Hello and welcome to Al's journal. Thanks to the wonderful people who helped me id him as an aculeatus! I have been living with him for just over a week now and I'm completely in love!

He's done with crayfish, there really was no "teaching" him to stick feed or take frozen food, he doesn't seem too picky. Last week I put a hermit crab in a glass bottle w/o a lid. Way too easy for this guy!

He absolutely seems to have established a routine- fave hang- outs, sleepy and active times, etc. He watches t.v. with the girls, stares down the cats, and even comes out "after bed" to watch The Daily Show with me!

Yesterday we got him toys to play with, I was hesitant about my hands. My 9 yr old spent 40 min warming him up to it before giving up. When I took over and had my hand deeper in the tank, he went right past the toy and for my finger!!! We played a bit and then he went to sleep. Maybe my hand looks less strange than the toy as I have been playing "follow the hand" on the tank glass since he came home.

I will really try to keep up with journaling and pictures. In addition to my 3 salt tanks (55 gal, 20 gal &12 gal) I also have 2 cats, 2 crested geckos, 2 corn snakes, a collared lizard and 2 daughters, one of them a type 1 diabetic on a pump. I LOVE to raise living things and take their pics. I have never journaled before, but then I've never had such a compelling reason to!

mom- in- law "Why didn't you just have more children?"
my reply "I'll get arrested for keeping kids in glass boxes..."

:welcome: and great pictures! Make sure the shrimp you are feeding him is raw (it should look gray in color, not pink). It appears that the shrimp in the photograph is pink... He/she looks comfortable in his new home.

Jennifer,
I have noticed that some of the raw shrimp we have bought turned pink and I suspect that the retailers may use something like lemon juice to keep it fresh. If I understand ceviche, correctly, lemon juice "cooks" the fish/shrimp. The shrimp we have been getting from Publics does not seem to do this.

Cuttlegirl and D,
Well, the shrimp may have had a pink tinge in the photo but was fresh and clean for sure (I eat shrimp when I can, too). I talked to the guy who runs the local market fish counter and explained why I needed CLEAN and FRESH marine foods. He was excited to have an octopus as a customer! He then listed off what comes in on which days. He's even willing to special order anything Al decides is a favorite!

Well, yesterday was a great day with Al showing off for the girls' friends, active all day, ready to play with me and even getting the courage to try and peek out of the tank. I gave him a fresh mussel in the shell, but he had no interest or just no idea that it's food. He immediately gobbled up 2 hermit crabs, though. He also got a visit from Keech the crested gecko, they had an in depth conversation about the differences between transverse lamellae and suckers.

This morning, though, he seemed to be a puddle at the bottom of the tank, much like the descriptions of Octopus Prime's slump. He reacted to people and cats approaching the tank with color change, but looked listless and disinterested all morning. I obsessed all day. I ran down the list of things: water Q is good, temp is a bit warm (80 F for an aculeatus), small water change... Then I did adjust the power head venturi attachment to bring up the O2 in light of the higher temp.

By this evening he seemed back to his old self, walking the glass and playing a bit, even more interested in the other side of the glass... Was he over fed, over stressed from so much attention yesterday, hypoxic?

I know I was even more obsessed today because my daughter's diabetes was acting up and the protocol is pretty similar, testing blood glucose and ketones just as h20, set change for the insulin pump like an h20 change, adjust insulin or glucose levels just like adding buffers. At the end of the day when you know you've done all you can, you sit and wait and see what happens and try not to second guess yourself...

Well, I have an endocrinology clinic for Elise, and luckily this web site for Al. Any more ideas of things to check for?

He's absolutely moving into the 55 gal, it's a constant 78 F w/o a chiller. It's a move just across the living room to a long established tank, still, any pointers or hints?

Glad to hear all is going well, and that you have a good place to buy food. My fish store put up a photo of my octopus and liked to tell people that they had an octopus for a customer :smile:

Nancy

Hah! Love Keech on the glass in front of Al!

Today my daughter Julie played with Al for he first time! She was thrilled and was even able to lightly stroke his mantle for a moment. For those of you familiar with "Caturday," Linus was looking on asking, "I can has pus?"

On Saturday I was worried that something was "off" with Al because he seemed to be sleeping so much. Now I've noticed that he just seems to have longer active times, and longer inactive times since he's moved in. Maybe the novelty has just worn off...

