bought an octopus, but what kind?

So I bought 3 fiddlers today or at least similar brackish / marine crabs. They were being kept in fresh water. They were only $3 each which is not bad considering they were sold as pets. The lady asked me if I was going to keep them as pets and I said honestly they are food for an octopus and she wasn't going to sell them to me! I had to fill out and sign a form at petsmart saying I'd keep them as pets / take good care of them ect! Whatever if they wanted them to live longer they'd at least keep them in their natural habitat. Anyway I put them in just half an inch of RO/DI water. I'm not sure if I should acclimate to marine or just drop in. I also still don't have the slightest clue where my octopus is.

Should I leave the lights off when I feed making it more likely he will come out and grab the crab or turn them on since he has poor vision and may not see the movement?
 
I put one crab in it quickly retreated under the rock. I put a second crab in, near where I found the octopus yesterday he's still out in the open but no attack.
 
Feel free to tell me I'm posting too many updates but I found the octopus and no sign of the 2 crabs. I'm going to put the 3rd one in beside him to see if there is any reaction. The crabs may have been eaten but they just as easily could be hiding. There is a LOT of hiding spots in my tank.
 
last update for now

Success! He ate at least one of the crabs and it's looking like 2, perhaps all 3. I put the 3rd one in and he kinda grabbed at it, but then I noticed there was already a crab leg beside him, so he consumed at least one.

I know at this young age he should be eating everyday, but how much? The crabs are roughly the size of his mantle. Would one a day be good? 2, 3? Other food options included raw frozen shrimp - he spit out the one I offered him yesterday but I'm not surprised it was very old I'll pick up a fresh pack.

I could also get clams or other stuff from the grocery store but these types of things are far more likely to pollute my tank. Finally I have found a semi local fiddler supplier I am placing an order for 100.
 
Don't worry about over posting, this is YOUR journal :biggrin2: (and Tony has ensured we have space)

You should see the carapace floating around in about 24 hours when a crab is eaten. It is very light and usually shows up on the substrate.

Each octopus is individual. Our briareus' learned to come out around 6:00 PM for the dinner hour (theirs and ours) but would then go back into hiding until after 9:30 ish and were most active just after 12:00 and in the early AM (before 6:00 AM). We have never tried reversing the lighting as the room has many windows. Once you have him eating from you, you can try sliding the feeding time to something that works best for your schedule. We have started this with our hatchlings and they have to be coaxed to the earlier time (9:30 PM) but if we wait until their original feeding schedule (11:00 PM) they are now out on the rocks waiting for us.

Be aware that this does not happen "over night" and that patience is the primary keyword, consistency is the next important one. The more time you are seen (whether you see it or not), the better. Sitting in front of an "empty" tank is not fruitless.
 
I think "over posting" is really helpful in the beginning of keeping a new octo, if things seem off later, you've provided yourself a lot of reference! When I get a new octo I can most often be found reading or with the lap top in front of the tank. They get used to you faster and "tame" quicker. Keep having fun!
 
Well I am trying, at least a little not to be the annoying octo newbie :smile:

I will keep the feeding schedule in mind, for now I am content to make sure he is eating and then worry about observing him later. Once I know he is eating well I can work on getting him on a schedule. Just want to get him into good healthy shape so that he will live a long life of maybe a year lol.

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This is where he is hanging out now, its at the back of my tank and there is a lot of coraline on the glass so hard to get a pic, but the colouring is fantastic! It might be my imagination but he does look fatter.
 
I have notice with my hatchlings more than with older octos that they seem to "grow" and "shrink" in observational size. I don't know how many times I have told Neal how "big" Cassy is and then he sees her and shrugs. This could be my imagination but it happened in reverse to Neal last night :biggrin2:

Well I am trying, at least a little not to be the annoying octo newbie :smile:
No such thing in an octo journal. All posts on observations, questions and recording your own answers are helpful to later review for both you and others starting with a similar animal. The only time I personally get a little frustrated with newbie questions is when we provide reading material that will answer their questions and the material is not read. Recording your observations and questions with a new octopus does not fall in this category :wink:
 
I think he ate just one crab. Which is probably about right given they are probably about the size if not bigger then his mantle.

I found one empty shell under his den. I say Den since he has been in the same spot for the last 2 days. I guess for now that's where he'll hang out. I saw one more crab still in there so they can make it at least the day going straight from fresh water to full out marine with no access to the surface. If it does happen to die I'll feed it on a stick but for now I will let them roam.

Going to the grocery store to get a fresh bag of frozen uncooked shimp and will try offering one of those on a stick tonight.
 
I left the small piece of shrimp on a stick near his den. Today the shrimp remains the Octopus has moved on. Not sure where he is, but 2 crabs have been eaten.

I'm going to pick up some more tomorrow and continue to work on getting him to take the shrimp, but first I'll have to locate him. It is possible he's just deeper in the rock and I can't see him. At night I've been shinning a red flashlight and during the day a regular or the red one into the cracks to try and locate him. He did stay in the same spot for 2 days but maybe didn't want to stay with me poking around the shrimp on a stick.
 
I am not sure why this is the case but we do not have any luck just leaving shrimp on a stick in the water. It may be somehow related to why they always want to take the stick in addition to the food when we hold it and may be related to eyesight but I really don't have a clue.
 
Scanned the tank tonight with both a regular and red flashlight. Could not find him anywhere. He must be deep in the rock. I did see one crab scurrying around. Will he likely just lay in wait for the crab to pass by and only come out if really hungry or is he probably coming out some point in the night when I'm not watching?

Hope to get a couple more fiddlers tomorrow and I'll toss them in so there is a greater chance he will eat. I know he's probably still adjusting but since he's so small I figure it's important to get him eating as much as possible. Plus when he is bigger maybe he'll be a little easier to spot :smile:
 
I would advise against using the regular flashlight. I suggest setting up a redlight over the tank and leaving it on all night. From my experience with both briareus and mercatoris, they will easily learn to tollerate (they can see it) a red tank light. Tatanka chooses to den on the side that has the red light (only half his tank is lit) and Cassy dens in the middle directly under but in back of where her light shines the brightest. We still use a red flashlight to find them for feeding most nights as the red lights are not overly bright but the octos seem to acknowledge that the red flashlight means food is coming now. Patience and persistence! Think about house training a dog :biggrin2:
 

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