Spike - ZyanSilver - Baby Bimac on his way!

**corw314** · Dec 30, '06, 9:25am

There is always discussion on how does it feel to be bit by your octopus. This morning, Spke was looking for food, perched by the waterline. I got brave! Captured a crab and daggled it by him. Well he not only grabbed the crab but my hand as well. For 10 minutes he tried his best to drag me into the tank. I was shaking. This is the first time I've ever allowed one of my octopuses to grab me and then continue to envelope my whole hand! Anyway after 10 minutes, he finally started to release me but succeeded in taking a tiny nibble before he finally let go. The bite was minimal but stung for about 10 minutes and now there is just a red mark on my finger. And Spike is back in the entrance of his shell, munching away on the crab. I got pics but have printer issues which happens to have my card reader in it so later today I will post pics.

**cthulhu77** · Dec 30, '06, 9:49am

Good thing you don't keep blue-rings! The only bite that ever caused any damage to me was from a dwarf, and that was just limited paralysis of the hand for a day...I'm sure that is going to sting for awhile though! Ouch!

**tonmo** · Dec 30, '06, 10:11am

Ouch!

Be careful... now he knows what you taste like!

**corw314** · Dec 30, '06, 5:36pm

Yes...I was surprised at the amount of strength this little guy has. It really was an effort to keep him from dragging my whole hand and arm into the tank. I was worried I may hurt him if I pulled back too hard, so I just let him have my hand till he got tired of it. Seems like after he tasted me was when he finally released my hand. He's stalking me as I type....Anyway...first shot is when he still had ahold of me. Second he had just started to go back down to eat his crab and the third, obviously he was back home enjoying his meal.

**sorseress** · Dec 30, '06, 10:06pm

Hmmm, I seem to remember a video when an octo nipped Jesse while you laughed maniacally in the background.........

**cuttlegirl** · Dec 30, '06, 10:08pm

I remembered that video too, but I was going to let you recover first befor e reminding you

. I'm sure your daughter remembered though...

**Nancy** · Dec 31, '06, 12:35am

Now he knows you don't taste very good!

Something you might aim for eventually: bimacs, maybe all octopuses, seem to like to be petted between and above their eyes. I used only one finger. I believe joefish petted the arms, too.

Nancy

**DHyslop** · Dec 31, '06, 12:48am

Spike looks downright smug in that last picture! From day one Sleipner's struggled with catching crabs (witness the videos on his thread). After a few days when we finally found a carapace outside his den he was sitting over it like a cat showing off a bird or a mouse.

Dan

**Colin** · Dec 31, '06, 5:41am

Hi Carol, well you dont taste like crab meat - we know that now :)

**corw314** · Dec 31, '06, 6:35am

LOL.....Hey Colin!!! HOw R Ya? I laughed with all the reminders of the video of Jess getting bit...she was real quick to say "Now you know how I felt", while laughing....I am amazed that they have the strength that they do and that he wasn't injured. He couldn't have cared less that at one point I had him raised almost completely out of the water.

**corw314** · Jan 07, '07, 7:46pm

Hard to believe Spike has been with us for a month or maybe even over. I introduced the large green mega block a few days ago. His first reaction was to ink and swim a safe distance away where he sat with the conehead behavior for about 10 minutes. After he realized it wasn't going to come after him, he stalked very cautiously for about an hour. When he finally reached out and touched it with one leg, he must have realized it wasn't a threat as he was all over it. Of course he's not big enough where his weight would make it sink, like Ink used to do, but it has become a favorite pass time to stalk it, hitch a ride for awhile at the surface and then jet away. He bothers me daily for food. I think he sleeps when we are gone cause as soon as I come into my bedroom at the end of the day, he's out and then plastered on the glass on the front of the tank watching. I think he's tripled in size since he arrived.

**tonmo** · Jan 07, '07, 9:25pm

Sounds like he's doing great! That green megablock deserves a spot in the TONMO Hall of Fame.

**Nancy** · Jan 08, '07, 12:10am

Glad to hear that Spike is doing so well and has a new toy. Maybe he'll learn to ride it around just like Ink did! Nice pics!

Nancy

**Brock Fluharty** · Jan 08, '07, 5:15pm

Wow, great pics! Blinky isn't growing quite that fast, but pretty quickly none the less.

**corw314** · Jan 20, '07, 6:55am

He's a brat...Talk about an octopus with an attitude. I am afraid to put my hand in there expecially after the last time he got ahold of me. He eats a 2" crab daily. Seeks me out when he is hungry. I am very pleased how fast he is growing. I would say he's tripled in size since I got him.

**dutchcourage** · Jan 20, '07, 10:13am

Nice pic's he looks great

**zyan silver** · Jan 22, '07, 10:29pm

beautiful!

**corw314** · Feb 11, '07, 5:05pm

When I left this morning, Spike was out pacing and then perched on the cleaner magnet. He is such a little pig! Eating daily. He must have been raising heck in his tank because some how he tipped over the large shell he's been living in and has things pulled all over the place. We had to find another food source today, as the frozen prawn is just not enough for him anymore and he ate all the local crabs and snails I have collected. We stopped at the local seafood market and bought a 1/4 lb of large shrimp, which I cut up into sections and now have a good size bag frozen until I can hit the local bait shop and get him some green crabs. He is huge. The 2 months he's been with me, he has tripled in size. Right now he's perched on top of the shell he toppled eating a piece of shrimp.