Al has developed some cute habits. When he rests, it usually somewhere near his den. He spends more resting time with 1/2 in, 1/2 out of his den, holding his toy. He never actually plays with the toy, but seems to really like having near the opening of his den and rearranges it a lot. Then treats it like a blankie or teddy at bedtime, always keeping a few tentacles on it.

Yes, he's cute!

Funny that you should mention holding onto the toy. I haven't heard mention of that for some time. When I kept a bimac called Ollie, I gave her a little corked glass bottle, about 2 inches high. It had some seawater and a tiny shell in it (I made it for for). She never played with the bottle, but you could see it inside her den. When she slept, she always had an arm around the bottle!

Nancy

Well, things with Al are going well. Both of the girls have been able to play with him, and he is part of the family now. We know when he is active on the glass that it is time to "play," though he doesn't really want us to do anything but hold our hands close to the glass so that he can pass back and forth and rub the back of his mantle on our hands. My older daughter is able to stroke his mantle with a finger, but when I do it he actually pushes my finger away slowly with one arm. He has started to "noodle" me when I work in the tank, too, instead of hiding or ignoring me.

He absolutely loves hermit crabs and will snatch them up before they can hit the bottom of the tank. But when I put them in a glass bottle, he barely tries to get them out. He will wrap his body around the bottle and turn dark like he does when he eats, but within moments of realizing he can't get the crab easily, he gives up. Then he'll come right to the top of the tank to tell me he needs help. I really don't care if he "does tricks" or not, but it's like another kid, "I can't find it, Mom..." I have only let him try for 24hrs or so before I give up and dump out the crab, he's always right there to scarf it up.

The 55 gal tank would be ready to go except that the nitrates are too high. The tank has been running for 9+ years now and I've always used R/O water, but I have been over feeding the aggressives in that tank. I have done some big H2O changes and added nitrate sponge to the filter but it looks like it's going to take longer than I'd hoped to have it ready. Any ideas for speeding things up?

Glad he's doing so well for you and your family.

As for the 55, I would just do some water changes and take your time with it so you can be sure about it. You're both going to love the extra space.

It will be curious to see if Al starts allowing/engouraging more touching over time. Octane initiated his now nightly petting by brushing up against my hand and still pushes hands/things away if he does not like it (like the cleaning siphon or Neal trying to pet him). He swims up into my hand and even offers an arm to have a sucker tickled during our nightly ritual (it is not stagnant and he is the one to come up with the next step). Octane acted similarly with the bottle of live food and cares little about toys. I did get him somewhat interested in a Lego floating octopus with a dangling plastic tie for a day or two but still only if I was there to interact.

The 55 gal tank would be ready to go except that the nitrates are too high. The tank has been running for 9+ years now and I've always used R/O water, but I have been over feeding the aggressives in that tank. I have done some big H2O changes and added nitrate sponge to the filter but it looks like it's going to take longer than I'd hoped to have it ready. Any ideas for speeding things up?

Hello, great interaction there!! I love the gecko shots!! Just a question?? You mention adding him to the 55 but you have "aggressives". Does that mean they are still in there?? If so it could be an issue for either of the locals in there.

Bigpapa,
Yes, the aggressives are still in the tank but they will get kicked out when Al goes in. I'm not even sure I want to leave the engineer goby or brittle star in there as they are bottom lurkers too and I just don't want to have anything that might shorten Al's life even a bit. The big fish will go to the LFS, I've already worked this out with them. It will be sad to give up my puffer, but I always planned on keeping it and the trigger only until they grew too big for the tank. It's only sad because the puffer squirts at me when the top is open and both will hand feed (to avoid feeding conflicts), but it's no where as cool as playing with Al!!!

Thanks for all the advice- it's hard to be patient about wanting to move him but again, what's best for Al is my only real concern. Big H2O change again tomorrow!

Here are some more shots of Al, one in his fave sleeping place, half out of his den and holding his toy, and one where he has given up on the hermit in the bottle.

I have been experimenting with Al's attention span (with a BS in Psyc and teaching cert. K-8, he's fun subject for a stay at home mom). Sometimes if I sit right in front of the tank while he's slumped in the corner or balled on the glass he pays no attention to me. If I get up and walk out of the room, then come back in- and do this a couple of times, he seems to take note and want to interact with me. Now if I want to play and he's "zoning" I start by standing several feet away from the tank and wave at him, walk away and repeat. After a couple of times, he'll be "dancing" in the corner of the tank closest to where I'll walk back in the room, anticipating my return. I wonder if he has become so accustomed to the attention he gets that he needs to feel a little ignored? Or, has he become attentive enough to our human routine that he recognizes and is interested in my novel behavior??

