Just thought I would share some pics of my latest dwarf octopus ",Octopus joubini" named - "OZZY" he has got to be the most friendly one I have had yet. as soon as you come close to the tank it does not matter were he is he ends up right in front of you at the glass and loves the camera, lol I believe he can see his reflection in the lense cause he dances for the camera sometimes, lol maybe little agression as well, but has only inked in the tank first day placed him in but not much just a warning shot.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01947.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01922.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01924.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01927.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01933.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01934.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01936.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01937.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01938.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/mtvslick/DSC01958.jpg

The tank he is in is a holding tank have used a few times to temperarly hold smaller Octopuses until I get an open tank on my invert system. This one is kept at my home for observation purposes. This makes six dwarfs now the oldest being 2.5 years and still going strong, and One Blue Ring who has passed on after 8 months, this being my first.

Mark,

Great pictures!

Where'd you come across a joubini?

Thats a great octo...Love the fact he's so out going. I hope you have allot of fun with this one.

What a nice looking octopus, but why do you think it's a joubini?
It doesn't look much like the photos of joubini I've seen.

So how large is Ozzy - mantle length and leg length?

Nancy

I can't actually gaurantee he is a joubini really thats just what he came in as from the wholesaler.

Leg length is about 6" so he is still small, but fairly large compared to any of the dwarfs I have.

Unforntunatly in this day and age depending on were you get your Cephs from they don't always come in with the proper names attached to them, as far as i can tell all my Octopuses are the same except for my blue ring of coarse. all come from the same wholesaler. if someone has the ability to judge a species by looks and actions please let me know as my Ceph knowledge is limited in some areas, lol and from what i have read already in othere areas or your forums, we have some VERY knowledgable members here.

Mark,

Well, if you want an i.d. a little quicker there is an i.d. my octo section in the forum. Just post some pics and info there and everyone thats qualified will get back to you.

Sometimes it's possible to get the attention of some of the busier ID experts by posting pics in the "ID requests" forum-- I've noticed Roy and Mucktopus seem to respond more to posts there, in particular.

According to Norman, O. joubini only has "arms to 9cm" so 6" arms might rule it out on size, unless you meant tip-to-tip and Norman meant mouth-to-tip.

The other option is for you to look on http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/ and search for images that match your octopus.

cephbase has been down for a while now.

cephbase has been down for a while now.

Hmm... some parts of the website work, while others (like the image database), don't seem to be operational.

It is not Ocotpus joubini. It looks a lot more like Abdopus from the Indo-Pacific.

Ya, I don't know why. I will be contacting their admin pretty soon to find out, it has been this way for awhile.

It is not Ocotpus joubini. It looks a lot more like Abdopus from the Indo-Pacific.

er, nevermind on my earlier "I'm not sure Roy reads this section" I guess... :-)

I think I know why - Ceph Base belongs to the NRCC and they are moving from the University of Texas Medical Branch to Moody Gardens (they have a lot of their own funding). It's a big effort to move (many months and lots of big tanks and equipment) and I imagine Ceph Base is affected, too. I need to phone about some other things, so I'll see what I can find out about Ceph Base.

Nancy

Thanks, their email is down so I don't know. They are probably moving their servers, which I am very familiar with.

It is not Ocotpus joubini. It looks a lot more like Abdopus from the Indo-Pacific.

can you specify how you came to this identity? and I don't seem to find much info on that perticualr species either, any ideas?

Thank You.

Mark,

can you specify how you came to this identity? and I don't seem to find much info on that perticualr species either, any ideas?

Thank You.

Mark,

Roy (Neogonodactylus) and Chrissy (Mucktopus) have studied Abdopus aculeatus in the wild quite a bit. I guess there may be other species of Abdopus but I'm not sure what they are; aculeatus was referred to as Octopus aculeatus until recently (2001) I believe, so searching for aculeatus may help (although aculeatus is a common species name, but on TONMO, at least, it's usual the octopus as opposed to the hedgehog or the gastropod). This thread has a paper by Mucktopus on that has some pics at the end of the pdf file:

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?p=104255

Soon as i seen the first pic I thought Abdopus too. The arms are much longer than any of the species commonly found in the trade and its only been about a month since I had one that looked exactly the same.

If you dont mind me saying, even in a quarantine tank you should add a lot more hiding places for the octopus as it will really help it settle in. If you use safe plastic pipes and such like it will be easier to move the octopus when you set up the other tank too.

Cheers
Colin

Were do you get your octos from? because i have been trying to get a diurnal octopus (suchs as an A. Aculeatus). Thanks

I get them through a local wholesaler, unfortunatly I don't disclose this info unless you have a valid business ID, i hope you understand why. As for the tank setup I make my own custom tufa rock and I had removed some to take pics but I agree you need lots of hiding spaces, but this octo seems to never use them, lol. he comes out when ever anyone comes in the room. Just so everyone knows I was not questioning anyones knowledge or ability just curious about what i can do to help identify species thats all.

Thank you all for your advice though.

Mark,

yea i understand why you cant disclose the info. Are there any store in the US that that wholesaler supplies from whom i can buy from, or if customs allows, would you be able to sell one?

now that I read that artical and seen the pics, for sure i agree it must be a ABDOPUS. the pics say it all, thanks again.

mark,

I don't know how I missed this thread until now :hmm:. After seeing your pictures, I was about to post that I was relatively sure this was not a Mercatoris or Joubini (my only experience is with the Mercs I am raising but the Joubini is supposed to be difficult to decern as different except by egg size) but I see Roy beat me to it and could offer an ID as well.

You mentioned 2.5 years for a dwarf species. Any idea which one? Diurnal or nocturnal? Any octopus living that long, its habitat, feeding and tank parameters would be of major interest to this forum. Also, when you say dwarf, or pygmy, what arm length and mantle size are you including?

Sorry for all the question :smile: and glad you are aboard!

well as you can tell by the thread i am not 100% on the species i have except the blue ring I had, lol most have been smaller then 8" legs and as for the mantle size i am stil learning how to determine these things, lol as for the filtration I always have mine on systems for most of the time i have them except for the short 2 to 3 week quarintine tank time, the system i run on is over 4000 gallons with NO skimmer just pool sand filter bio tower, live rock, I use crushed coral as a buffer for the system, I run my salinity a little higher then norm as well usually around 1.026/35.5 ppt and a PH is stable at 8.6 due the crushed coral in the system, all on a recerculating water system and a healthy diet is all i usually do for them, with the recerculating system oxygen levels are very high as well and also the system generates a VERY LOW % of ammonia and nitrite/nitrate levels.
I have 1100 + tanks from 1.5 gallons to 50 gallons on my total systems with about 12,000 total gallons, fresh and marine and brackish combined. Over the years i have found almost anyone can keep a marine setup with volume as the number one key! I run skimmers on smaller stuff ofcoarse just not on my system i run the system with BASICS, just the way I prefer to run it thats all, never had problems so never changed my ways I guess, lol Just so you all know I am an African Cichlid guy thru and thru, lol but exotic oddball species are my high, lol A tank builder is my specialty though.

Hopefully i answered a few questions for you as well, lol I will post pics of my facility soon as I finish my additions and such.

Mark,