Bittner - O. hummelincki

Bittner is still in the "Feed Me" mode. Yesterday I had a dayoff and came home at noon and must have startled him as he inked twice, turned black with a stripe and swam to hide. Must be out and about exploring when I am not at home. This pic was taken after he settled down.
 
I lost the a new one this week in shipping. The water was literally black (and there was a LOT of water). I am not sure if the excessive ink was a result of death or while she was still alive. So sad. With our males (Octane and OhToo) we noticed they would ink on occasion for no apparent reason and have wondered if this species builds up in that has to be released on occasion.
 
I have noticed this before too. Their ink is very transparent and thin. It is so upsetting to loose one in shipping. I lost what I thought was a Vulgaris a few years ago. So upsetting.
 
I learned tonite not a good idea to put a small live clam in unless u r sure your octopus knowswhat to do with it. Bittner has the tip of his leg trapped in the clam.
 
I have often wondered if that happened. My guess it it happens more often in situ than we see in the tanks, especially if the tank clams are purchased from the food market.
 
He was so upset. Pulled the clam up to the top of the coral and finally got his leg free. He's now sitting in the back looking very upset and favoring the injured leg. I feel so bad!
 
RIP Bittner.....He had stopped eating for the past week. Water Quality was fine. I'm wondering if the leg getting stuck had anything to do with his death. He was not the same since he got stuck. I noticed he was inking quite a bit before he passed. I will post a pic in a few.
 
So sad :sad:, this species is especially enjoyable and I am seeing Octavia slowly headed to old age. She has done far better than expected but every day I notice she is more gray when just sitting on the wall but will color up when approached. She has also taken to staying on the wall in stead of her den most of the time and is up quite late. All behavior changes I equate with senescence in this species. Interestingly, other than always being ready to eat, she has shown no typical brooding signs. She is still defending her territory when I clean and today she wrapped gently around my arm in stead of just touching my hand but still in that, "This is mine so behave yourself" attitude that I see when they are accustomed to tank cleaning but staking their homes.

The clam incident has me thinking about the arm throwing capability of some octopuses. CaptFish has observed it in O. briareus and it is a noted ID trait in the Abdopus complex. I have wondered if all (most) octopuses have this capability. The struggle to release her arm suggests not.

I don't think the trauma would have had to do with his death but being caught by the clam may have been a sign of senescence. I think if the arm damage was sever enough to stress the animal you would have seen him chew it off (based on Octane's air exposure and subsequent reaction to the discomfort in his arms).

I am not sure what to think about the inking. I lost the last one in shipping and the water was black. I don't know if it inked, started having problems breathing and inked more or if it died and inked at death (it was not long dead as the eyes still had the look of life that disappeared a few hours later). Linda's El Diablo (vulgaris) inked profusely just before it died but I have never seen anything like this in O. briareus nor in my one O. vulgaris. I have seen O. hummelincki ink for no apparent reason and have mentioned wondering about the need to release ink on occasion. There is likely something worth knowing about inking but even with my anecdotal ways of trying to link events, I can't come up with a similarity that might be something to try to record.
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top