I haven't posted in a few months although I still visit and read very regularly. Just wanted to give a little update. The beautiful, long legged Ocho is doing very well and is actually living longer than I expected. When I got her at the end of July, she was pretty much full grown. I was gonna consider myself lucky if she lasted til Christmas. Well, the holidays came and went although I think there might be a few signs of age (a few spots of skin pigment staying white) but she's still kickin....I mean suckin. Still very content living underneath my undergravel filter which is fine and makes for a giant den to roam around in. It is still very awesome to watch her squeeze her 5 inch mantle and near 2 foot legspan down a crack just a little bit thicker than a coin or 2. I think this will be my last octopus with an UGF though. Ocho lifted up a corner just enough for a small crab to get underneath which worries me because I wouldn't be able to get to the remains which would compromise water quality. I'm gonna go with the live rock route from here on out. So Ocho has been getting a lot more thawed frozen shrimp lately which she seems perfectly ok with. Ocho has remained nocturnal coming out in late evening. I feed her about 4:50AM as I'm getting ready for work. Ocho has always had a tankmate which is a damsel. She is a very non aggressive little fish and has never caused a problem. I keep the tank at about 74 degrees, salinity 1.026 and a 20% water change every 2 weeks. I run filter floss and carbon 24/7 in a HOB filter and of course, a skimmer. I thinks that's pretty much it unless anyone has some questions. Now, a few pictures.....

and a few more pics.........

wow! Ocho's a really beautiful octopus! thanks for the report and pictures...

I just want to say your tank looks amazing. Your water is so clear! And Ocho is beautiful!!

She is absolutely beautiful! Love the pics!

Carol

Great update Phuntoon, thanks! Stuck this thread temporarily for front page promotion...

Ocho's a stunner!

She's beautiful! What species?

Wow, I check back into the TONMO site and what do I see....Ocho front page!? Thanks Tony, that really means a lot to me! I appreciate everyones kind words on Ocho as well. She is definately an insteresting creature which always keeps me amazed. Never predictable yet seems very comfortable in her surroundings and is easy on the eyes. I'll snap some more pics and get them up soon...



She's beautiful! What species?


Thanks! I posted Ocho in the ID forum a few weeks after I got her and most came to the conclusion of a Macropus. She seems to have most of the physical characteristics of Macropus but its hard to be 100% sure because of a few differences I've noticed.

I'm considering using an UGF as a way to simply keep the water moving,
I'll place my live rock on top of the plates and use dual power heads to move the water.
For the front and sides I would like to use smooth beach stones to cover the UGF plates.
I'm new to this octo business so does this sound reasonable?
I hope so because I collected the beach stones myself which will make the whole thing alot more worthwhile.
I plan to employ a wet/dry so the UGF will only be for water movement and whatever incidental filtration takes place.
Thanks to all and have a great day!
DR

This may not be the correct forum for my question....apologies if it is'nt

I'm considering using an UGF as a way to simply keep the water moving,
I'll place my live rock on top of the plates and use dual power heads to move the water.
For the front and sides I would like to use smooth beach stones to cover the UGF plates.
I'm new to this octo business so does this sound reasonable?
I hope so because I collected the beach stones myself which will make the whole thing alot more worthwhile.
I plan to employ a wet/dry so the UGF will only be for water movement and whatever incidental filtration takes place.
Thanks to all and have a great day!
DR

No apologies. We're here to help with any and all questions. As for your plan, it should work out great especially since you just want it for water movement. Since a UGF supposedly relies on at least a few inches of substrate to trap the beneficial bacteria underneath, the addition of live rock and the wet/dry will help greatly and be your primary source of filtration. Ocho uncovers huge portions of the grate and there is no disturbance of good bacteria and the water stays very clear so for some people who say a UGF is sensitive and you shouldn't disturb the substrate.....I guess Ocho has proven that wrong. I also have the HOB filter to assist though. The best thing is there will definately be no shortage of oxygen in the water with the kind of surface disturbance a UGF makes. Ocho is only the 2nd out of quite a number of octopuses I've had which has found the giant lair of space beneath the undergravel filter though. Make sure the rocks you put on the grate are heavy enough that your octopus will not be able to lift it. You could also glue the grate to the bottom of the tank unless you actually want your octopus to make a den under there. In my case, I'll have to redo the tank once Ocho passes on cause she's brought a lot of gravel under there shaping her den which has slightly raised one side of the grate. Hope this info helps.

