Hey,
Just wondering, how often do you see your octo activly cruising the tank? Twice a day? Once a day? Once every few days? I think it would be an interesting topic. Also what time of day do you see your octo and for how long is he usually out and about?
-Josh

Mine's usually out from around 5PM until I go to bed every day. I get home around 4 or 4:30 so maybe she's responding to my presence? A couple of times I've seen her out as early as 11AM on days I don't work. No telling what she does when I'm at work. I believe her to be O. Filosus.

I saw my O. Mercatoris only late at night off and on over a 4 month period, never during the day. Sometimes a week would go by before I would see him actually doing something besides peaking out from his den. Sometimes he would come right out if I threw in a Fiddler, sometimes he wouldn't. When I would see him out he would only cruise around for 20-30 minutes before returning to his den.

Most of my bimacs were out or came out as soon as they knew I was at the tank. Biddle has quite a fortress going on. She has just recently started to pull anything she can get a hold of to her spot in the center towards the back. If she's well fed she usually disappears for 24 hours or so.

Until she started brooding, Trapper, my Mercatoris pretty much followed Animal Mother's Einy's pattern. I was very fortunate to have put a set of barnicles in the tank at just the right time and was able to turn them so that I could watch (and feed) her throughout the hatching and on through the rest of he life. Since she never left her den once she was brooding, I could see her at all times but this is dumb luck and not typical. The den positioning allowed me to interact much more than can be expected wtih a Merc.

I see Fontanelle in the morning and in the late evening like clockwork.

Kaleidoscope used to be out pretty much all day. Now that he is getting older (definitely a he; I found his hectocotylus :)), and blinder, he isn't out very much and doesn't really change colors. He comes out every once in a while, usually just goes around the tank glass once, squeezes through things instead of going around them like he used to, and goes back in his den.