Axis - O. briareus

Only one pic?

Yes, I am lame. The only picture I took of acclimation the other day is this one. I was multitasking that day... I also just really didn't want to use the flash right away, and it was a dark, cloudy day.

Anyway, I did take this shot and risked one flash because I so appreciate this shipping container! The octo came bagged up as usual with all the good packing procedures I've come to expect. But in the bag, the octo was in a plastic jar with a screw top lid, holes drilled all over. In the pic, the octo is in the acclimation bucket. It was great because the octo was already comfortable in a hiding place, and didn't have to move from there until it chose to. I was able to lift the jar into the tank without loosing too much water, it wasn't even exposed to the air. Once in the tank, I unscrewed the lid. It could have used the jar to hide in if needed, but this one was in the tank right away. I can reuse the jar for lots of tank things, too.

The octo didn't come out last night until sometime after 9- only the red lights on. She did come right up on to the glass to see me, not too shy. When Frieda woke me up at 5, it was on the back of the tank, still out a 7 when we got up. When the lights came on, she made an escape, now she's in for the day. Yes, I'm saying "she," but I'll have to see more of it to know for sure. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a fertile girl this time!
 

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You are right, LAME!!!

I really like the drilled jar shipping method that IslandMarineLife and SealifeInc use. In addition to making acclimation easier, the octos have something to hold on to during shipping.
 
Boy or Girl?

So I finally got some pictures this morning. They aren't that good, but the lights were low and it was moving. It came out last night, some time before 10, and was not at all shy. I opened the top to look down at it and it came up to the top and reached along the surface of the water but not out of it.

This morning it was out still, so I put my finger in along the top to the tank. It grabbed my whole hand with several arms and pulled hard. I've never had an octo be so bold right from the start. I'm sure that if I'd stayed with it longer last night it would have been ready to grab for me then. I kept it short this morning, wary of a bite from one so bold, but it's Friday so I'll be up later tonight.

As I study the photos, it looks like there are some enlarged suckers. Mind you, everywhere I think I see big suckers is where new growth has begun. Most of the arms have been severed and have quite a bit of new growth, on the few whole arms, the suckers are very much more uniform.

I'm excited to have such a friendly octo, and have named it the Axis. It's bold as love...
 

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If you will look at some of Cassy's last photos, you will note that the longer arms (the two front one seem to be naturally shorter and thinner and the second pair are thicker and longer) have considerable suckers even on the females so you will have to watch to see if Axis keeps the third arm to the right curled. The briareus I have keep have shown this early so if you don't see it soon, I would assume female.

Kara noted that this one was both gentle and curious when she was feeding and photographing it. Lynn wants nothing to do with handling an octopus even though Kara makes him carry an "octo cup" when they collect where they have seen them :biggrin2:.
 
Well, if we are just looking for whether the arm is curled, then I'd say it's a girl. Time will tell, right now I just need to get Axis to start waking up earlier!
 
Was going to post last night but checked "good vibes" first, after replying I'd had enough for the day. Axis continues to be friendly and interested, but still not out before 9 at least, sometimes even later. Still so hard to tell the sex of it, but who cares when you get a good one! I'd be happier to get it out early than sex it for sure...
 
AXIS IS BROODING

OK, I know this is sad, hardly any posts! Life is so insane right now with PTA, music recitals, dog training, birthday trips to Chicago... My motto lately is, "If you're busy then you're not dead!" The good news, AXIS IS BROODING! I would say her den was finally "finished" over the weekend sometime. The better news, I've got a friend in the neighborhood who'll be able to help out! This will turn into a neighborhood science project as the kids and all their friends become involved. I am so very lucky to have the awesome journals of D's to guide me along (having my friend read those, too!). Now if I could just find some time to review them...
 
I am (hopefully:fingerscrossed:) just ahead of you as is LMecher so there should be lots of current stuff to read. If Linda gets back in time for the hatching, we need to be sure she knows you are also "expecting" :roll: so that we can both try to isolate what NOT to do better. One thing I could shoot myself for not seeing that I want to mention NOW is to do any hatchling tank water changes with main tank water and not new water. I am not the only one who noticed die-offs soon after water changes in small tanks but it did not occur to me that there was a simple way to minimize any impact this might be having.
 
You know, I always did that with the other hatchlings- mostly to save H2O with so many changes, but also I would try to suck out amphipods from the side of the parent tank where they congregate.
 
EGGS April 8 2011

So I'm counting last Friday as the "start" of brooding, so it's just been one week now. Re-reading Kay-soh's journal and Cassy's- oh, so many things to think about! I'm thinking of setting up the old 30 gal acrylic tank so there is more space if it is a fertile hatching. I added SO much more Texas holey rock at Christmas and it looks cool and provides lots of hiding places- maybe too many! Also, there are so many bristle worms in that tank, a few are really huge. Wondering if I should try to get rid of them somehow. Those traps always seem suspect, any one ever have success getting rid of them?
 
Also, I'd love your prediction of hatching date, D! When I look at the calendar, that full moon in May is at the 6 week mark for this batch, unless I back the brooding date up when she started den building instead of when she seemed finished. Where you using frozen or live mysid shrimp? I can get frozen at the LFS, not sure about live...
 
All frozen foods but added a plankton tow I conned Kara into doing for me (not sure if I can get her to do another :biggrin2: as it was a hassle). I will probably order something from Paul and ask him to leave as much "stuff" in the plankton as possible (he supplies schools with a mixture of copepods that is as close) as I know of commercially available.

I am going to put a title on your first note so that the post is easier to find when going back for dates. Let me know if you want something different in the wording (but I think you can edit it directly) and be sure I have the correct Friday :hmm:

I'll use my magic 8 ball for Axis if you will use yours for Cassy :biggrin2: Prefereably, note the questions you asked it to come up with a date.
 
Guess Axis Hatching Date: May 18

From my vast experience with hatching O.briareus (exactly ONE hatching :roll:) I am giving this guess based upon the following expectations:

Axis is wild caught and brooded quickly so there is a strong assumption of the eggs being fertile.

Kooah's and Cassy's eggs showed eyes at roughly 21 days (exact egg laying was not clear for Kooah) so I expect Sedna to see them about April 29

Kooah's eggs hatched the night after the first full moon 3 weeks after the eyes were seen.

It is known that tank environment plays a roll in hatching times, this is not taken into consideration directly so the prediction has serious flaws. If the eyes show up on the predicted date, I will add a smiley face.
 

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