Yes it does!
Thanks.....what you told me confirms what I was thinking.
Ya I suppose that beneath the UGF would be an ideal lair.
Must be fun to watch her emerge.

Hi!

She IS beautiful!
Is she the same one as in your name file photo that shows on the left of each post? That one looks so much like mine and I've been trying to ID her. Do you know what species that one is? I looked up Macropus and got a wallaby list.

Sounds like you're taking very good care of her; keep it up!

Griffen777,
For trappers tank (and several others) we made a modified UG to move water without sucking from the main water column. On the underneath side, we attached a network of joined PVC pipes with drilled holes so that the down tubes were connected to the PVC network. On Trapper's tank we put a filter bag around the PVC because we are using sand and to keep him out of the tubing. We made a custom platform out of plastic peg board but a standard UGF could be modified similarly.

Hello Phuntoon, you have a very beautiful specimen there!

I think I may have found a match for mine. Mine, "Herb" looks identical to yours and once you mentioned Ocho's long legs I was pretty much sure I had found a match.

Ocho is much larger then Herb. Herb's mantle is probably only 1.5" long. His legs are probably 6-7" inches long at times. The colors are identical to Ocho's and he is also nocturnal.

What have you been feeding Ocho? I feed Herb 2 live glass/ghost shrimp every day and some sort of live crab once a week. I am planning on trying some frozen shrimp in the near future as well.

I have only had Herb since October and he is my 1st Octopus so I am trying to learn as much as I can about him.

I have attached a couple pics of Herb, sorry about the quality. Being that he is nocturnal it's hard to get a decent picture of him. He hates the camera flash so I stopped photographing him shortly after I got him.

Ocho is really beautiful, and you have him a beautiful tank.

Hi!

She IS beautiful!
Is she the same one as in your name file photo that shows on the left of each post? That one looks so much like mine and I've been trying to ID her. Do you know what species that one is? I looked up Macropus and got a wallaby list.

Sounds like you're taking very good care of her; keep it up!

Thanks! Yup, that's Ocho back in September when all I had to use was my crappy camera phone.

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I really should update that pic next to my name since I've gotten a nice digital camera since then. About finding pics on Macropus, if you do a google image search on just Macropus, you'll get all the Kangaroo and Wallaby pics. Search with "octopus macropus" or "macropus octopus" and you'll get what you're looking for.

Hello Phuntoon, you have a very beautiful specimen there!

I think I may have found a match for mine. Mine, "Herb" looks identical to yours and once you mentioned Ocho's long legs I was pretty much sure I had found a match.

Ocho is much larger then Herb. Herb's mantle is probably only 1.5" long. His legs are probably 6-7" inches long at times. The colors are identical to Ocho's and he is also nocturnal.

What have you been feeding Ocho? I feed Herb 2 live glass/ghost shrimp every day and some sort of live crab once a week. I am planning on trying some frozen shrimp in the near future as well.

I have only had Herb since October and he is my 1st Octopus so I am trying to learn as much as I can about him.

I have attached a couple pics of Herb, sorry about the quality. Being that he is nocturnal it's hard to get a decent picture of him. He hates the camera flash so I stopped photographing him shortly after I got him.

Thank you! Herb is very cool looking and still pretty small. If all goes well, you should have him for quite a while. I had maily fed ocho striped or purple shore crabs that I'd catch in the tidepools after a surf session. Since Ocho had lifted a corner of the UGF moving around gravel and such, she's been mainly getting thawed frozen shrimp from the Albertsons seafood deli. I'm just worried that a small crab could slip down there or Ocho would drag it down there to eat. I wouldn't be able to get to the remains which would just rot down there. Your second picture of Herb reminded me of this picture I took back in October....once again with the crappy camera phone.

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Yeah, it's a little difficult trying to get pics without the flash since most of the time Ocho is out, so are the lights. I used to be worried that the flash would cause an inking event. But after awhile of using the flash though, she's gotten quite used to it or at least tolerates it and I'm not worried about her inking anymore.

By the way, I took a bunch more high quality shots this morning with the digital camera and will have those up tonight or tomorrow morning. Pics will show: Feeding time, chillin, and also her squeezing her mantle down the UGF....

I think that it is not Octopus macropus unless you know it came from the Atlantic. I just got two in that look to be the same as what you have and the supplier got them from the indo-pacific right now I'm thinking it is Octopus luleus which is very similar to macropus.

