I just received my octopus from Live Aquaria. I decided to name it Fecha (yes, theres a story behind it but ill save you guys the boredom..) Fecha was very active when i took her out of the bag. She was changing colors, and i especially liked one of the color changes which involved her becoming white then flashing brown stripes on her legs. After drip acclimating her for 2 hours i put her in a "critter cage" and place that inside her new 110 gal. aquarium.
She has been very active inside her critter cage as well. She even followed my hand when i placed it on the tank, and did some cool "bouncing-like" motions. I will feed her some live crabs in about half an hour. Once i get my cameras software uploaded onto the pc ill take pics and post them.
I believe she is A. Aculeatus, but i'm not sure

The brown stripes on the arms are very characteristic of A. aculeatus.

Roy

oh thats good news then, i was hoping she'd be aculeatus
PS: I just got Flecha to eat a piece of shimp that i bought from the supermarket. It took some enticing but she eventually grabbed it, tucked it under herself and started flashing these dark red colors, sometimes with white spots. It was very cool.

Simple,
Maybe Roy will also suggest on the "bouncing" motion but I think it is sort of a "challenge". Initially I would bounce back with Sistrurus but after thinking about it, I make a different movement (side to side rather than up and down) to acknowledge his attention but to attempt a non-aggressive signal. Remember, I am totally non-scientific in my observations and conclusions (as well as having very limited experience) but hope others will share similar observations and reactions when I post.

Please DO share her naming story, that's half the fun of the names!

oh i didnt respond to the bouncing i just sat in a chair and admired her. Ok well here goes the name story: i live in miami, so i, along with about 80% of the people here speak spanish. In an attempt to interest my friend in octopuses and help her spanish (shes taking classes for it in school) i taught her how to say octopus in spanish (pulpo). The next day when i quizzed her and asked her how to say it she immediately responded "Fecha!" which is spanish for the date (like what day it is), im guessing this was a new word she learned in her beginners spanish class, but i found it funny how confident she was in her knowledge, so i decided to play along. I eventually told her the truth after she gave me the whole explanation on how quickly she learns new languages, and how it was a skill shes always had. She was pretty embarrassed but we had a good laugh. Hence, my octopus' name

Congratulations and welcome to Fecha! Live aquaria seems to have healthy young octopuses for sale right now. I've already added her to the List of Our Octopuses

This bouncing you mention - could it be head bobbing?

Nancy

yes it might. At first she moved most her body up and down. her arms were holding on to the bottom but what ever wasnt holding on was moved up and down. Later she did the same thing but just with her head. Shes quite interesting and seems to respond whenever she sees me by changing colors. She also attempted to imitate what i think might be sea grass or something similar. She stretched out into a thin long figure and just hung around like that for a bit, but eventually gave up and went back to her normal shape.

Congrats on your octo! I might have to get one from LA as well... I seem to be a follower as to where I get my octos :D. I just don't know if I want to wait more for a cuttle or hope there are some available after my probverbial octopus passes. Decisions, decisions.

Can't wait for pics.

I notice that you titled this thread Fecha's Journal and I hope that you will continue to post as she grows and for as long as you have her. Same for the rest of you with cephs - these accounts are both interesting and useful for the infomation they give us. You will have a big audience, I guarantee!

Nancy

well amazingly Fecha figured out how to open her "critter cage" (by sliding the door back and then pushing up) and she is now free in my main tank. I saw her hiding behind a rock but she hasnt come out since then. There are two live shrimp in the tank with her and several snails in there too in case she gets hungry.

well amazingly Fecha figured out how to open her "critter cage" (by sliding the door back and then pushing up) and she is now free in my main tank. I saw her hiding behind a rock but she hasnt come out since then. There are two live shrimp in the tank with her and several snails in there too in case she gets hungry.

Hee! I love it when pets turn out to be cleverer than planned! I'm glad she didn't get into any trouble, of course...

yea shes pretty smart. I was going to post pics of her today but im not sure if i will still be able to. It depends on whether shell come out today or not since i cant see her anymore. I'm hoping Tropical Strom Noel won't hit us... i have a back up battery air pump and extra saltwater, but its still a pain to have the power go out.

ok, well still no sign of Fecha but i decided to show you guys a pic of her home, a 110 gal. tank.

