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Jmrfw

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Dec 28, 2011
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So I've been toying with the idea of getting an octopus for about a year and I finally decided take the plunge. I live on Oahu and I go spear fishing :snorkel: all year round and see octopus all over the place. Well the other day we found a small little guy and decided to bring him home.

I have a 55 gallon tank with a custom sump and protein skimmer that has been running for about six months. I use natural saltwater. I did have a few questions...

1. How long should it take for my octopus to start eating? I have stocked the tank with baby hermit crabs and he has not showed any interest. He has been in the tank for a week and all the hermit crabs are still there.

2. Would anyone be able to tell me what species he is?

Thanks Jesse





 

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I'm not sure whether or not the behavior you described might be regular or not. My guess is that you should at least give the octopus about two weeks for acclimation. Usually the first week or two is a really tough time for 99% of Octopi that are introduced into their new aquarium. See what the others say....
I had some thoughts on what species it is, but I hesitated for a bit. I am not particularly sure on what it is (can you confirm what gender the octopus is as well? I'm not fond of using the word 'it' on living creatures). This should be really fun, I'm going to wait and stick around.
A couple of questions myself, has the Octopus displayed 2 spots (one on each side) of the "web" like skin connecting the arms? The second picture was extremely helpful. But, exactly how big were those rocks the Octopus where next to? I can't exactly make out the size :confused:
 
okay just wanted to make sure that its normal for them not to eat for a few days. He or she does not seem to be acting weird just seems scared. I'm not sure how to tell the sex of octopus yet. No i have not seen any spots. The octopus fits completely in the palm of my hand and the rocks in the first and third pictures are about the size of a golf ball. Here is another pic if it helps. If there is anyway i can make these pics more helpful let me know and i will do my best.

 

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Getting it eating is important. I usually try to coax a meal during acclimation because they are often reluctant to take food when first introduced to an aquarium. Frequency of eating varies from species to species but, in general, the cold water animals eat fewer times a week than the warmer ones. I keep primarily Caribbean animals and they typically eat daily with a one day fast while young (and some weeks show enough hunger to get a small meal on the day we don't feed) and then often less often as adults. However, I have one now that even while brooding wants food every day.

Try offering a piece of thawed (unless you can get fresh) table shrimp or a small live crab, or crab claws of a larger crab. Hermits are very hard for them to eat. I have used hermits out of the shell for young ones successfully but none of mine have eaten hermits in the shell.

I am not familiar with octos in the area but look up pictures of the crescent octopus. There will be a marking below and between the eyes that might be helpful with an ID and here is a link to one journaled on TONMO
 
Thanks D, I probably couldn't have done it without your help. And the thread you put as a link seems very familiar to me. No doubt some of the color displays in the pictures exhibit similarities to Jmrfw's Octopus.
 
I don't know Hi octopuses that well but would look guess that you have a Crescent or a Rock Tako (O. oliveri) guesses based on size and depth. DWhatley pointed out how to ID a crescent. If you happen to have a Rock Tako, it is normal for them to leave the water at night to hunt. Also, there is a PhD student, Heather, at UH/HIMB who is working with them.

Mahalo

James



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Definitely looks a lot like Julian did. I would have to agree that you have a crescent. If he/she is then I would suggest getting some red LEDs to light your tank at night as Julian was rarely active during the day.
 

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