I found this guy at one of the LFS, and didn't feel like waiting another 2-3 months until my fishsupply order might get filled.
Anyone have an idea what species 'Houdini' might be?
He earned his name by crawling out of the acclimation pitcher to go exploring across the hardwood floors.
I took a couple quick shots of him in a shallow tupperware bowl to see if anyone would recognize what type of octo he is.
B
Sorry.. can't help you with an ID... great looking little guy/girl tho.. Congrats! What's he eating?
-Paul
Looks like a lovely young briareus :)
Nice catch, but they really do try their best to escape! watch those lids...
take it you're in the States? (acclimation pitcher)
Originally Posted by Colin
Yep. I just adjusted my profile. I'm in Texas.
Thanks for the ID. Now I can do a bit more research.
The tank is fairly well octo proofed from when we had our bimac squishy. We lost him, (no eggs), last year, and wanted to replace him immediately, but knew a move was in our future so we decided to wait until we did that and got everything upgraded and settled back in before ordering another one. By the time we did that octopets had their snafu, and everyone is backordered 4-6 months it appears. I figured I'd go ahead with this guy since it's been nearly six weeks since I tried to order a bi-mac and was told 4-6 weeks, and just saw that people are still being told 4-6 weeks. Hopefully when we inevitably lose this guy everyone will be back up and running and I can get another bimac.
Long legs and aqua color do look like an O. briarieus (Caribbean reef Octopus). However, the "green eye brows" are not something I've seen before although I've mostly worked with hatchlings and adults of this species, not juveniles. O. briarieus has a sister species on the other side of the Panama Canal - any idea where he/she is from?
In any case, O. briarieus are quite the escape artists; you are not the first to name one Houdini.
James
James B. Wood Ph.D.
The Cephalopod Page
Welcome back! What a lovely young octopus! Such beautiful colors.
I'll add Houdini to our list of Tonmo octos and assume for now that he or she is a briareus.
Looking forward to more pics of Houdini in the tank.
Nancy
I was being lazy this morning and thought maybe someone would recognize it on sight. After Colin ID'd it I looked it up on cephbase, and there are quite a few in the briareus image library that look pretty similar.
http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/imgdb/imgdb.cfm
I didn't figure I was being particularly original naming it houdini, but I figured if I named it after any of these guys I'd have to explain it over and over and over.
http://www.evenden-jones.co.uk/escapology/Links.asp
I've got no idea where it's from. The owner of the shop I got it from wasn't in, and his wife couldn't tell me where it was ordered from.
What's the name of sister species of o. briareus?
B
He's really beautiful! Best of luck with him!!!! I love the first shot. You can see he already has plans for another escape!!!
Carol
Well, we didn't see him all last night. He found a good hole to hide in for sure.
I caught him with the tanks dark this morning though. And took several pics. Only one really came out. Here's the orig, resized, and the crop from the orig.
B
if u could find out at least where the owner ordered it from or give me the shop's phone number it would be very appreciated.
Why? Are you in Houston?
B
great looking octo. i love the picturess
no but my cousin does and i would also like to know his supplier so maybe i can get my lfs to order from there.
p.s. thats a visually stunning octo u got there
B B Tropical Fish & Pet, 9226 FM 1960 Rd W, Houston, TX 281-469-3756
I have no idea if they'll share the info or not, but I wish you luck.
B
Great pic! What kind of camera? Any update today?
Carol
That is a stunning octopus. Absolutely gorgeous.
If it is a briareus, it will be nocturnal - although I have seen some that have adjusted to being out during the day.
Nancy
No new pics. I looked around in the tank about 4am this morning and managed to see a leg in a hole in one of the rocks in the center of the tank, but haven't seen him out since yesterday morning early when I took the last pic.
B
The camera is an Olympus C-5050 zoom.
It's about 2yrs old. It's been a fantastic learning camera, as it's got more features than most point-and-shoot cameras. When I manage to get the money together to get a dSLR, I'll have a much better understanding of what things are than I had before.
No real updates. I couldn't find the little guy at all yesterday evening. I got up about 4am and managed to see a leg in one of the rocks near the center of the tank, but that was it. It's about what I expected.
When I got my first bimac, I didn't see the little one for nearly 3wks after I put it in the tank.
B
You might try looking at night using a flashlight with a red lens.
I agree with Carol, the pics are good!
Nancy
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks