Great video. I'm just guessing, but it looked like they were trying to eat each other. At this stage I would guess that they are little eating machines, and will eat whatever is around, with only a slight preference for non-bimacs. Maybe you'll need to keep a constant supply of food in there with them. Thanks for posting and keeping us updated.
Thanks, Dave. Can I fix my original link by "editing" my post and cutting and pasting the link you provided into it?Originally Posted by CaptFish
Sue
Yes, Joe, I was very glad when the acclimation was over because I thought someone was going to get seriously hurt with all that grabbing! As far as them being eating machines, I can only hope, but so far, no. I have some live mysid in each separate container with each of them and I watched as a mysid landed on the mantle of a hatchling and nothing happened. Hopefully they're just stressed by the new environment?
Sue
I would attempt shore shrimp with them now I think since they seem to be coming at each other beak first. The shrimp will survive easily in a barren tank, be far more nurishing than mysis and can be offered live in the net when they grow a little. Once I was comfortable that the shrimp could not attack the hatchlings, I kept some alive in the merc nets for them to hunt. Initially I would offer them freshly killed (I use a pipette for this).
Last edited by DWhatley; Feb 28, '11 at 10:58pm.
"D"
"Of all the things that I have lost, I think I miss my mind the most".
Thanks, D. When I placed the order today for more live mysid I looked at the shore shrimp and was tempted to order them, too, but since I hadn't actually seen them eat anything yet at that point and since they are so small, I figured I'd hold off. The video may be deceiving but the largest of the hatchlings is probably 1/2" at the most. I haven't seen them move towards or make any attempt to go after the live mysid or amphipods swimming by them but the great news is they showed an interest in frozen mysis tonight. If I touch their tentacles gently with a pipette with a mysis suctioned to the end they grab it and wrap their tentacles around it. I'm not sure if they are eating it (I'm still real new at this) but they hang onto it and make several little jerking motions. I am THRILLED!
Sue
Fantastic!I am so happy for you. I am keeping my
for you. How do you plan to separate them? Very nice video. Would love to see more, FTS maybe?
so exciting!!
I definitely recommend hand feeding so you know they are taking it. My track record is not stellar with numbers of survival but I have managed more than most home hobbiests. I worry that the live mysis (at least the ones I have had)don't have enough food value. The PE mysis are freshwater but have more substance. Looking back on my journal, I also see that I fed them tiny crabs (but could only get them once). You will be surprised at what they can take at this size, proprotionally more than they will when grown. Here is a picture of a 16 day old O. briareus accepting a very small crab and another of a 6 day old taking PE mysis larger than its mantle.
"Of all the things that I have lost, I think I miss my mind the most".
I will definitely attempt to handfeed at least 2 times a day, hopefully three. Not only is it rewarding but it's a great way to keep track of who's catching on, who's growing, if any are acting differently, and hopefully also a good way to get them tame and accustomed to me.
I have frozen PE Mysis and also the bottled Mysis Feast (haven't tried that with the hatchlings yet). I also have more live mysis arriving tomorrow but I'm not sure they will go after those, they don't seem interested in food unless I'm tapping them with it. Of course, they've only been here 36 hours so we're all still adjusting. I will see what I can get my hands on regarding small crabs..... ahhhh, the elusive hunt for food. :)
Funny you should ask.... I shot a quick video yesterday of the full tank and then tried to zoom in on each of the separate containers but I haven't downloaded it off the camera yet so I don't know how it came out. I'll try to get to that tonight.Fantastic!
so exciting!!
What I did was buy all the plastic breeding traps I could find from my LFS and since a couple of them have dividers, I am now able to have one section for each hatchling. I was down to four because I gave two hatchlings to a local fellow reef nut and then FINALLY late last night I found the "missing" seventh hatchling! I had pretty much accepted that he'd be forever MIA but during my last flashlight check in the original transport bucket, there he was climbing the wall! He must have buried himself deeply into the live rock I had in there but maybe when the water started becoming foul he decided he wanted out. I was SO EXCITED to find him - you'd think it was the reunion of a lost love. :) He must have been just as excited because he is definitely the feistiest one .... he was active and hungry and curious. Gonna have to find a special name for him/her. So, I now have 5.
Sue
YAY! I am so happy for you! Glad the little guy is doing ok! Good idea to put them in different breeders. That way you can watch them closely.
"Why have a reef when you can have an Octopus?"
and
=
As you will soon learn, hiding in plain site is a trick they pull off frequently. Even knowing this and knowing where to look, sometimes it takes me a few minutes to spot Monty (the briareus are large enough to be easily seen when in front of the LR but sometimes I have to take a second look even to find them).
"Of all the things that I have lost, I think I miss my mind the most".
yeah for #7!
I'll just be waiting for the show to start.
As requested, full tank shot showing individual breeder traps containing 5 bimac hatchlings.
That is such a great idea. Gives me thoughts if I ever have baby octos.
"Why have a reef when you can have an Octopus?"
How does water circulate through the traps? Closer photo please. (Sorry if I am being difficult to please...I am just so interested in case our O. briaeus has viable young.)
I think you need more live rock (for nitrifying bacteria to help with possible ammonia issues) or is it connected to a sump?
