bought an octopus, but what kind?

[corpusse]

I tried moving the crab to the back this morning. It's now gone however I think the crab simply detached his big claw that is what I tied the fishing line to. He was still alive this morning and none too happy.

I am fairly certain the octopus is still alive and eating because crabs do keep disappearing and I have seen a couple of arms and legs so if they were just dying I don't think the other crabs would be tearing them apart. I'll continue to wait but I am thinking I won't see him for at least a few months.

 

[DWhatley]

They definitely drop claws (especially the male's large one) easily. I have had to go on crab hunts taking one from the breakfast room to the living room in the dark and discovering I was holding only a claw. A couple of years ago, one member experimented with trying to hang a crab for a mercatoris and watch at home on his video. There were a number of experiements and you might get some ideas from the thread.

 

[corpusse]

I've now had the octopus for more then a month and still not so much as a tentacle sighting. I check the tank in the morning, at night, in the afternoon, sometimes in the middle of the night hoping to catch a glimpse. Nothing at all.

I have noticed a pile of crab parts and the one hermit I put in finally got eaten. I've been throwing a crab in almost everyday the last 4 or 5 days and it does appear they are being eaten not just hiding themselves. Prior to this it would take a couple of days for the crab to stop appearing. A couple of lose claws and other parts in the same area.

With that in mind with the lights out I placed a crab right in the area. He stayed around the area for about 30 minutes but no sighting. I sat in the dark it was just bright enough to keep track of the crab, nothing.

I'm going to give him another month maybe 2. After that I will seriously consider tearing the tank down, removing much of the rock and just leaving him with a couple of hiding spots, maybe leave 30lbs of the 100lbs of rock in. I could also add pvc and other things that he could still hide in, but it would make him easier to detect. If I were to do this all again I would start him off in a smaller tank pumped in with PVC and a small amount of live rock. That way as soon as he started eating I could start him on frozen food. In a tank this size he really could be anywhere.

I need to eventually train him to eat some frozen food as these fiddler crabs cost me close to $2 a crab once you factor in shipping and taxes. I know he may never be fully on a frozen food diet, but if I could feed a couple of frozen meals a week it would help me out saving some cash and actually give me a chance to see this octopus.

 

[CaptFish]

I feel your pain. In all the time i had Izzy and Bee my mercs. I NEVER saw them except when I first dropped them in the tank. very frustrating! It is a good sign that the crabs are still disappearing that i knew the mercs were still alive too.

 

[DWhatley]

I need to eventually train him to eat some frozen food as these fiddler crabs cost me

Now you understand my excitment when Cassy and Tatanka finally started to eat frozen! Do you have lighting over the tank at night? I remember you mentioning using a flash light but don't remember if you added any night lighting. You would be surprised at how easy it is to not see them, especially when they sit in the shadow of an overhang.

 

[corpusse]

I don't have lighting over the tank, however it does not get pitch pitch black. The lights from my reef tanks refugium sorta gives a moonlight appearance although it's not as bright as if moonlights were actually over the tank.

It's enough light that if I know where the crab is I could see it.

 

[corpusse]

Tried feeding in the afternoon, doesn't seem to matter, morning, afternoon, evening, middle of the night. Lights on, lights off he won't show himself. I got pinched by a fiddler and it really hurt! thankfully it did not break the skin.

Unfortunately I am starting to run out of fiddlers. I guess a few have died, and since I gave them such a nice habitat I'm going to have to start digging for them. I still have at least 10 so I'm good for another week or 2. After that I'll probably have to order another bunch. You guys are so lucky you do not have to pay 70-80$ to have them shipped to you.

 

[DWhatley]

It is all relative I guess, I envy Carol and several others who can just go out and collect food and most of them will still buy it locally (except Joe-Ceph perhaps)

 

[corpusse]

I hate to put it this way but spending upwards of 120$ a month to feed an animal I don't see is pretty excessive. That being said I knew the responsibility of owning an octopus so I knew what I was getting myself into.

That being said I FINALLY SAW HIM. He has probably doubled in size but it's hard to tell. I think I found the den. It's not at all what I expected. I was thinking more like a cave, but he's very deep several inches into the rock and must go through really tiny holes to get in there. It really didn't seem to bother him that I shined a regular flashlight on him, I did put a paper towel over it so it wasn't as bright but he moved a bit but didn't try and go in deeper or anything.

I've tied a crab up again and placed him in the area but he didn't go after it. I think he has already consumed a crab today so that would make sense. I've left the crab and I'll check it in the morning.

It's a very good sign that I finally found him. However the spot that his den is at makes it impossible to try and offer frozen food. It's just too deep in the rock to be able to get anything around them. Hopefully he'll continue to grow and won't fit so deep in the rock much longer

Still can't believe I actually saw him! I've neglected to tell most of my friends that I got an octopus just because I never see him, but now I feel like I can tell people lol.

 

[DWhatley]

As he grows, he will find larger dens, Tatanks can no longer fit his favorite return tube (and hasn't lived there for about 2 months) but they can plaster themselves up into rock crevices pretty well. You might try not feeding for a day and then try offering something on a stick in front of his den (impaling a crab will work but table shrimp is likely too tough still). Expect to spend 30 minutes and put a timer on so that you give it the whole time.

 

[corpusse]

Wow so he actually came right out of the rock and swam a tiny bit!

I shinned the flashlight not directly on him but enough so I could see. I even took a couple of out of focus pictures but didn't want to flash too much. He did react to the flash, but the flashlight not so much. Didn't seem bothered with it since it was indirect. Then he went into a different hole no bigger then the tip of my pinky! I can't believe he fit in there and that the hole actually leads somewhere. The rock I have is pretty porous which seems ideal for hiding.

Almost every night I'm up I scan the tank. I have never seen anything but tonight I actually got some action! I think after the crab on the line is eaten I will hold up on feeding for a day or 2 and then try and feed off a stick assuming I can still find him again. He was obviously not hungry as the crab was right there and he didn't take him which is even more encouraging that means he came out for a reason other then food.

I am really excited to have finally seen him!

 

[DWhatley]

One thing I have noticed over and over again about this species is that they can't see worth a darn. They seem to detect motion at a distance but can't see anything in front of their faces. The ARE very good at detecting vibrations on the LR (so we scratch it with the feeding stick) and water movement. It may be that he was hunting but did not SEE the crab.

O.hummelincki, on the other hand, seems to see quite well and can approach food with stealth and then attack precisely.

 

[corpusse]

He came out of the rock again tonight! Twice in 3 days. I tried to offer him a piece of shrimp on a stick. He kinda swiped at it and then decided to retreat into the rock. I accidently banged the glass with a flashlight and that probably startled him.

I do think he was not hungry as I noticed a fiddler still wandering around.

I will try again the next time I see him. Hopefully I can get him to come out earlier in the future. This was about 3hrs after the lights go out.

 

[DWhatley]

 

[corpusse]

After going a couple of days without feeding I thought maybe just maybe I could offer him shrimp again around the time I saw him the 2 previous times.

Nope. Did not see him. So I thought okay he hasn't eaten in a bit. It's dark maybe when I throw the crab in he'll go after it. Also no, but given his poor eye sight he may not have seen him. The crab did wander close to the area where I have seen him but nothing. Tomorrow I'll probably find some bits.

The tank really has become a crab graveyard. I think I will use up almost all of my crabs this week and order another 40 next week. Didn't want to have to do this but he has to eat and if I can't find him I can't train him to eat frozen.