I'm really sad. I don't think the relocation was a major factor though.

I just went downstairs for a last confirmation and to remove OP from the tank. My knobby star had found its way into the breeder net and was doing his clean up work. I successfully keep the knobbies with the Mercs and Octane so it was confirmation that OP was no longer viable. OP still looks alive and it is so sad, he was easy to fall in love with.

:(

:sad: Sorry D & Mike... :angelpus:

oh no.

I have been in the process of moving, myself (the reason for this relocation) and so i have been away for a while without updates. I was very happy to see that the acclimation went well and all of Denise's descriptions were very consistent with his behavior under my care, but it looks like there were other forces in play :(

I have been on the road all day and am exhausted, but more later. RIP. Octopus Prime was a GREAT first octopus.

:cry: RIP Octopus Prime... So sorry that he only got to spend a little time with you D. It was a valiant effort on both or your parts to see he had a good home.

Very sorry.:(

:angelpus: So sorry for your loss, D. :cry:

RIP OP :angelpus: :cry:

J

I am playing with a thought that may have absolutely no merit (and I hope it does not) but wanted to toss out the idea for comment. I make an effort to keep Caribbean tanks. I do have a couple of critters that are from other parts of the world in my reef but not many. When I kept seahorses there is a long suspected but not quite proven problem with keeping Erectus and any other seahorses. I thought I had proven differently until my non-Erectus all died with in a week (they had reached full maturity from juveniles all living in the 140). The suspected culprit is a form of Vibro that the Erectus seem to carry but are themselves resistent (but not immune). I have never had seahorses in OP's tank but I did raise my Mercs there so the thought is a concern about pathogens from the Mercs that might be present. OP went down so fast and had acted healthy. I have seen other, similar reports but never a discussion on where prior or current other residence came from. Greg's hearbreak occured too fast to be the kind of problem I am thinking about but OP's death makes me wonder.

I am playing with a thought that may have absolutely no merit (and I hope it does not) but wanted to toss out the idea for comment. I make an effort to keep Caribbean tanks. I do have a couple of critters that are from other parts of the world in my reef but not many. When I kept seahorses there is a long suspected but not quite proven problem with keeping Erectus and any other seahorses. I thought I had proven differently until my non-Erectus all died with in a week (they had reached full maturity from juveniles all living in the 140). The suspected culprit is a form of Vibro that the Erectus seem to carry but are themselves resistent (but not immune). I have never had seahorses in OP's tank but I did raise my Mercs there so the thought is a concern about pathogens from the Mercs that might be present. OP went down so fast and had acted healthy. I have seen other, similar reports but never a discussion on where prior or current other residence came from. Greg's hearbreak occured too fast to be the kind of problem I am thinking about but OP's death makes me wonder.

Ohh really interesting thought. We can never really know what to expect when we combine the constituents of differing ecosystems. I hope that's not the culprit too, but who knows? It is rather suspect that he went down so fast because while i had noticed him getting a bit sluggish, it was a slow consistent change. nothing like what you saw.

We have seen other reports like this, fine one day, dead the next normal water parms all acceptable. My thoughts may have no merit and no one else has stated what was place in the tank but I am hoping that future occurances will test the thought.

yes. BTW, still no bill from UPS, haha!

We know he was not young (4.5 months in captivity but sexually immature on arrival) but he was eating well and did not show signs of stress beyond the first hour after acclimation (tank parms are zero on nitrites and ammonia, ph 83 but 30 on nitrates).

It is really interesting how much you saw him out at night, because usually he was always a Morning/day octo under my care (with frequent naps). it never really mattered how bright it was in the room and he would come out in response to activity. It could that there was a shift to brighter daytime lighting, since i only used a 30W flourescent on my tank, but perhaps you are right. I do, however remember that he tended to sleep all day and come out at night during my first few days with him too. It could be a reaction to shipping or stress, or it could be frantic senescence.

At any rate, the 30 PPM nitrates shouldnt have phased him too terribly. mine was usually around 20-25 during the last month of my tank. plus he was just coming from stale shipping water. I always had problems with my pH being a little low, (7.9-8.0) but the acclimation should have prevented shock from that. Everything was probably all out of whack anyway from the shipping.

I never realized how small Prime was compared to the average Aculeatus! I had estimated his mantle at about 2," and his arms fully extended at about 10" but i never took a ruler to them. Even so, i suppose for a full adult A.Aculeatus that's really small.

I am wondering if OP was a Bali. I have yet to look up the octo but a little of what I read would fit - especially the size. He was so sweet that I am thinking about looking for one like him after I move Octane to his larger tank.

He was definitely acting nocturnal (there is another name for early morning/evening animals but I don't remember what Roy called it). The lighting in my living room is not bright during the day and I had even less lighting than you did on the tank (I kept Mercs in the tank before OP) so I don't think the lighting changed his habits.

"Crepuscular" might be the word you're looking for?

"Crepuscular" might be the word you're looking for?

That's the word. I have not yet incorporated it into my vocabulary (in spite of intent) and I am still dealing with how to pronounce it.

That's the word. I have not yet incorporated it into my vocabulary (in spite of intent) and I am still dealing with how to pronounce it.

Just replace the M in muscular with the crêpe French pancake, and you'll be fine.

It's one of my favorite words, actually, I think because I like those times of day, but also because it's such a peculiar word to have on hand...

He was definitely acting nocturnal (there is another name for early morning/evening animals but I don't remember what Roy called it). The lighting in my living room is not bright during the day and I had even less lighting than you did on the tank (I kept Mercs in the tank before OP) so I don't think the lighting changed his habits.

He was definitely diurnal though while he was with me. like you saw, i recall that he acted more nocturnal than not for the first few days, but after he got settled in he was definitely an active-all-day, sleep-all-night kinda guy. He would go in and out of his Den during the day, but the naps were never really synced up with midday or anything like that. usually after a meal or a play sesh.

I'm sorry to read of the loss of OP:angelpus:. Did you add anything new or different to the system before you added Octopus Prime? I almost lost my current octo due to accidental poisoning several times the symptoms seemed the same. All's well then in a mater of one to two hours lying limp on the bottom just breathing, luckily I found the culprit and solved the problem but it was trial and error:hmm: I'm happy she made it through:grin:

Sorry I missed this when it happened.
RIP Octopus Prime :angelpus:

Nancy

here are the last couple photos i took before the move--just to complete the set :). they're not great but they're the last ones i shot.

rockhugger:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3260/2602128384_754aa00a07_b.jpg

male display:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2602127486_2814c19ae1_b.jpg

have i mentioned that i am getting ready to move to Japan? I am going to be in the JET program teaching English to Highschoolers. I'm definitely planning on using this experience and pics of Prime to introduce myself. I know theyre going to get a kick out of it because keeping an octopus as a pet in Japan would be like taking a box of Cap'n Crunch out for walks and calling it Spot.

I noticed I had a couple of poor photos in my camera of OP but it made me too sad to put them on the journal. The one on the rocks is an excellent likeness.

For anyone who has not read this thread, Mike sent OP to me because he was leaving the country for a fantastic teaching opportunity in rural Japan. I got a PM from him tonight and he sent along a link to the blog (http://www.japanliness.blogspot.com) he is keeping throughout his adventure (which includes some humerous culture orinentation videos). He has tried to explain to the kids that he kept an octopus as a pet :grin:

He also has a picture album (http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewise) posted and I hope will include some of his artwork if he ever slows down.

I started reading his blog, and it's really interesting. What a great experience!