Well, I apologise for the absence but with the house move and a few family emergencies, I was unable to take the time to post much lately. Mimius's new tank stand is finished. The lighting hood will be made as the new tank cycles. Included is a picture of Mimius with eyes above the water directing the construction of his stand...

A couple of more shots of Mimius.

Glad to see that Minimus is doing so well. Happy fifth anniversary! He's looking good - what are you feeding him?
I'm sure he's looking forward to the new tank.

Nancy

Hi Nancy, Mimius prefers lobster which is his/her staple food. In addition it also gets frozen blue crab meat and shrimp. Fiddler crabs are hard to come by this time of year in the pet stores, however, Mimius also likes to hunt and eat the large turbo snails. I always have several in the tank and restock when the LFS has sales on snails. Mimius is now hidden alot and has taken every rock it can move to build an incredible den. It is still taking food but I suspect maybe infertile eggs may be in the den. Mimius spends alot of time in the den now blowing sand out and cleaning. Rarely comes out over the past several days. I guess we'll see...

Nice food choices Mimius! She seems to spend a lot of time near the top of the water - planning her escape?

Beautiful work on thestand, I feel a little envious (sp?), and Mimius looks fantastic! I can't wait to see the completed tank.

Felix

Thank you for the compliment. The whole idea was to downsize from my original 180 gallon reef to something simpler and smaller. I will have the tank on the stand in the next couple of days and am awaiting a new R/O membrane (2 months and counting!) to begin filling. The sump will be behind the wall in the "furnace room" where I have already installed all needed stuff such as sink, water, electricity, GFCI etc. After such a long time and so much planning, I can't wait to get Mimius's new quarters up and running. Should be cool...90 gallon cube shaped tank etc.

Do you think that Minimus is building a den to lay eggs?

Nancy

I think so Nancy. Mimius if O. aculateus, then is adult size i.e., armspan over three feet. Behaviour is uncharacteristic the last week to ten days. Mimius used to be out in the open almost all the time. Now she(?) stays in the den and cleans the interior constantly. I've also noted using funnel to propel fresh water through the den - maybe aerating eggs? In any case she/he still eats but with less enthusiasm and does not leave the den. The arms come out crawling and searching, however, the head and mantle stays hidden. It will take at least 6 weeks to get the new tank up and cycled si I have time to observe Mimius's behaviour without having to worry about disturbing the den and perhaps destroying a clutch of eggs. Unfortunately, I can't see the interior of the den and have no way of knowing if there are eggs or not. Have to wait and see.

It would be a bit sad if Minimus did lay eggs and never got to move to the new tank. It wouldn't be the first time this has happened to a TONMO.com member. Perhaps she would live some after the eggs hatched (or were infertile and she grew tired of eggs) and could enjoy the new tank.

And, it's always there for Minimus II.

Nancy

Agreed Nancy, however, thats the risk we take when we get one of these amazing creatures. Mimius has been with me for almost six months now and was pretty large when I got her/him. In any case the new tank will be set up regardless even if its only to house a few soft corals and someplace to start stocking up various crabs and snails for the next octopus. From what I can understand though, even if Mimius did lay eggs, I hope I can expect it to survive another month or so. I don't know how long the eggs for aculateus take to hatch.

Egg hatching depends on temperature - somewhere around 4 to 6 weeks. Minimus could live some weeks afterwards, too, especially if she keeps eating. I guess that might vary by species, but some of our bimacs continued eating.

Nancy

Any update?

No unfortunately, no changes yet. Mimius refuses all food and will not leave her den. The new tank/stand/hood is finished and I am filling it with R/O water. But as things look, I don't think I will transfer Mimius when the time comes as I don't want to disturb her. A few pics of the hood. Its pc lights with actinics and moonlight and is hinged to allow the front or back to fold up and over.

Very nice!!! Nothing like a new tank!! :)

Thanks, I can't wait for the water, sand and live rock to be in so it can start to cycle. I will post more pics once the tank is functional and I can explain the octopus proof lid and overflow arrangement.

Ian

I will post more pics once the tank is functional and I can explain the octopus proof lid and overflow arrangement.

Those little bits of creative design and DIY are, for me at least, one of the most enjoyable parts of the hobby. Now that my automatic top-off is finished I'm considering a noise cancellation system involving a microphone and a speaker attached to a circuit board.

Dan

Sounds hi tech Dan. Maybe try just a microphone so we can listen to the noise in the water of the tank. I bet with all the pumps etc., its pretty noisy compared to the ocean!

Detritus the tank looks really good, and looks really well made too. I'd interested in a better look at your octoproofing too. :grin:

Dan do you have a link to that noise cancellation circuit? That would be a great idea for my new chiller.