Simple,
Unless you have that one rock glued in (the one highest in the tank and against the overflow), you might consider relocating it to where it won't present a potential toppling hazzard.

If you can find a conch shell or some of the large purple and white barnacles (or a clay pot) without any form of treatment, you might try placing it near the front to see if she likes it as a den. Several of the octos have chosen a smooth surfaced "container" over just hiding in the rock. In her final days, Trapper would only stay on smooth surfaces as if the rough rock was uncomfortable but she preferred the barnacles over the rock even before she was at the end of her life. My captive raised (wild conceived) Mercs all chose different kinds of homes but at 7.5 months they are starting to seek out the smoother surfaces.

You may want to add a little more live food while she is adjusting. Your tank is so large that the density is extremely sparse and may prove problematic for her to hunt. Once she is accustom to you and your feeding schedule there should not be a problem. With the pygmies, I have found that squirting a little zoo plankton (I like Cyclop-eeze but even some Zooplex or other food you may have around might work) around the rockwork will bring out a arm to feed.

Keep recording! I hope to get an aculeatus once my three in the 45 live out their lives so your adventures help keep my impatience at bay.

ok ill move that rock. Currently she has some live shrimp, but i couldnt get live crabs. Yesterday, she ate a frozen shrimp that i thawed but since she got out of her little acclimation tank i havent seen her. I have a shell i can place in there. I am worried since yesterday she only ate a bit and i doubt shes eaten today, but i know i should just be patient.

ok i placed a 90 degree pvc elbow in there that she should fit in well. hopefully shell take to it.

Yes, D has made a good suggestion about the rock. I would go even further and make sure all rocks are very stable - even a small octopus is VERY strong and can topple any rock that isn't secure. Even when I had secure "vertical elements" in my tank, my bimac rearranged them to a more horizontal look. I know why you're arranging them that way, so you'll have a little more visual interest higher up, but it's not the way to go.

Do you have amphipods in your tank? Small octopuses will eat amphipods, snails, small crabs, etc that they find in your tank.

Nancy

Ok today in the morning i saw Fecha out for about half a minute, then i left for 10 seconds to get my camera, and she was gone, i looked around but couldnt find her. I just got back from school and i still havent found her. Im worried she hasnt eaten since i havent seen any shells or signs of messy eating..is there anything i can do to coax her out and get her to eat? I put Cyclop-eeze in there like you dwhatley recommended, but still nothing. I will keep trying..hopefully shell come out later today. I have my camera next to the tank now just in case

ive been looking through the tank the whole day since i got home. literally. I even used a flashlight with all the lights off to be able to see in holes, but nothing. I also put a shrimp on a skewer and placed it around rocks to see if he'd come out, but still nothing, and it doesnt seem she has eaten anything. Im getting really worried. Please, help me out. I know it take time for them to come out but Aculeatus are supposed to be quite active and i only saw her once in the morning when i turned the lights on. any help would be good, thanks

Mine always comes out late.. i havnt seen bud since this morning, dont fret, if you water fine i am sure he/she is too,

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?p=104119#post104119
i posted a link to the paper i got on our new pets.. check it out.

The disappearance of a new octopus into the rocks, and a worried octo keeper are somthing we've experienced repeatedly over the years.

Here are some things to consider: your octopus is stressed, in unfamiliar surroundings and it's natural to hide for a while, even weeks.

If you have a mature tank with amphipods, you'll find that your octopus may be dining on them. Or sometimes your octopus will find a crab or a snail to snack on.

An octopus can disappear in front of you. It will take some practice to spot your octopus.

Don't turn the tank upside down looking for your lost octopus. Continue to offer food.

Nancy

ok thank you. I will try crabs tomorrow since the shrimp might be too fast and big for it. i have slightly high nitrates but nothing too worry about too much, besides that all my levels are perfect. I ordered an RO/DI unit online and a new skimmer for the tank just in case
as well as macro to lower help lower nitrates.

