I would like to thank all of the members of this site! I have recently got back into the Octopus hobby and this site provided me with all of the information I needed before I made my purchase.

I have had my Octopus for about a month. The place I purchased him/her from did not know what kind it is except that it was not a pygmy or blue ring. I only had a blue ring octo before so I am not sure what kind this one is. I can't show any good picks because he only is out at night! I can tell you he/she is usually red or white. He/she loves fiddlers. Usually only comes out at night but has been out longer in the morning. The head is about 2" long. See picture. I know its not the best. Let me know if I can provide more information.

maybe a briarius. the pic is too low quality for me to tell very well though. can you get a photo of her mantile and tenticals? also try and get the most contrast you can. does she have any eye spots?


chris

No eye spots. I'll try to get a picture of the mantle and tentacles.

Hi and welcome to TONMO.com!:welcome:

Nice octopus! I'd like to add him to the List of Our Octopuses, if you'd tell me what his name is.

Well, we know that your octopus is nocturnal (and it may gradually adjust and come out more during the day.)

Does it have webbing between its arms, so that it can float down and envelop a rock?

Does it have a blue-green glow at times?

The body is 2" - how long are the arms?

Is it usually smooth or textured, or both?

Even if you can't get particularly good photos, it woud be good to have more than one posted for ID.

Nancy

His/her name is Cyclops (always peeking out of its den with one eye).

To answer your questions:

1- No webbing
2- Haven't noticed a blue-green glow
3- the arms are at least double the body (probably 2.5 times the size fully stretched)
4- Almost always smooth. I noticed once it was rough

I will post more photos when I can get them. Once the light hits him at night he moves for cover.

No eye spots. I'll try to get a picture of the mantle and tentacles.ok so that means that he isnt a bimac...
chris

Not a briareus, either....

Nancy

:welcome: Glad you found us.

Here is the best I could do taking pictures of cyclops with my less than poor camera skills. I have also included a picture of my O. Vulgaris in his 125 gallon tank.

I hope someone can identify my octo!:smile:

Is my picture that bad? :)

Is my picture that bad? :)

Well, there have only been 12 views of one, and 8 of the other. And probably a lot of those were search engines trying to index the text of the PDFs, so I suspect the ID experts haven't had time to look yet. As an ID tyro, I can say I have no idea, but that's not so unusual...

Don't give up - we've looked, but no one has been able to make an identification yet.

It's not so easy to identify an octopus, once it falls outside the range of those we usually see. Recently some of our new octos have been very difficult to ID and yours may fall into that category. So its not your photos (although you might post some more) - it's just hard.

The identification is made more complicated because an octopus can change its appearance and have many different looks. I've found that when I've seen a species a number of times then I can recognize that species fairly easily - but if I just have look at photos in a book and read descriptions, then it's more difficult.

I'll see if I can find someone who can tell us more about this species.

Nancy

I'll try to post more pictures. It is so hard to get him because of the shyness. He has been eating a ton of Fiddlers (two last night!). He is so shy that even if I walk by the tank at night he jets.

I don't know if this will help but he was extremely small when I got him (about an inch). In about a month or so he has grown to about 3 inches (head size). His arms are not terribly long and he keeps them close in most of the time. Of course my viewing time is very limited.

I call him cyclops because he loves staying in the doorway of his den with his arms wrapped all around him with his eye in the middle. this octo is very interesting and usually is wearing a beautiful red color with course skin.

Well the good news is my Vulgaris is much more interactive with me. He loves his live rock! He hides near the bottom and sticks his arms out during the day to crab Mysis shrimp as I feed the Chromis and Peppermint shrimp a bit.

Hmmm, I remember reading about an octopus that likes to sit with its arms in the position you describe. Wish I could remember which species it was - perhaps a dwarf. Cyclops is nocturnal, isn't he?

Nancy

Cyclops is Nocturnal. The good news is he is healthy. I just wish I knew more about him.

Ok,

I would love some more pictures, but a few more questions for you...

Does it have any color patterns? Like a bar between its eyes, or other spots.

My two thoughts (although I am NOT an ID expert...)
O. joubini or O. burryi

Good luck, when I have a bit more time, I will do some more research. I too remember there is a species that sits with its tentacles curled up over its head.

It is hard to tell. I don't see brown stripes on its arms. Maybe small white spots. Here is another pic. I'll keep trying though

is he a red octopus? lol i dunno what a red octo looks like i jus know they r nocternal:D

Looks like a striking difference in arm pair sizes for 1 and 2, in combination with fairly insignificant webbing, what does that tell us? Do you have manual focus on your camera, or is it a compact digital of the point and shoot variety?

You would think working for a design firm I would be able to answer that question...... In fairness to me, I am the marketing & sales guy. The camera is a Canon Powershot SD30 Digital ELPH. If I had to guess, it auto focuses. I can zoom only two different frames (assuming I know what I am doing which I don't). I'll keep trying to take pictures. Hopefully one will come in clear!

I looked up your camera and you have a good one.

Assuming that the tank glass is clean (you've scraped off the algae), I would guess you're having a problem with focus. You might go back and read that part of your manual. You might try putting your camera on macro and pressing the lens up against the glass.

Nancy

I will try that. Thanks Nancy!

from what youve told me and what i see in the picture i would probobly say its a red octopus but im not 100% sure

I think it may be a red octopus too after looking at some pics. Here is a couple more.

Here is another picture of my O. Vulgaris. He / she is much more photogenic.