It looks good Sue. Staying tuned
Not a problem..... feel free to ask away - it's how we all learn, right? The breeder trap on the far left of the tank is very fine mesh so circulation is not a problem. The one in the middle is clear plastic but the bottom is slotted, and the one on the far right is plastic but slotted on the right and left sides. Whenever I am in there checking on them or feeding them I "swish" the traps to get the old food out and fresh water in and tonight I will hook up a siphon and get all the debris off the bottom.How does water circulate through the traps? Closer photo please. (Sorry if I am being difficult to please...I am just so interested in case our O. briaeus has viable young.)
I think you need more live rock (for nitrifying bacteria to help with possible ammonia issues) or is it connected to a sump?
It looks good Sue. Staying tuned
Regarding the live rock, I'm torn. Yes, we need a lot for converting ammonia to nitrite to nitrate, etc. but these guys will be escaping their traps soon and will be "loose" in the 20 gallon tank and I will NEVER find them with rock in there. And when I try to carefully move and examine rocks to look for them I may hurt or kill one of them. Not sure what to do.
Regarding filtration for now, I went out and bought them a Fluval G6 which is rated for 160 gallons. In addition, when I assembled it and got to the part where you put in the rock-like media for bio filtration, I took apart one of my other Fluval canisters, removed the bio-rocks from the established one and used those in the brand new Fluval. Hopefully between the mechanical filtration, the carbon, and the bio media from the established tank, I can keep things under control. As long as I keep siphoning uneaten food out I don't think these little guys will be able to pollute a 20 gallon for at least a few weeks. (fingers crossed).
Sue
"Why have a reef when you can have an Octopus?"
It is so helpful to see your experimentation, what works, what doesn't. The more photos you can take the better. There is so much to learn about raising the young. I can't wait to get the opportunity.
Just keep an eye on your ammonia levels (I'd be testing daily) a spike could be disastrous.
Staying tunned...
Thanks for the reminder to check water parameters daily. My other tanks are well established and full of corals so I can just look and see if everything is OK but in a new tank that' practically baron it wouldn't become visibly evident until it's too late.
Last night I cleaned the octo tank (and ultimately did a 50% water change) and had planned on doing that every 2-3 days, but after doing it last night I'm not so sure. It turned out to be a bigger job than I had planned and probably very disruptive to the hatchlings. I was going to simply and gently use a siphon to suction debris off the bottom of the main tank and then replace whatever water was removed. I never keep things simple, though. When I started siphoning the bottom I noticed that most of the debris ends up under and around the base of the live rock so I decided to remove it. Of course, with one hatchling MIA I had to carefully examine each nook and cranny of each rock to see if I could find him before putting the rock somewhere. At this point I started agreeing with my friends and relatives.... I really DO have rocks in my head! Have you ever tried to find a creature that's 1/2 inch long that camoflauges itself perfectly to whatever it's attached to???? Not to mention, the rock I have in there is very open and contains hundreds of nooks and crannies. It took a long time but I finally felt confident that each rock I was relocating (temporarily) was free of octopus (and yes, I DID find the missing one!)
OK, so now the bottom of the tank is clear of rock and easy for me to clean, but the bottoms of the individual breeding traps have dead food and debris in them. I can't very well suction in there so I have to remove the rock rubble from each one and examine it for a hatchling before putting it down somewhere. I found the four hatchlings (amazing) and relocated all five to a plastic tub so I could clean their traps. I loaded up the tub with food hoping they would be intrigued with that instead of each other.
I then removed the sponges that I have covering the intakes and cleaned those. By the time I was done, 50% of the water in the tank was gone. Of course, 50% of the live mysis that was freely swimming in the tank was getting suctioned too so I actually tried to catch those in a turkey baster before I flushed the siphoned water down the toilet (rocks in my head I tell ya).
Now down to the basement to make sure the replacement water is as close to the removed water as possible. The salinity was a little too low and the temperature a little too warm so I added some salt and moved it outside for a few minutes to cool off. I went to check on "the kids", put their breeding traps back in the tank, and distributed the rock rubble and "toys" into each trap. I put 10 gallons of new water in the tank and checked parameters again..... perfect and ready for hatchlings.
Hah! now I have to search each rock in the holding tub to find each hatchling and put them back in their separate breeding traps. I am so sick of not being able to see them easily - can I paint a neon stripe on each one, please????? I FINALLY found all five and put them in their separate containers. WHEW!
I'm not looking forward to spending two hours doing that every 2-3 days so next time I am going to have to do less of a tear-down. However, what I really worry about is the effect this cleaning had on the hatchlings.
1. Did having 50% of their water changed have a negative effect on them?
2. Did relocating them to a holding bin for a while and then back to the tank (and handling them twice) cause them any harm?
3. Obviously since I can't tell them apart they are probably not in the same habitat that they came out of before the water change.... is the new "home" and new "toys" upsetting to them? I fear that while they may have finally been getting comfortable in their new home (since their arrival Sunday) they are now back to square one being in what seems like a new home to them.
The only GOOD side I can think of is perhaps if I relocate them like this once or twice a week they will not become as territorial and protective of "their space" and maybe fight less when they escape their breeding traps?
Or is the ideal environment for a captive octopus to feel safe and secure and let him feel like he DOES get to protect his space and that no one will distrupt it?
Your thoughts, please?
Sue
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