I took Nancy's advice and aranged my rocks more horizontaly, hopefully my octo will like it better, and come out

Simple,
There are several reports that the octos will watch a monitor or TV for long periods of time so if your tank is near a TV or computer, try making your self visible but sitting quietly. Otherwise, read a book near by but try to say close without actually interacting with the tank for at least an hour (do your homework :grin:). One thing you DON'T want is a lot of movement in front of the tank. Move very slowly when you must venture from your observation post. Even now Sisty, who has absolutely no fear of me or my hand inside the tank, will bolt if I move rapidly. No more tank rearrangement for at least two weeks (unless she does it on her own).

ok i will do my homework in there with a light. I have been moving a lot in front of the tank looking for her, so that might have been what scares her. I saw her in the morning again, but like usual she darted for a rock and hid. Should i keep the room dark for a while? I will try and buy crabs for her since i think shes not eating the shrimp..

Yes, try some crabs and a perhaps a small snail or two.

The suggestion to sit and read in front of the tank is excellent. You remain quiet and she gets used to you.

Nancy

there have always been snails in there. I bought some crabs at the bait shop today but i think they are too big. They already came without claws and i put one in but not all of them, because they are about 3 inches across, and Fecha's mantle is really only about an inch. They didnt have anything smaller. Should i take the crab out or will Fecha be able to take something that big? Also, would it be ok to buy hermit crabs for her? they are pretty cheap down here, especially in bulk (100 or more)

Hermits wouldn't hurt either way. If Fecha doesn't eat them, they'll be a good clean up crew. I imagine she can take the crabs as long as they don't have large pinchers, just make sure to discard the leftovers because she probably won't eat the entire crab if they are that much larger than her.

ok, so should i put all of them in the tank? (i have 4 more) and none of then have pinchers. I will try hermit crabs as well..Im in my bed next to the tank on a laptop following dwhatley's advice. I still haven't seen her but im sure she is watching me..wherever she is..

No I wouldn't put all of them in. Might die and rot under a rock somewhere you won't find them, ruin your water.

So far theres about 4-5 snails, one shrimp and one crab in the tank, is this fine? I've been in front of the tank on my laptop for a few hours now, but still no sign of her..

You might not see her for a few more days. Probably best to find something else to occupy your attention before it drives you insane.

yes it is driving me insane, but i have been able to control myself and refrain for looking for her this whole day. I have stayed on the laptop near her though, since that was recommended. I will try to not bother her at all for a few days. I will add a new powerhead later but besides that she will remain unbothered

This is what we sometimes call the "baby hiding stage" (I think Colin coined that phrase). Just relax and content yourself with seeing her once in a while.

It's frustrating because you've just put your new octopus in the tank ---and no octopus!

If you put a new powerhead into the tank, make sure the intake and outflow are protected so she can't hurt herself.

Nancy

I'll make sure i do. yes it is quite frustrating. I have all the lights in the room off except for the laptop screen. I wouldnt mind not seeing her for a while too much but i would really like any sort of sign that she is eating. Thats what worries me..

You have seen her only in the morning when you first turn on the light. Tomorrow morning, try to sneak in the room without the light on (or very dim light) and see if you can spot her...

well without the light on i wont be able to see her since i wake up at around 6:30 am while its still dark out. I have red lights that i can leave on, but ive only seen her when there are no lights on at all and i have just turned on the lights in my room.

Hey simple, I wouldnt be worried that much. Just make sure the food in there is small enough for him to take when he can. Before this guy I recieved 3 different ones from other sources and had them all die within 2 days. If you have had her for about a week now like I think then you are probably in good shape. I am dying to see and start interacting with mine too but I am trying to wait. Every day I have been adding a fiddler or two. I know he is eating them cause they have been dissapearing and when I put food in for the hermits they will usually come out too. I get the fiddlers from Aquaculture.com for 10 for 14 bucks so basically I am paying about $1.40 a day for his food for now. According to that article the octo likes to hide and pounce for its food so this gives me more reason to believe this behavior we are seeing is normal.
We got the same octos so we are in this together-- any info I can help I will do as well as I keep reading yours as well.

so far the food i have gotten her might be a little big for her, since its all they sold at bait stores, and i couldnt catch any, like i had previously planned to do...Im not sure if shes eating, but i've had her since tuesday and i saw her today for a bit, so i guess that means shes had some sort of food. The crabs i bought are about 3-5 inches wide.. Maybe i can trade one larger crab for like 2 fiddlers to people that have larger octos =D

just having them in there is a good offer but I would try the ordered fiddlers--I have a small 20 gal that I keep them in then I remove the large claw and put them in the tank-- only 1-2 a day. When Kenny becomes more comfortable with me and his surroundings I will do more "hands on" interaction with the food but for now I know I just have to wait.

just wondering, can they eat shore shrimp?
I also might try to bike to the beach tomorrow in the morning to try and catch the crabs out during low tide, maybe i'll have better luck...

