Ramie's 1st Octopus Journal

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QueenB

Vampyroteuthis
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This is my very first Octopus long waited for. The beginning starts here.

I'm not quite sure what kind of Octopus it is yet or if it is Male or Female. (Leaning towards female right now) Just excited to finally get one and start our adventure.

It was found in some LR at my LFS and they think it is Caribbean.

Well I had it in a small pet carrier for 2 days to try and see if it would eat something because the LFS said it hasn't eaten for them, and I was trying to get it to eat a small piece of shrimp or even a small hermit crab in an enclosed environment. Easier on me but not the Octopus. So tonight I released it (just a few min ago) in the 14g tank to see if it might help and it can explore and maybe catch one of the hermit crabs on her own.

It's still kind of balled up in the piece of LR that I stuck in the small pet carrier. I'm hoping it will like the bigger piece of LR in the tank, so I can take the smaller one out. While it was in the small pet carrier it would come out to explore and kept rolling it's arms in and out. So I can't quite see if she is keeping one rolled in or not.

It came out and about yesterday around 4 ish and then most of the night on and off (I couldn't sleep till almost 6 am was too exited watching it) So I did some more reading research while watching it explore the pet carrier. The first few days from what I read is the most important. Water quality, escape routes, etc... So I tried to baby proof the tank as best as I could.

It's mantle is the size of nickle and balled up about the size of a quarter. Not sure on the specie but will be lucky if it's a baby. I'll at least have 8 months or more with it. :fingerscrossed:

The piece of LARGE LR in the photos is about 20lb. or more. I doubt it can move it, but will keep an eye out in case it becomes strong enough. (very smart strong creatures they are) It's an extremely heavy piece I bought specifically for the Octopus with LOTS of dens. No LFS here have barnacles and I tried to make a cheesy one from seashells and LR rubble, but decided not to put it in the tank. I have a large clam shell a friend at the LFS gave me. Other then that I'm not sure what else to actually put in there.
 
I'm going to post some starter photos of it and my temporary setup till she get's bigger to move. Some taken at the LFS, and some at my home. They were taken with my iPhone and iPad, so the quality probably isn't all that great. Most were taken inside a beta bowl to try and get good photos but it wasn't in it very long. I looked hard for enlarged suckers and in a bunch of the shots the 3rd arms on both sides were extended. So hopefully some of the experts will visit and give me their thoughts as to the specie and gender.


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No enlarged suckers that I can see. Anyone else see any?

Can you spot the Octopus?

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Forgot to move her away after I put in a fresh piece of shrimp and a small hermit crab.

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Got some red plastic wrapping paper and wrapped the Plexi glass, just in case it's a Merc.

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Not sure if it's a Merc because it came out at 4 pm yesterday before I wrapped the Plexi glass, and here' the proof.

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My Make shift Octopus search light. :lol:

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Plexi glass before it was wrapped

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I doubled the wrapping on the plexi glass so it's much more red now an not as bright. This photo is just after I let her out of the pet carrier into the tank.

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And as I was typing that and posting it, look who's exploring the new piece of large Swiss Cheese LR. The black vent is a makeshift vent I made to keep her from getting in the sump area. Husbands Idea and it was a good one. I just blocked it off but he found that black piece of venting in the basement, and we used aquarium silicone and plastic mesh screen behind it to block off the lower vent. Top is blocked with sponge and biocube stock filtration unit.

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It's very curious. I couldn't get a shot of it touching my finger with it's arm when I removed a leftover piece of starfish from my Harlequin shrimp behind the LR.
 
Thanks, I'm still stumped on a name cause I'm not sure of the gender yet. Gonna keep my eyes on it tonight as it's out and about through the tank. Just happy she likes the bigger rock.

Anyone got any decent names to toss out there at me?
 
Strong vote for O. mercatoris. Definitely think it is a dwarf but there are several that look similar. If the LR was from the Caribbean, then merc.

I won't suggest a name. Our last merc got the unfortunate name of Sleazy (the female cousin of the 7 dwarves according to Neal). Try a freshly killed shore shrimp on a stick or live small crab (fiddler's always work but mithrax or other small crab should as well). Up until Sleazy I would swear they will not eat table shrimp. But, we found that leaving the shell ON and offering a small section with the tail worked. Our little dwarf, Yeti (possibly an O. joubini) would not take shelled shrimp but takes it with the shell on easily. I tried a shelled piece tonight since she has been eating well and she still rejected it. Size is important, start smaller than you think approproate (about the size of the eye).

OH, and WELCOME BACK! When I first came to the thread, I double checked the date to be sure it was current :oops:. I forgot you ended up with cuttlefish when you first joined.
 
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