Thank you! Herb is very cool looking and still pretty small. If all goes well, you should have him for quite a while. I had maily fed ocho striped or purple shore crabs that I'd catch in the tidepools after a surf session. Since Ocho had lifted a corner of the UGF moving around gravel and such, she's been mainly getting thawed frozen shrimp from the Albertsons seafood deli. I'm just worried that a small crab could slip down there or Ocho would drag it down there to eat. I wouldn't be able to get to the remains which would just rot down there. Your second picture of Herb reminded me of this picture I took back in October....once again with the crappy camera phone.

3916

Yeah, it's a little difficult trying to get pics without the flash since most of the time Ocho is out, so are the lights. I used to be worried that the flash would cause an inking event. But after awhile of using the flash though, she's gotten quite used to it or at least tolerates it and I'm not worried about her inking anymore.

By the way, I took a bunch more high quality shots this morning with the digital camera and will have those up tonight or tomorrow morning. Pics will show: Feeding time, chillin, and also her squeezing her mantle down the UGF....

That is a great pic, makes me want to try and get some newer ones of Herb. It looks just like a bigger Herb. It's nice to see because up until now I haven't been able to find any pics that look like Herb. I was hoping you would know 100% for sure what species Ochos is. Hard little guys to pin point aren't they. LOL

I can't wait to see your new pics. :-)

....and here are those pics

Ocho just cruisin around:
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Feeding Time:

Ocho just took the shrimp
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Ocho doing her daily "lets hold onto the feeding stick for awhile" game
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Chowing down on a big chunk of shrimp
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Ocho finishing up the shrimp before heading back down....
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Heading back into her lair
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One more of her squished body
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If you look at Norman's Cephalopods: A World Guide, on page 255 he published two photos of mine that are of an octopus that I reared from a paralarva collected on Moorea. (It says Fiji, but that is an error.) Until now, my photos were the only record of it. It is pretty obvious that they are the same species.

The paralarvae, when they are ready to settle, are huge - a couple of centimeters long and bright red. They look like small very elongate squid. I have seen several, all on Moorea inside Cook's Bay, all in October and all came to a night light 4-6 days after the full moon. We have yet to find were the adults are.

Roy

yeah, wow, those pictures in Norman do look exactly like the Ocho pics, don't they. "Octopus sp. 11" It sounds like Ocho's doing well in Phuntoon's tank, it's astounding to think that between you you may have 100% of the knowledge of keeping this species! Sorry, I'm a "science fanboy" sometimes...

Now I'm really curious. I need to see those pictures! I've been meaning to get Norman's Book on Cephalopods for awhile and now I have even more of a reason to. It sounds as if Ocho could possibly be a rare species? Was there a name given for this particular Octopus in Norman's book? It's very exciting to think that I may be one of the very few who have had extended experience in caring for this species.

Since I'm not too familiar with Moorea, I did a search on it and it's in French Polynesia, a small island next to Tahiti in the South Pacific in case anyone else here doesn't know.

3930

After looking at some closeups of the island, it looks like lush coral environment just offshore, which means warmer water (after all, it's the South Pacific). Since not knowing exactly what Ocho is, I've been keeping her tank at around 74 degrees which is kind of in the middle of tropical to semi colder water temps. After a little more searching, I really should be having Ochos tank the same as my reef tank, 78 degrees. I think I'm gonna take the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach though since she appears to be doing just fine. I'm also curious as to why there were no adults found. Ocho seems to be more inclined to digging and burying herself in the substrate as apposed to making a den in rockwork. Maybe the adults were in a less obvious location.....lying in wait under the sand?

I reared the paralarva that I collected on Moorea in my lab at Berkeley. When Norman was putting his book together, I sent him some of my photos and included a couple of the macropus-like animal. I was surprised when he didn't recognize it and put in the book that it was the only record of this species. Unfortunately, things got a bit mixed up and the photo caption says that the animal was collected in Fiji.

Many octopus in this group bury during the day and hunt at night. I suspect this species is not that rare. It probably just lives in a mucky environment where no one dives at night. I must admit that some of the lagoon passes on Moorea make me just a bit spooked by strong currents, low visibility and the odd tiger shark cruising through - and there isn't that much to see but a lot of muck.

