[Octopus]: O Tetricus

Mot Reyd

Cuttlefish
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Sep 2, 2012
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Location
Newcastle Australia
Im not 100% sure on how to write or maintain a journal but i will give it a shot

Last friday i finally found a perfect sized octopus for my my aquarium which has been sitting dormant since early January when i removed most of the fish after an unsavory experience involving a fish going cannibal on its tank mates

I'm not sure of her age but she is considerably smaller than many Tetricus i have seen in the area
mantle length about 3'' she is feeding well on crabs, prawns but wont bother snails or eat the hermits that i specifically caught for her to eat :evil:
she isnt very interested in exploring the tank or bothering the cuttle hatchling that is currently in a critter carrier until i can organize a tank for it (will get its own journal once it settles in and starts eating)
I am currently trying to organize some Red LEDs so that i can do some night viewing but my distinct lack of skill with a soldering iron is hampering my progress somewhat
so here is hoping for a long and happy journal!
 

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The tank is very secure i have found that o'tetricus are not willing to climb the 90 degree bracing around the top of the tank.
The tank itself is a 100gal with a well established trickle filter i am doing 10-15% water changes weekly
as it is a temperate water tank there is no live rock but i do have a substantial sand bed
this species of octopus (commonly called the gloomy octopus) does grow to large ish sizes literature is saying 80cm mantle 2m arms but that is an exceptional example i kept a mature female a few years ago and she was comfortable in this tank and even brooded some unfertilized eggs before her eventual demise
happy to answer all questions as im sure this species of octopus hasn't been featured very much on here and am looking forward to sharing the journey
 
I find middens to be incredibly interesting, especially with species such as this,that only keep one depending on the habitat they reside in.
If they are in a silt or sandy bottom they will drag up all the surrounding shells but if they live in a tidepool situation they keep none, i assume that is possibly because of the water movement and the nomadic behaviour of rockpool crabs/ octopuses
 

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Believe it or not :biggrin2: we have had a couple of gloomy journals. The best journal sadly did not make the transition to the new website so I am hoping for lots of pictures. I was lucky enough to see a few of them when we visited OZ a couple of years back. They seem to strongly resemble the bimaculoides (except for that fantastic eye) that we have in the US on the Pacific coast.

You might enjoy browsing this thread that discusses and has photos of a group living together. @jugglemat and @pgs have written a couple of papers on their observation of this site in Jarvis Bay.
 
Im still around sorry for the lack of updates, everything is still going along smoothly on this side of the globe. we had some extreme weather over the last few days and i have been relying on water changes and a battery powered air pump due to lack of power but the octopus still seems happy and is starting to become more and more sociable and interested in the the outside world
she is feeding well on fish,crabs as well as some scallops that i collected
I will try and get some updated photos and try for a video of her doing that gross arm twirl inside of the mantle scratching thing :bonk:
 
Sad but interesting that is is laying singular eggs. The Caribbean females I have kept have all laid them in clusters over a couple of days. We have not had a journal with eggs for O. Tetricus so it would be interesting if you would continue to post observations, particularly for timing. If I am not mistaken, this is a small egg species so the chances of having any hatchlings survive are slim to none but observing the egg development, timing and how long the hatchlings survive would be nice to have recorded.
 
up until this afternoon it was only 2-3 but i just came home to an entire festoon being set on the side glass of the tank
has anyone ever experienced an octopus not choosing a den and laying on the glass
and also what about fertilized v unfertilized
Update: She ripped the festoon off and left it floating around the tank I think my sudden arrival home may have started her and she is back in her den as of now
 

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