They can eat shore shimp, but those little shrimp are fast - not sure they could catch one. I think someone on these forums used freshly killed shore shrimp as food for a young octopus.

Nancy

what if i put them in the freezer for a few minutes, wont that slow their reaction time? (i used to do that with ants when i had an ant farm, so they wont bite me..)

Just put a couple in the tank and see what happens. They are good scavengers if they're not eaten. This is the first I've heard of the freezer technique.

Nancy

Simple,
As long as you don't add anything foreign and are sure to remove anything dead (as AM mentioned, you need to know where the crabs are and that they are alive so only one - two fiddlers - at a time), innovate away and then report on your success or failure. There is a forum marked, "What do you feed your octopus" that might offer some ideas. My little guys don't eat much variety (in spite of my efforts) so I recommend trying new stuff slowly (don't fill your freezer with everything under the sun, like I have done it just sits there if refused). The freezer idea sounds promising. My baby Mercs would eat shore shrimp very well when they were in their breeder nets but now in the larger tanks (one is only 15 gallons) they rarely eat them. Sometimes they swat them away so I know they can catch them but don't. I have been able (only in the last two weeks) to get them to take freshly killed tails and my brooding female will gladly take a male fiddler claw, none of them would eat frozen clam, thawed scallops, the mixed frozen "variety" pack marine food, snails, hermits or live fish fry but the larger octos seem to take to many of these and Fetcha may want different things as she grows. Another thought would be to dream up a container that the octo can explore (not an opening the jar challenge) but the food has a hard time trying to escape. The idea would be to create a feeding area that has a denser population than the tank, possibly her critter keeper or something turned upside down.

You might try leaving your red lights on 24/7 if you can sleep with the lighting (or cover the tank with the light on). Miserable for pictures (no flash for a long time yet) but it might let you see her a bit more. This is going to take more time than you want and you will think it is taking longer than it is. I keep a calander on the wall and mark beginnings (and also have my TONMO journal) so I have a better feel time and am still often surprised at the actual time (or lack of it) involved (like waiting to see if I am going to have baby octos this month!). Keep doing the homework, reading etc where she can see you but keep yourself entertained and not fretting.

Ok well today i found a dead shrimp in the tank, it didn't look eaten, but maybe she did nibble on it or something. I pulled it out and put a new shrimp in the critter keeper, but without the top so Fecha could go in and get the shrimp. The crab is still alive, still no sing of Fecha though.

will octopuses eat sand fleas? because those are cheap here.

Another thought would be to dream up a container that the octo can explore (not an opening the jar challenge) but the food has a hard time trying to escape. The idea would be to create a feeding area that has a denser population than the tank, possibly her critter keeper or something turned upside down.

What about a container similar to a minnow trap-- oval with small holes on the two ends-- crabs cant find there way out but I am sure the octo could.??

yea the shrimp got out of the critter keeper....if crabs could eat sand fleas then id be set because they're like 5 bucks for a dozen over here. I didnt see Fecha at all today, not even in the morning.

Ok i placed an order for fiddler crabs from aquaculture. Hopefully this will give me clear signs of Fecha eating, as well as get her to come out a little more.

I knew a guy at Caltech in the 80s who fed sand fleas or something similar to an octo, and it at least seemed to work out in the short term, but I haven't seen anyone recommend that around TONMO. They do meet the "marine crustacean" requirement.

I'm not sure if there is a reason why the more experienced octo-keepers don't recommend them, though.