Try going up to the tank and petting him from the outside of the glass. Even if Octane is dozing, I will see at least a slight color change (to the positive, not fearful) when I do this.

I don't often confess this little behavior experment with my bimac of a few years ago, Ollie. But...I waved at her everytime I was going to spend time with her, either sitting and watching or feeding or interacting. I waved when I left, too.

After some months, she started waving back! I thought I was imagining it and hauled in witnesses, but all agreed Ollie was waving! She stuck out an arm and wiggled it at me. I always thought she studied me as much as I studied her, and this was the result.

Nancy

I don't often confess this little behavior experment with my bimac of a few years ago, Ollie. But...I waved at her everytime I was going to spend time with her, either sitting and watching or feeding or interacting. I waved when I left, too.

After some months, she started waving back! I thought I was imagining it and hauled in witnesses, but all agreed Ollie was waving! She stuck out an arm and wiggled it at me. I always thought she studied me as much as I studied her, and this was the result.

Nancy

Don't you wish the cameras were as advanced as they are now. I miss a lot of shots but I do get enough on "film" to be convincing :grin:

Have been so busy with summer stuff that I haven't had time to post in a while... Al has a new lego toy, a little scuba diver we named after our dive instructor. We rarely see Al actually playing with it (he was encouraged in the photo), I leave it buried in the substrate. But after we have left him alone for a while Al must get bored because we'll find Diver Mike floating around without his mask on.

He has a few tank mates, he doesn't like to eat snails which is nice for algae control, and a couple button polyps add interest. He still won't go in bottles for hermit crabs which also turns out to be a good thing. When we go out of town for the weekend, the neighbor has only to let the crabs out to feed him without hassle on her part.

What does everyone else do for octo care when you're out of town? My husband wants to get Al a jar like the ones they use to preserve heads in on the t.v. show Futurama...

Grover doesn't touch the snails in his tank either. I did find one of the Peppermint shrimps on top of the screen over the tank though. The screen covers the entire top, but in the very center is a small hole for me to drop in food or reach in the with my long forceps to grab leftovers/rearrange things as needed. It appears the shrimp got crazy and happened to flip out of the water in just the wrong spot. I bet someone was chasing it... The other shrimps are still fine.

What tankmates did you decide upon?

I can't go out of town. I wouldn't trust anyone to take care of my octos. Too many horror stories for aquarium keepers, octopus or not.

I have one of my past octopus pets preserved in a small jar.

Well maybe that last post was confusing, the snails and the polyps are the tank mates I've decided on. Not too exciting, but more than enough for us (and most importantly Al). On the show Futurama, the heads of people are kept alive in jars (Richard Nixon, for example), my husband was joking that if I had one of those I could take Al with me when I travel (like to MANCA!).

We just returned from Chicago, where we always stop at Shedd's aquarium. Before I had my own octo and learned so much about their needs, the GPO was one of my fave exhibits. Now it just makes me SAD. Not enough room in such a boring tank! Here's a Q for you experts: why don't aquariums keep smaller breeds of octos? If we are able to keep these guys at home, why don't aquariums keep smaller diurnal animals like Al or some of our others?

After that, I'm even more antsy to move Al into the larger tank, especially since he is trying to swim more often. Slowly but surely the nitrates are falling and it will be ready soon. For all of you who have done this before, what are your suggestions for moving day? He'll only be going across the room into a tank that is slightly cooler than his current home (a constant 78F). When I initially brought him home and tried to acclimate him, he got out of the cricket keeper in 5 min. flat. What would be the optimum acclimation time (I'll put him in a critter keeper w/ smaller vents so he can't escape too soon)? I always appreciate all the help and comment you all come up with!!

Ohhh now I see. It would be neat to take them everywhere with us, like dogs. :)

I think the reason for public aquariums keeping GPO's is the impressive size. The GPO display at the San Diego Sea World is probably the smallest I've seen. I swear the inside was a 4'x4'x4' box (if that). It was the most active GPO I've seen though. There appeared to be a hole where it could escape into another area though, hopefully much larger on the other side. The Birch Aquarium actually had a couple of Bimac displays which surprised me. As massive as GPO's are, people still tend to overlook them since they hide and blend in so well, so I imagine smaller octos would be even less noticeable. But I agree with you whole heartedly. Why not throw in a vulgaris into one of those displays?