It would be of my own design, so no, no link :)

If you do a google for noise cancellation circuit you can find wiring diagrams for a headset, but mine would probably be a lot simpler.

Noise cancellation doesn't work in most environments. It seems to work best when you're trying to protect a single point (as in an earphone) or trying to silence a single point. What I'm worried about is dispersion inside, outside the sump and the stand.

Dan

Really good job, I whant to see it finished.

Well, unfortunately things have taken a turn for the worse with Mimius. Last night when I got home from work, I saw the protein skimmer going like crazy and Mimius turned upside down with its mouth exposed and arms wrapped around itself. Even worse there were two of Mimius's arms being eaten by brittlestars in the corner of the tank. Mimius's den was completely broken apart. There are several observations:

1. No sign of eggs in den (did the brittle stars eat them? Did they hatch and die, causing the skimmer to go nuts?)

2. Mimius's eyesight seems to be almost gone. She explores with her arms, but does not seem to use her eyes to look around anymore - not even at me

3. Mimius still refuses all food and has not eaten for over a week now(doesn't even seem to see fiddler crabs or emerald crabs).

Still being relatively new to octopus keeping I have many questions and few answers.

1. Could Mimius's hiding behavior, poor eyesight and lack of appetite be a sign of just senescence? Maybe there was never an egg mass in the den(I got Mimius on August 25, 2005 - and she has an armspan of perhaps 12 to 14 inches at the time).

2. Since Mimius has not been eating, could the brittlestars be hungry enough to attack Mimius? The two missing arms were both severed at exactly the same place about 1.0 cm distal to the mantle. Could Mimius have shed the arms when attacked by the hungry brittlestars?

3. What can I do now to help Mimius? Food is refused and live crabs are not even seen. The new tank is cycling but I don't want to shock Mimius with a transfer considering her situation and stress.

This morning Mimius was still alive and had created a new den. Her coloration was normal and breathing was not laboured.

Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

Ian

Well, quite a lot has happened! I'm glad Minimus has recovered. No one else has ever reported something quite like you've experienced, so I'll just do the best I can to answer.

Probably there were eggs, because Minimus did den and show other signs, like refusing to eat. They could have been infertile. Mimimus may have eaten them herself. Bristle worms can eat eggs and I imagine a large brittlestar could, too. Was there a big fight and the den was torn apart?

It is possible that the brittlestars weren't getting enough to eat - you need to feed them!

Some species do have arms that will break off.

Failing eyesight does sometimes occur - we've seen eyesight decline and even blindness in bimacs that live a long time and lay eggs.

Actually, if you were to move anyone to the new tank, maybe it should be the brittlestars! You're not around to protect Minimus during the day.

Minimus may not be able to see or sense the live food. You could try touching the food to her suckers - works well with thawed frozen shrimp, but I don't know whether she's used to that. A feeding stick would come in handy. However, it's not unusual for some species to refuse food after egg laying - then all you can do is make her comfortable.

Nancy

Wow...I am amazed that she recovered. Sounds like there may have been a battle. Towards the end of Ink's life, she lost her sight and also her ability to control her legs. The fact that Minimus did recover enough to put together a new den I think is a good sign, and as Nancy suggested, keep offering food by letting her feel it since her sight is gone. Please keep us updated!

Carol

Thanks for the suggestions all. Mimius ate a large peice of lobster last night and doesn't seem too worse the wear for having six instead of eight arms. Breathing is normal. I moved the brittlestars into the new set-up last night as well.

Yes the den was literally torn apart! I really have no idea what happened. I will keep you posted on Mimius's (hopefully) recovery.

Ian

Mimius has passed away. I went home last night and of course first thing I did was check on Mimius, and found her dead. I am very sad at the passing of this incredible animal. I keep reviewing everything that was done, but I think It was simply senescence that caught up with her. Almost seven months in captivity for my first octopus is not too bad I think. Her arm span at death was just over four feet and head and mantle size is about six inches. I will miss Mimius dearly, such personality.

:sad: RIP Miminus...And yes....7 months is a very good record.....And I too think it was senescence....Ya know each time I loose an octopus it saddens me, but I hope you will as I have decide to try again at some point. They are truly fascinating creatures, and for me, worth the limited time we have with them.

Carol

:angelpus:

Good buy dear friend, you will be missed.

:goodbye:
say hi to megas for me Miminus

RIP Minimus. :angelpus:

Glad she was able to have a peaceful final day.

Nancy

:cry: :angelpus: sorry to hear it.

Thanks for the support everyone. I feel this loss much more than any of the other invertebrates, fish, clams etc. I have kept because the octopus just seems to be so intelligent in comparison and so full of personality. I will wait and see if the supplier who got me Mimius can get another healthy one in. At least this time around the permanent new tank is up and running and we will not have to contend with moving an octopus and all from one house to another.