I was going to try them but my shipment didn't make it (they are likely very difficult to ship and may not survive in an aquarium very long) and were way too large for the Mercs so I did not try a second batch. They looked like they would be a great food if you can find them locally but be aware that they smell like the devil when they die.

they also bury themselves in the sand so i might not find them if they do die. Once i get my octopus eating well i will try them, hoepfully shell grab it before it buries in the sand, or could try the critter cage idea since i dont think they can swim out like the shrimp did.

Shrimp seem to get into and out of most anything. I have a tiny sump separated from the larger section of one of my 10 gallon shrimp tank and there are usually more shrimp in the LR area then in the open. I have the section reasonably well screened off but they easily cross between the two.

The critter keeper sound like a great idea for the fleas though. You may want to put a small amount of sand in the bottom if it becomes a viable food source. Does anyone know if they can live fully submerged for any length of time?

yea i think ill try it. Anyways, I just sat in the dark for 30 min without any sign of my octo. this morning i didn't see her like i usually do (its the only time i see her) and all of today i didn't see her, and i was home most of the day. So far every food I've put in there is still alive except for one shrimp that i found dead but was intact. I highly doubt shes eating because i haven't seen any hitch hikers on the rocks at all. and the only things in there are a sea urchin, shrimp and crabs. and they're all alive and well. Should i not be worried? I've had her since tuesday without any sign of her eating... I ordered fiddler crabs but those wont get here until at least tuesday since they cant ship on weekends. That would be a week without eating..

Yes! i finally saw Fecha. I decided that i would check at night on her to see if i see her, so i watched in the dark at around 1:30 am, but no Fecha, then i went to sleep and set my alarm, checked at 3 am, no Fecha, re-set alarm, checked at 4 30, no Fecha, reset alarm, checked at 6 28 (to be exact) and she was out on the glass! she was moving up and down the glass and tried to catch a shrimp a few times but they were too fast. So i sat in the dark and watched her from 6 28 until 7 08 when i decided to let her know i am watching her. I sat up in my bed, and we stared at each other for about a minute, then she went down to her rocks and hid. At that time i went to sleep because i was very tired, but i was satisfied that i have seen her.:grin:
I'm thinking of trying the freezer idea to make the shrimp slower, but they will probably warm up again by the time Fecha comes out. Would it hurt the shrimp if i make cuts on their tail? because i noticed that they are fairly slow when they move around using their legs, but whenever scared they can go from one side of the tank to the other in a second using a quick whip of their tail.

Congrats!! I woke up at like 4am this morning--no particular reason but sure enough Kenny was on the glass too--by the time I woke up he hid again.

Has yours ever been out during the day? i only see mine early in the morning, but never at any other times..

Not yet, I have only seen him at night or last night just after lights out. Today I put the second layer of red film on the lights to give it more red inside there so I will see if that has any affect.

i keep the octo tank lights off all day and at night i turn on the red lights. Juts wondering, if she indeed has not eaten (though there seems to be one shrimp thats "missing in action") how long can she go like this. Tuesday would mark one week since i got her..

i keep the octo tank lights off all day and at night i turn on the red lights. Juts wondering, if she indeed has not eaten (though there seems to be one shrimp thats "missing in action") how long can she go like this. Tuesday would mark one week since i got her..

There's a story around somewhere in the dusty recesses of TONMO that involves someone getting a new octo that immediately hid, never visibly took food, and wasn't seen for months. Long after the owner had given up hope, the octo reappeared, causing some sudden and unexpected rearranging of tank inhabitants. So, you should probably continue to do what you can, but try to be patient, and neither give up nor panic.

i keep the octo tank lights off all day and at night i turn on the red lights. Juts wondering, if she indeed has not eaten (though there seems to be one shrimp thats "missing in action") how long can she go like this. Tuesday would mark one week since i got her..

I am using the red lights as my daytime lights and complete dark at night. My desk light is on so I can see if he comes out.

ok, it was just that i spent the last few days going over journals of people, and most of them involve something like "my new octo is exploring the tank, shes so cute, shes already eaten two fiddler crabs and seems to want more, i love my new octo!" so i expected an experience something like that. I dont mind waiting, i just worry about her eating. i should get the fiddlers soon, so she will have a wide choice of food (larger crabs, shrimp, fiddlers, snails)..hopefully i will see evidence of her eating..

