o. briareus II ! even smaller then the last one total impulse purchase

**corpusse** · Nov 08, '11, 4:59pm

Sorry I just haven't been on TONMO lately. I haven't been photographing as much as I used to, although I really should get some more good ones as we all know he won't be around forever...

I typically feed every 2-3 days, however the last 2 times has been 3-4 days. One large shrimp shell on. I just started a new job and have been busy with some other projects. However If I do go 3-4 days he will come out and let me know he's hungry. If I feed every 2-3 I must entice him to come out.

I'm going to try and go back to every 2 days and see what happens. Usually that is okay for a couple of times then he will stop eating for about 3 more days then get hungry again. The unbalanced schedule is just as much a product of him as it is me.

**Cuddlycuttlefsh** · Nov 08, '11, 6:27pm

Yeah I guess it's better to give him food every 2-3 days just so you know he has been eating well, after all if you wait 4-5 days the octopuses KILLER instincts start to kick in.

**DWhatley** · Nov 08, '11, 11:30pm

Now you've gone and done it, I don't have a no bites recorded species any more

. I added your description to our bites thread with an age guess of 5-6 months. If you thought to take a picture, I would like to add it. Since you did not mention it, I assume there was no venom reaction at all? The couple of nips I have gotten from other species did not break the skin so there was no opportunity.

Did he release you or did you have to free yourself?

**Cuddlycuttlefsh** · Nov 09, '11, 7:55pm

shoulda seen my blue ring scar, got in 1997, hur hur hur.... I'm call my scar betty, oh and there is nancy...gunshot wound....

Hey if your going to put a picture do not put it on this forum because I am queasy with blood, I can tell the "1/8 of a drop of blood" you said earlier was pure modesty!

**corpusse** · Nov 13, '11, 10:12am

As soon as he broke the skin I started moving around until I could get him to release me.

Initially I didn't think it was a big deal, however about 12hrs later in the shower there was a mild to moderate burn. It swelled up, but still very minor. By the next day I did not feel it at all, but now 5 days later there is a tiny mark.

Yesterday I decided I better clean the front glass since I went to the extra expensive of buying a starfire front. I'm really trying to reboot my tanks after several months of neglect. The octo tank is the only one that doesn't really require much, empty the skimmer cup once in a while and a quick water change. Since there are no corals and low light, I don't get excessive algae growth and never test the water.

Anyway here are the bite pictures and then some new photos of the Octopus.

\

Again the bite overall was nothing. Less of a sting then a lionfish or bee.

After a few flash pics he decided to ink so I took the rest without the flash

**Cuddlycuttlefsh** · Nov 13, '11, 12:03pm

And you posted pics.....

**corpusse** · Nov 13, '11, 1:41pm

They aren't graphic at all. No blood!

**Cuddlycuttlefsh** · Nov 13, '11, 3:06pm

Originally Posted by corpusse

They aren't graphic at all. No blood!

But there's soooo much bloooood! Ieeeeeee!

'

:p

Has he always been that small?

**DWhatley** · Nov 13, '11, 10:48pm

He looks great and so healthy!

When you first got him, do you recall the temperature of your tank? I just lost one after a week and am racking my brain trying to isolate what might have been off with the tank. He was growing well and eating then showed up during the day and went downhill over the next four or five hours. I had just removed Little Bit from the tank when he arrived (where she had been housed from a very young animal and lived in the tank for 6 months) so I don't think there was anything in the water that would have caused the decline. Thinking back on my hatchlings, they were born in the summer at a time we were doing without AC so I am fishing for something like temperature.

It is almost neat to see the beak mark

. One thing I always try to practice is to put an antibiotic cream on any hand cuts after I work in the tanks. There are a number of scary problems that have shown up from time to time from both marine and fw tanks that merit taking a little extra precautionary effort with your hands. Puncture wounds are notorious for becoming infected and hard to heal. I was taught (and practice) to force a puncture wound to bleed to help prevent infection but don't know if this is still an accepted method.

**corpusse** · Nov 14, '11, 9:05am

Thanks! His grip is super strong so I would say he is very healthy. He did lose the tip of one arm in korilia but it is growing back and has since used them again to shed skin.

I don't recall the temp but it would be somewhere around 78 degrees. I no longer constantly monitor since his tank has just a skimmer, return pump and 2 powerheads along with one led light. Nothing is generating a lot of heat. Only on my main reef tank do I have a temperature controller.

This has healed fine other then the tiny mark but I know all about "scary problems". If I'm fragging I try and remember to wear gloves which only happens sometimes but my right thumb has had a skin problem going on 4 years now. I actually just ran into a friend at a LFS who had a similar problem and his just went away after several years. I have been to the doctor for it but he quickly dismissed it as a problem and did not take the idea of a toxin seriously. It's basically an annoyance I've come to live with.

**Cuddlycuttlefsh** · Nov 14, '11, 1:50pm

Hey have you ever fed him any mussels or clams, it's a very awesome experiance to witness octopuses (or Octopi dangit!) to drill into the shell.

**DWhatley** · Nov 15, '11, 5:25am

Sedna pretty much had to brow-beat her doctor to get antibiotics for a finger infection she believes was caused by aquarium bacteria because her doctor had the same attitude. Fortunately, the doctor gave into her request and the problem (that had been getting increasingly worse) went away after a few days of antibiotics.

**corw314** · Nov 18, '11, 5:41am

Great pics!

What an absolutely beautiful animal! Your bite reminds me of when my daughter got bit years ago!

**corpusse** · Nov 19, '11, 5:38am

At this point I am pretty scared to touch him lol. I did briefly yesterday. Of course I forgot to clean the glass again otherwise I would have really liked this first picture :

Shrimp is above the mesh so I could get this picture.

**DWhatley** · Nov 23, '11, 11:14pm

The last one needs a title of "Peek-A-Boo"

I like the depth of field with the clearest focus on the fluorescence just below the eye and the texture that shows so well in the first one.

**corpusse** · Jan 08, '12, 11:40pm

Took some new photos. Not much has changed.

I wish the tank had better lighting, pictures are a bit dark and grainy. I don't keep corals in the tank so upgrading the lighting is somewhat pointless.

**Cuddlycuttlefsh** · Jan 09, '12, 8:01am

Drat....I wish I could click 'like' on the post below, lovely resolution and quality. And as for the lighting, to me it's fine because pictures that happen to be too bright tend to be harsh on the eyes.

**DWhatley** · Jan 10, '12, 12:50am

Dad gum, my post disappeared. What is the orientation of the 5th picture? The reason I ask is that the eyes don't appear to be on the horizon. I have one other picture that suggests the same annomoly as it is believed that the eyes will always swivel to be in-line with the horizon.