I would acclimate him to the new tank over an hour or so unless your water parameters between the two tanks match up. If it's just a matter of temperature then just floating him in something should be fine.

Relatively long lifespan is another reason public aquariums keep GPOs - they don't have to acquire new octopuses as often.

Nancy

Ohhh now I see. It would be neat to take them everywhere with us, like dogs. :)



AM, you might not make that analogy if you had an Irish Wolfhound and a Newfoundland!

Sedna, be sure to post how it goes. I am hoping to transfer Octane next week and I am still creating ideas on how to move him. I have moved the Mercs without problems (very unceremoneous scoup walk and drop to well matched tanks) but Octane is much bigger and aging. I am still of the mind to catch and drop to reduce the stress but I will have to see about water temps. Salt and PH I can get matched but the new tank will be much lower in nitrates and I don't know if this might be a problem. I know with fish, it can be deadly even if the water is cleaner.

AM, you might not make that analogy if you had an Irish Wolfhound and a Newfoundland!

Sedna, be sure to post how it goes. I am hoping to transfer Octane next week and I am still creating ideas on how to move him. I have moved the Mercs without problems (very unceremoneous scoup walk and drop to well matched tanks) but Octane is much bigger and aging. I am still of the mind to catch and drop to reduce the stress but I will have to see about water temps. Salt and PH I can get matched but the new tank will be much lower in nitrates and I don't know if this might be a problem. I know with fish, it can be deadly even if the water is cleaner.

Okay well I know my Dane isn't quite the monster those two are but I think 64lbs for a four and a half month old is pretty large, and she goes places with us! :p An octo would make for a neat pocket pet... haha.

Sorry to hijack the thread.

Well, it's been a dramatic day at the Bentley St. Zoo (as friends and relatives call our house). I took the collard lizard to the vet, turns out he's just dehydrated and constipated- we're keeping our fingers crossed that's all it is and he'll be o.k. soon. Too bad there is no good herp site like TONMO!

I have also been growing more concerned about Al's behavior. What are the signs of senesence (sp?)? What does corkscrewing look like? For the first time Al didn't eat a hermit crab, and as I look over other journals, I think he could be starting to start going downhill, but maybe he's just lost interest. He is wild caught and my first octo, so all I know about "normal" behavior is whatever I've seen of him so far. I tend to obsess a bit about my pets, so if anyone could answer or direct me to a good link, I'd really appreciate it!

Is Al starting to lose color?

His color is good, in these photos he is in the top corner of the tank, in the brightest spot. He usually seeks out the brightest spot in the tank during the afternoon/ evening and is at his lightest coloring then. If you run your hand on the other side of the glass he'll respond with a color change, albeit very slight.

He did do his usual hunting behavior and color change when I put in the hermit and even looked to be eating it at first. This was Sunday. He let the hermit go and now it is still alive and walking around the tank. He did stick feed today, some frozen shrimp, and displayed his aggressive coloring then.

I'm not sure if I'm over- reacting and he's just bored. It does seem that he just isn't as tightly balled when he sleeps, that his arms hang loose more often. Then again, as I watch him now he is nicely balled up in his fave spot for this time of day. One thing I don't seem to see much of lately is TEXTURE, he's usually more smooth.

The corkscrew look is exactly like your one pic, where his legs are dangling. Unfortunately, I've learned over the years after many different octopuses, this is not good. I have never had one live much longer after this appears. How are your parameters? The loss of color and texture is also another sign of senescence setting in.

:sad:

Sedna,
Anytime Octane showed a behavior oddity, I did an extra water change and the next day he seemed back to normal. His tank was smaller than I thought (we have had it set up several years and never measured it until Octane was in residence to discover it was 10 gallons smaller that advertised) so I was doing 2 water changes a week as it was. I never showed a detectable drop of ammonia or nitrite so it could have been temperature or oxygen improvements but it always seemed to help. It could also have been skin shedding time and the water changes had absoultely no effect:hmm: but it is a "do no harm" kind of action.

Another tricky day at the zoo... The H2O is good, with just a slight rise in nitrates. Still, I changed out about 8 gal. of the 20, including cleaning the filter media (it's been a month) and added nitrate sponge to the filter. He perked up some for a while, but he's sleeping right now as usual for this time of day.