If you were to look at all the journals and posts, you'd find PLENTY of people with your experience. I think the ones with the most outgoing octopuses post a lot at the beginning. I've certainly experienced the "disappearing octopus" myself. I know it's disappointing, but hang on, she has to get adjusted to the tank and learn to feel safe. This doesn't mean she will always be this shy.

Nancy

ok i hope so. Ive followed all of your advice so far even though it is hard to resist not to look for her, i have managed to leave her alone. hopefully it wont be long until starts acting like that of the others who got an octo from live aquaria

Seems here lately several of those more "outgoing from the get-go" octos don't live long either. It might just be the personality of your octopus. More of a hermit, shy.

AM,
I have been thinking on that too and wondered about your last two. From other reading and my own observations with the Mercs when a octopus starts in to sensence, it tends to become more active (even the Mercs - and may be why Einy was more active when returned to the larger tank) and more interactive (Trapper would crawl onto my hand in the end and sit there for flash pictures). The shyer ones seem to grow into their tanks (like Biddle) and may be younger (my Merc babies were very shy for 5 months even though they knew no other environment). I have also noticed that the males have been more outgoing than the females.

hopefully you guys are right, I did notice that more outgoing once did tend to die earlier, i especially remember when everyone got those hummelincki (sp?) from saltwaterfish and none seemed to survive,, though i dont know why they did but they were all incredibly outgoing. I will just let Fecha come out on her own when shes ready, im trying to do as little as possible around her tank so as not to scare her.

Yes! im not so worried anymore, since it seems Fecha has eaten. Today i found the remains of a half eaten shrimp. The exoskeleton and some meat was left, which is typical left overs of octopus meals (according to other threads i read). I still haven't figured out were exactly her den is, but do aculeatus usually leave their leftovers near their den (maybe this will help guide me towards what area i should look in)?

Cant help with the den part but Congrats on the observation!!! I am happy for you and her, hopefully we will have a pair of these guys growing up together lol

Hopefully. I just read bout Kenny being out, sounds like great news.

Here are some shots I just got of him--the blurry one is just to give arm length

oops, wrong thread-- sorry bout that simple

if this could get deleted I already reposted in mine

from my understanding they leave pebbles outside their den area, not "mitten" (did i spell that right?).

yea i read about the pebble thing in the paper you showed us, but i dont have any pebbles in my tank, so i dont know if shes using something else. Should i put pebbles? also, i just found a crab eating a shrimp in Fecha's tank,which means Fecha might not have eaten the shrimp i found earlier. I took the crab out and placed new shrimp in there. Fiddler crabs come on wednesday, she should be able to hold out until then, i hope.

when i added the fiddler's to the tank mine didnt show much interest, but he has been eating them and has rejected any shrimp i have offered since..

i dont think mine has eaten shrimp at all. It would be a possibility that the crab was eating left overs but the shrimp was whole when i caught him eating (it was missing a tiny piece of the tail but that was it) so im not sure if the crab killed it or Fecha did..

Simple,
Chrissy's paper on the aculatus showed a lot of similarities with the Mercs (I envy all that down time just watching these guys and all the places she went to do it!). Two of my females (mother and brooding daughter) seem to gather shells (no pepples in my tank either) around their den area but my males move about frequently and will leave door shells in the barnacles or in pieces of live rock but not make the piles the females have collected (except for Medusa - no collections made by her as yet and I am only about 80% sure she is female). The Mercs jettison the waste as far away as they can send it and sound similar to the aculatus in that aspect as well.

If you found a shrimp that started out alive (no telling with one put in dead) and was "hollowed" out with most of the shell still shaping the shrimp there is a good chance Fecha was the initial diner and the crab was just cleaning up.

the shell was left but it was not in the shape of the shrimp, it was juts pieces, not tiny pieces though. I would say the shrimp shell that was left over was split into about 3 or 4 parts..I am now putting my alarm clock to wake me up at 5 30 am so i can watch Fecha for a bit before going to school (it has bad side effects at school, makes me very sleepy) so i can at least get to watch her a bit and see if she hunts. I tried it this morning but i forgot about the time change so i woke up to late too watch.

Yes! my mom liked my school grades (especially the A in AP European History, and of course A in Marine biology =D ) so I'm allowed to stay home tomorrow. I will be on the look out for Fecha.

