those eyespots?

We're now panicking that we have to move Ossie soon (if she isn't a dwarf and will grow at the same rate if not faster as she's been) and since we just lost about $700 in investments and will now have to replace my neighbor's carpet, will we have to forgo the mortgage? Ack!
 
No, the live rock and sand were completely dried out by the time we got home. We're going to dump them in salt water in a huge rubber bin, and let it sit there until we're ready to start our new tank again. W. has her eye on a 75 gal already, and we'll have to get some more live rock and sand then to seed the tank (the amount we have is enough for a 40 gal but not for a 75 gal.) I figure the rocks and sand will be *really* cured then :lol

We're pretty sure Ossie's a mercatoris; after all, a professor of marine biology specializing in cephalopods id'ed her. But, there's always that chance he mis-identified, so any help would be appreciated.

We're looking at bills and finances; I think at the latest, we'll have the new tank started in June. With any luck and careful financial planning, we may even be able to purchase the 75 gal. this weekend. (but there goes my MacBook Pro! *sigh*)
 
Cuttlegirl, looking at those photos on Cephbase, Ossie looks more like an Octopus Digueti more than the bimacs (either one) or even the Octopus Mercatoris. But then it's hard to tell since we mostly see her under the red LED light.

She has no horns above her head.

Last night, we got her a special treat - a little red crab. Poor crab didn't last 6 hours in the tank. I found 8 legs and an empty shell this morning. I guess Ossie really liked it.

We think she inked a little last night - she's really timid around the camera now, even though she was showing off in front of the camera the night before (hopefully be able to post it tonight). We did an immediate water change and she seems to be okay this morning. (The crab was eaten after the water change).
 
New Video of Ossie

Well, W. got the video together and through various trials and errors, we finally figured out where to host it.

Movie of Ossie - 1:35 min. long

Sorry for the fuzziness. This was shot under red LED light, with a digital camera and not a video camera. Plus, the transfer first to a quicktime movie and then Youtube converts the video to a flash animation and therefore the quality dropped even more. Watching this at work on a PC, it was really apparent how sharp the quality drop was, but it's the best we can do at this point, given a shy nocturnal Ossie, an early bird W. and our desire to purchase a larger home for Ossie so limited $.

Please let us know if you wish to see a clearer movie. We can send you the url to the quicktime movie.
 
Very nice video - I don't think I've seen one of a nocturnal octo before - yes, she's cute!

You might also want to contact Tony (tonmo). He can put videos onto Tonmo.

Nancy
 
great video! thats the first time i have seen an octopus under a red light...
BTW: hows the little cheph doing?


chris
 
Nice video! Did anyone watch the camaflauge one also? I recognize the coloration of some of my octopuses I've had. Must be a standard coloring for matching a bed of seaplants.
 
Thanks all! The credit goes to W. and Ossie, without whom the movie wouldn't have existed at all. (Still a little bitter that Ossie deems me as the clean-up crew and W. as the one to show off in front of).

Ossie seems to be doing fine - a bit overcrowded at the moment but fine. Since the inking the other night, she's been reticent to come out even in the red light. I keep getting glimpses of her behind her den but as soon as she spots the red light, she heads back into her den. W. has been showing much more restraint than I in terms of looking for her.

I have a question for you all. I've noticed that in a lot of videos featured here on Tonmo, there's some live rock in the tanks, but instead of 1 to 1-1/2 lbs for every gallon, it seems to be a lesser ratio. Should this be the case for the 75-gal we're purchasing?
 
I used about 1 pound per gallon, since 1 to 1 1/2 pounds per gallon are recommended. You have to allow plenty of room for your octopus to move and swim - it's nice to have a little "beach" area in the front of the tank, too. So that's why some people use a bit less (and cost).

Nancy
 
Man, the Gods up there just doesn't want us to set up a larger tank for Ossie!

Two Fridays ago, we had bought all the materials for our new 75-gallon tank. Every night prior to that Friday, W. had observed Ossie swimming about the tank at night, playing with one thing or another.

The coolest thing W. observed was Ossie seeming to dance to flickering lights. I had bought a little battery operated fountain for W. The fountain has oscillating lights, (blue, green, red, white) and cycles through the various lights, casting color on the wall behind it.

The first few nights we had the fountain on, Ossie would swim to that corner of the tank, dance along the water's edge, then swim down to the substrate, and then swim back up to the water line, almost swaying in time to the oscillating lights. I wish we had gotten video of it, but Ossie has developed a fear of the camera. Whenever she sees it, off she swims to her den.

Anyway, W. was at the Octopus Gardens picking up the tank, the stand, and 60 gallons of water. Earlier that week, I had gotten the new protein skimmer and a couple of new pumps. I was on the phone with W., when I realized our phone was dying. At the same time, the DSL was conking out as well.

Investigating the source, I soon found out that our condo was being flooded AGAIN. This time from our upstairs neighbor's dishwasher. About 20 gallons of water was dumped into my living room/kitchen and the laminate flooring that the tank was going to sit on, was pretty much ruined.

Needless to say, all plans for the 75-gallon has been put off. Nothing can be done until the floor is replaced, the drywall dried off, and the kitchen cabinet replaced. *heavy sigh*

Soon after that, Tonmo suffered the server problems and to be honest, both W. and I don't even want to walk into a LFS to just look around right now. We both really want the larger tank cause we're sure Ossie would be happier in it but we're stuck in limbo right now. We don't want the tank set up anywhere else in the house because we just can't fathom setting it up, then having to move it two months later.

In the meantime, Ossie's water levels have leveled off and remained stable. We're doing water changes at least once a week and we're doing our best to not to look at anything relating to tanks in the meantime.

I've asked W. to take more movies of Ossie if she could. I have a very hard time seeing her with my bifocals and therefore have left the sightings to her. I did manage to see a tentacle flick out of the back of her den yesterday, to chase away an errant hermit crab that wandered too close. Occasionally, W. will call out and from the light of the television I can see a shadow swim across the back of the tank. On those occasions, I often think that the Batman was misnamed - that the name Octoman is more appropo, because of the blending into the shadows, flitting across the dark, and the ability to strike fear into the hearts of crabs and shrimp everywhere.

S.
 

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