The big tank has almost perfect H2O with the exception of the nitrates, which are still about 40 ppm. I'm getting more antsy because I've noticed that there seem to be a TON of little anemones in Al's tank. During that major power outage that hit the midwest 3 or 4 years ago, my only casualty in 3 tanks was an E. quadricolor, a nice "cutting" from one of the guys at my LFS. Afterward I noticed 2 or 3 really small anemones, but over time they seemed to disappear. I've had anemones enter filters before and then had 2 or 3 at the output. I'm not sure how likely it is that these little guys are part of that same animal or not, but that was the only anemone in this tank, and now they are big enough to both be noticed and look like bubble tips. They are so very tiny, and yet they have the same greenish cast and bulby white tips. I think I didn't notice them before because I didn't spend much time looking at the live rock (after 8 years who'd think anything exciting was lurking) and now they are thriving because the filter is huge for the tank and the H2O is finally so good.

While this may be a cause for celebration on one hand, my big fear is that this is why Al is always on the glass- that now that I can see that there are lots of these little anemones on all the live rock- maybe they are stinging him. If everything else in the big tank is good, is it safe to move Al with the nitrates at 40 ppm?

Meanwhile, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Al will stay perked up and also that Saltador the collard lizard makes a turn for the better. Some days it's stressful to be a zoo keeper!:goofysca:

Well, it was another long day at the zoo yesterday. After the big H20 change and tank cleaning in the 20 gal. on Wed. Al just seemed irritated more than anything but he usually sulks a bit after a H2O change before perking up. I changed out 25 gal. of the 55 tank yesterday- my premix can is in the basement, it was a lot of trips up the stairs with my 2 1/2 gal. bucket! By the evening nitrates in both tanks were negligable but my husband thought the pH was lower than I read it (I hate comparing colors- leaves room for too much interpretation) but the 55 was ready, so out he went!

The transfer could have been much more delicate for my taste. I scooped him out of the corner to put him in the critter keeper but he hung on to the glass with one arm and fought me a bit. I didn't like having to force him so much- I don't think it hurt he just doesn't like it. Once I got about 5 steps away he inked in the box, but it was easily rinsed away before I put on the top and put it in the big tank. I scrubbed the clam shell I use to make his den and his little toy and put them in the big tank. I set his familiar objects near by the critter keeper where he could see them.

When I first put him in the tank and he settled down look around, he did turn dark and texture when he noticed the large rock he was next to- more mimicing, A.M.? After an hour and a half, I took of the top so he could come out, but he stayed in the box for 45 min or so before coming out. He immediately went over to his toy and touched it, then explored a bit. I left the room and came back to find him in the new den I made him, then spent the rest of the time walking the glass. He's now in the opposite corner on the same wall of the same room, I was imagining how new but the same everything must look for him.

This morning he was on the glass as usual for that time, he looks o.k. I will be watching to see if he starts to explore the rocks more or if he continues to mostly just sleep on the glass. For this morning I'm happy that he made the transfer and what I see is "normal" so far.

In the meantime, we have been giving the lizard 3 warm baths a day and fed him H2O with an eye dropper, we have a 1:10 vet visit so he can be x-rayed. Think of how much money we'd all spend if there were octo vets!

Sounds like everything went about as well as it could have, minus the inking, but you worked it out.

Al looks really cool! He looks like a great pet to have. Are you ever gonna buy another octopus to play with Al, or would that cause a fight or something?

Al looks really cool! He looks like a great pet to have. Are you ever gonna buy another octopus to play with Al, or would that cause a fight or something?

It's not wise to mix octopuses. Usually does cause a fight, and usually to the death.

What if like you bought two baby octopuses and put them in the same tank and raised them together since they were very little? And what if it was a boy and a girl togather?

What if like you bought two baby octopuses and put them in the same tank and raised them together since they were very little? And what if it was a boy and a girl togather?

That seems to work out with O. mercatoris. And Abdopus aculeatus has been discovered to be a fairly social octopus when it comes to a male/female pair. But all the same it's a risk that involves the potential for disaster. It's not worth finding out. Sexing octopuses isn't all that easy until you've observed them for a while and know what to look for. So buying two and HOPING it works out would just be irresponsible.

Dwhatley and Gholland have both raised O. mercatoris babies from eggs and I don't believe they ever reported any cannibalism.

The majority of octopuses are solitary creatures. Meaning, they live alone. They meet a mate, the concieve, and then they either kill each other or go their seperate ways. They do not live together.

Al seems to like his new house, not exploring the rock work much but more so than in the other tank. He also ate a hermit crab that was already in there. As I sat sulking near the tank this evening looking at A's curly arms, he came over to play his favorite "chase me around the glass" game, with my hand on the outside of the tank, him mirroring my movements. I will post pics of his new home after the weekend.