The thing that really interests me about this species is the paralarva. They really do look like thin, inch long squid and they are bright red. As I said earlier, they are attracted to night lights. UC Berkeley has a biological station inside of Cook's Bay on Moorea and I teach a class their every fall. To collect stomatopod larvae, I spend a lot of evenings standing waist deep in the water with by dive light in one hand and a net in the other. I see a fair number of octopus paralarvae and even the odd bob-tailed squid, but the first time I caught one of these paralarva I honestly thought I had netted a small squid. I caught four that night in about an hour. When I got back to the lab, I put one in a container and didn't look closely at it. The next day I noticed that it was "attached" to the bottom by its arms. Over the next week it gradually changed shape to start looking like an octopus.

I have caught one or two most years, but always just a few days after the full moon in October. We look for stomatopod larvae year round and I or my students have never found one of these guys any other time of the year.

The animal that we reared grew to the size of yours and lived about a year. A water temperature of 74 is cool for Moorea - just about the low winter temperature. During the summer it gets into the low to mid-80's. I suspect the reason that your animal is living so long is the cool temperature. I would not raise it.

Is yours a male or a female and do you know where it came from?

Roy

Phuntoon,
Thanks for the geographic reference. I also looked it up ;>) AND broke down and bought Norman's book - not a used one in sight so I had to pinch my pocket but can't wait for it to get here ;>(.

Is yours a male or a female and do
you know where it came from?
Roy

I think she's a female. I've looked and have never been able to find the "modified" third arm that would transfer the spermatophores. I also have no idea where she came from. I special ordered her at Connie's in Castro Valley. They had one on their wholesale list and I said order it, but they weren't sure where the shipment comes from. When I picked her up, the shipment had just arrived and she was still in the double bag she came in. They identified her as "the one with the purple head." Don't know how they saw that though cause you could hardly see anything through the double bag except blurry suckers. Had no idea what I was getting and I hate that. I like to prepare for the specific needs of the particular animal I'm receiving.

just a few pics from yesterday.....

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4021

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Love the red wig shot!

do you know where to find this species to buy?? its very beautiful colors!!! your octo looks great!!!!!

Thanks, I wish I knew where to get another one of these. They seem to be pretty rare as I still don't even know what species this is. Most LFS don't ever know what species they'll be getting anyway. Even then, they just give them a generic name like common brown. If I see another one of these available, the people on Tonmo will know. :smile:

Since I'm here and it's been a little while, I might as well post some updated Ocho pics........

Cruising around doing the occasional squid imitation:
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Waiting for food on feeding stick:
4275

Got it:
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Just chillin on the glass:
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one of the 3 times she's ever slept above the undergravel filter.(all within the last month) It's funny how she has one tentacle covering her eyes:
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Cruising the bottom:
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One more just hanging out on the glass (with half of one arm missing):
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....and here's the rest of that arm. Came home and found it just floating near the surface still moving. Kinda stumped me since there's nothing I know of that could sever it (intakes covered etc.):
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Ocho's still doing very well and more pics to come as I still continue to snap them.

great pics! hope the arm heals up well!.... very nice octo btw. How big is she?

Ocho looks so much at home in your tank! Can you describe what's in there with her, please?

Nancy

great pics! hope the arm heals up well!.... very nice octo btw. How big is she?

Thanks! Well, she's not quite as big as she used to be due to her older age. At her biggest, I would say her mantle was about 5 inches long. I would say the mantle is now about 3 inches. Her legs are really long and skinny and would probably reach 30 inches or so tip to tip.

Ocho looks so much at home in your tank! Can you describe what's in there with her, please?

Nancy


Just about everything in her tank are plastic decorations except for the rocks, shells and a porcelain looking skull thingy. I have all the artificial plants coming up and out through the rocks so they won't be dislodged and float up from Ochos movement. There's a bunch of empty barnacle shells that she randomly drags around the tank. I also swap out different toys to keep them fresh. The best would probably be the circular plastic container that toys and candy come in from a gumball machine. Just fill it with tank water and it's near neutral buoyancy is interesting for an octo cause when they bring it down, it slowly bobs back up to the surface. The swamp tree root looking decoration is also plastic. I might as well list all the things that make this tank run since they are also in the tank. It's all very basic stuff.

Equipment:
1. Undergravel filter
2. Seaclone skimmer ( I know these have gotten a bad wrap but I think that's because people haven't given enough time to figure out how to fine tune it. It took a little while but I use sight, sound, and feel to find it's "sweet spot" and I get it every time. You should see the gunk I get out of it.)
3. Whisper HOB filter with about 1 1/2 cups of carbon in the Filter bag.
4. Heater

......and of course, Blondie the Damsel.

I think I've covered everything in the tank, but if there's more questions, just ask.