LOL, congrats!

"A"s are a GREAT thing. Homework by octo light might even be fun. Well, at least it might get more enthusiasm

ha, i guess it helps since it takes me away from the computer, hence creating less distractions..

I stayed home from school today, and i have not seen Fecha. This is almost two days since i last saw her. I am planning on doing a water change today, just in case, and its also about time. Her fiddler crabs get here tomorrow, so maybe she will like those and leave visible evidence of eating.

I'm guessing Fecha is watching you, even though you can't see her. Try not to lose too much sleep hoping to see her, you will see her eventually...

Yea she has caused an insane amount of sleep loss, i keep waking up in the middle of the night to just "peek" and see if shes there. I do this about 5 or 6 times a night..I have a new plan though. I will try and care the least possible (still adding food, checking parameters, etc.) by not looking for her, i feel my worrying is making me be around the tank too much which might be scaring her into hiding. Of course, its hard not to look for her, but i think she will feel more comfortable if i stop.

It's kind of like that saying "a watched pot never boils" - probably the less time you spend staring at the tank, the more likely you are to spot her.

i will try to refrain from looking for her so much, though i have to admit the death of Kenny (who came from the same supplier) has really scared me, making me want to look for her even more, but i shall refrain.

Dont worry so much because of Kenny. I named him such because of my luck with the octos lately-- you are doing just fine and will be ok.

Ok another good morning! Today I woke up at 5:15 am and sure enough Fecha was out, and unlike last time she was exploring the whole tank and chasing the shrimp everywhere. Unfortunately she couldn't catch one since they are insanely fast but her fiddlers come today, and after training with shrimp I'm sure she'll be more than ready to catch those. I watched her and then at about 6 20 am my brother came in to wake me up for school and Fecha didnt go hide she stayed on the glass, later she hid, but after i took a shower and came back she was out again. This time i put my hand against the glass and she came up to it, she was hesitamt but eventually she came, i had to leave though because i was going to be late, but im so excited.

:grin: Glad you were patient and got to see her.

I am glad as well. Just wondering how do you go about taking the large claw off of male fiddlers?

You can take a pair of scissors and snip the lower part of the claw, disabling the claw.

Ok i have put 3 fiddlers in Fecha's tank, she usually comes out early in the morning to hunt, but the crabs buried themselves in the sand as soon as they went in. Will Fecha be able to find them, or will they come out later?

She should be able to find them, but the next time you see her out, drop one in front of her so she can see it.

Nancy

I will try that, but I'm worried that as soon as she sees me opening the top of the tank she will hide. If anything, i will drop it in the general direction of where she hid. I'm also planning on getting her to eat thawed shrimp later. How should i go about it? I was thinking i could get her to eat the fiddlers, then after i could tie, or rubber-band a fiddler to a feeding stick ( so she realizes the feeding stick means food), and once shes eating of the stick i can try switching the crab out for thawed shrimp. Does this sound like a good plan?

Unfortunately no sighting of Fecha this morning =(, hopefully tomorrow will be different. I have yet to find empty fiddler crab shells, but hopefully i overlooked some..

Ok new update. This morning i woke up to look for Fecha and noticed a rock that i hadn't seen before, and it turned out to be Fecha (shes pretty good at camouflaging). Then i put my hand on the glass and she came up to it. I got a Fiddler crab and dropped it in, and to my surprise she didn't hide when i opened the top. Well anyway as soon as the crab landed on a rock she grabbed it and pulled it under her. She gave a neat display by first turning her skin a dark red, and later she made her mantle red and her arms a weird aqua color, it looked amazing. Slowly but surely she's beginning to trust me more.

Things seem to be going well for you and Fecha. Be sure to remove any crab carapaces and uneaten food (except for food that's still alive!) from your tank after and hour or so.

It might be a good time to introduce thawed frozen shrimp pieces on a feeding stick. If she wants a second feeding, she will take the shrimp. If she shows no interest, she's full and you can wait until the next day.

Nancy

I'm so glad things are going well with Fecha now! I could practically hear you hyperventilating there for a bit :P I'm looking forward to when she's comfortable enough that you can get some good pictures!