Lime- No, I'm not keeping anything but mushroom polyps, hermit crabs and snails with Al. When he does finally pass, though, I know I will get another one for sure, tank raised if possible. Even with all my zoo keeping problems this week, I'm hooked on octos for life!

It costs $60 to have a lizard x-rayed. Saltador's was clean. We have to go out of town to a relative's baby shower tomorrow and stay over night. We are going to bring the lizard too, so we can bathe him regularly and feed him by hand. I'm starting to think those great big dogs are looking more attractive...

Animal Mother, what about like if you had an octopus and a cuttlefish? Would their be any fighting between the two?

yes. In fact, there's a rather dramatic and disturbing video showing the violence that can result.

http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13420

Blinky used to harass the snails in her tank until they eventually gave up and died. She would rip them off the glass and carry them around like a toy or something. She would ocassionally eat them, but usually she just killed them...I guess for fun.

Really was a PITA having to find them and remove them lol. Usually when she ate crabs she'd take the legs and shells and use them for her den.

Wow Monty, thats sad. :\

:angel:Well, this hard week as a zoo keeper has come to the worst possible end, for both Al the octo and Saltador the collard lizard...

The lizard was too sick to travel yesterday, so we left him home, he had passed by the time we returned. Al was pasted to the glass, pale but alert. This morning Al was hiding in the rock work for a while, but by the afternoon (just as we were preparing to bury the lizard) Al was lying in the bottom of the tank, dead but somehow peaceful looking. Al was a really great pet, the most fun marine animal I've ever had.

Looking back over the photos of Al, I see that he started loosing color about 2 weeks ago, and my husband admitted that he noticed corkscrewed arms sooner than I posted, too. Honestly, though, as Al is my first I really didn't know what to look for in an octo and he could have been showing signs bad health much earlier. I checked all of my H2O parameters and they're good, of course the nitrates in the 55 gal. are now at 0 ppm...

So now I am left with mixed feelings. I'm trying not to second guess myself too much, but then if I made any mistakes it's good to know so that I don't repeat them. What are all of the constructive steps I can take to make sure I've got everything ready for the next ceph? I feel like such a failure right now (I know it's made worse by the double whammy), like maybe I shouldn't try again, that I'm not a good enough aquarist for an octo. I was only able to keep Al alive for 1 1/2 months! Then I think of a recent post "corw314's" journal and think maybe I shouldn't give up.

As for next ceph, I'd so love to find a captive bred octo, does anyone have a source? If not, what are FAVORITE on-line sources (I know I can re-read journal entries but what are the BEST bets?)? It seems that there are lots of aculeatus or similar breeds popping up in the local LFS, what can I look for as GOOD healthy signs, I obviously know to avoid corkscrewed arms (is that just a sign of senescence or of poor health in general?)!

I am planning to not try to get a new octo until after the kids start school and we get back from MACNA (who wants to meet up there?), any suggestions on what I should keep in the tank until I find a new octo?

Finally, a big thank you to everyone at Tonmo who has given me help and encouragement! It is because of the information I found here and knowing I could get real time help that made me take the leap into the world of octopus husbandry. Thank you all for helping me realize my lifetime dream of having an octopus!!

Ouch... I'm really sorry about both of your animals.

Don't get discouraged. We all know how it feels.

You could assemble an interesting clean up crew to occasionally feed and keep the tank going, then you don't have to worry about catching anything when you do get another octopus.

RIP Al. :angelpus:
Sorry about Al Sedna, but don't be too hard on yourself. One of the major issues with wild-caught octos is they tend to be old and nearing death. The corkscrewing and color-loss are typical indicators of just that.

RIP Al.

Please don't beat yourself up over it, it sounds like Al was just near the end of his lifespan. You certainly didn't do anything wrong, and it sounds like he enjoyed his time with you.

RIP Al:angelpus: and Saltador, too.

The most difficult part of being an octopus owner is the short lifespan. It's seems like things are going so well, and then they slip away. Sorry for your loss.

Nancy

:angelpus: RIP Al and Saltador. The slow decline of your octopus sounds more like senescence rather than your husbandry skills. It is heartbreaking that they live such a short time.

:angelpus: RIP Al and Saltador. It's heartbreaking to lose both of them at once.

R.I.P. Al and Saltador. :angelpus: We will all miss you. :heart: Sounds to me though like you didn't do anything wrong, just that when you caught him, he was already at an old age.