Caught either a juvenile E. Dofleini or O. Rubescens last night.

[AquaticEngineer]

Dive gear is $$$.
Octopuses are hard to find.
Live octopuses do not ship especially well.
Octopuses do not live in groups.
Octopuses do not mate in large groups.
Octopus meat does not sell for much.

In most cases, logistics limits the collection of octopuses more than anything else.

James

Yeah what he said

Your response was a lot more to the point than mine, lol.

 

[ceph]

Tuna and swordfish and groupers and sharks and . . . are a very different issue. Those fish have very different life history traits. Unlike most cephalopods, these top predators take a long time to reach maturity and reproduce. Most are heavily fished at or near maturity. The "big fat females" that produce the most young are selectively targeted and removed further compounding the problem.

Also, the technology used to catch many commercial species has evolved way past natures ability to keep up. With modern technology and fishing practices there are very few places for big fish to hide.

As Dr. Ron O'Dor has said "squid are not fish". The same fisheries and conservation models used to manage fish fisheries do not necessarily apply to cephalopods. For example, one of the smallest species of cephalopods lives 80 days in the lab and 80 days in the wild. Fisheries models predict that this species lives for 3 to 10 years. . . Squid, and other cephalopods, are not fish and should not be lumped in with fish without first testing basic assumptions.

James

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

For example, one of the smallest species of cephalopods lives 80 days in the lab and 80 days in the wild. Fisheries models predict that this species lives for 3 to 10 years. . . Squid, and other cephalopods, are not fish and should not be lumped in with fish without first testing basic assumptions.

James

True, that does happen a lot...

 

[AquaticEngineer]

As Dr. Ron O'Dor has said "squid are not fish". The same fisheries and conservation models used to manage fish fisheries do not necessarily apply to cephalopods. For example, one of the smallest species of cephalopods lives 80 days in the lab and 80 days in the wild. Fisheries models predict that this species lives for 3 to 10 years. . . Squid, and other cephalopods, are not fish and should not be lumped in with fish without first testing basic assumptions.

James

100% agree.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Update on the octopus (currently a septopus, )

His missing arm is growing back nicely, you can see an 1/8 of an inch of growth at the tip that is all clear.

I minimalized his tank environment to just one large rock propped up by another large rock so he owns his den now. I removed the 2 small gunnels that had been stealing his food, and I started punching a hole with a small screwdriver in the heads of the crabs I feed him directly so there is no chance of a fatal wound to the octopus but they still struggle a bit. I can also feed him slightly larger meals and let him pick through it now.

Since implementing these changes he's started eating like a hog and has a nice little pile in the back corner of the tank that he places the remains of his crab dinners. He likes to keep his burrow nice and tidy

I think he's had more crab dinners in the past week than I've had all year.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

So the little guy is definitely getting used to me.

I was trying to get him to take a piece of scallop since thats what I feed the rest of my larger tank inhabitants and I spooked a live crab into his burrow. Without hesitation he reached out snatched it up and started chomping away. It was pretty cool to see him attack and eat his prey.

I took count of the crabs left in his tank, and of the 12 I put in there last week there is now 1 left. Since he is obviously eating well, I decided to challeng him a bit mentally and put the last crab in a small clear thumb tack container. I guess we'll see if he's entertained tomorrow.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Well, the crab graveyard is steadily building up and the little bugger has just about doubled in size.

I'm now more like 99% sure he is an E. Dofleini.

Looks like he may end up being the quasi-mascot of my new business, so a much larger flow through octopus proof tank will be added onto the livestock holding system we'll be puting together. That is unless someone ends up buying him, lol.

 

[Joe-Ceph]

That's a mixed blessing. If you are very careful about not exposing it to any non-native animals or food, it might be safe to let him go when he gets too big to keep. On the other hand, knowing you, you might be able to get a 2000 gallon tank for $50 and a case of beer.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

That's a mixed blessing. If you are very careful about not exposing it to any non-native animals or food, it might be safe to let him go when he gets too big to keep. On the other hand, knowing you, you might be able to get a 2000 gallon tank for $50 and a case of beer.

I think I can get something for just a case of beer

We'll see how large he gets in the next year or so, but I think his first large home will end up being a modified plastic shipping container like the ones they transport live crab in. I see those pretty regularly around town and on craigslist.

Either that or my awesome idea to modify a hot-tub into a coldwater pond

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Video Update

Sorry for the shoddy quality, and I forgot that my phone rotates the other way when I take video.

 

[DWhatley]

I don't know how much help this might be at his current size but Stavros posted info on this year's GPO count dive and it included a link to tell the difference between a GPO and a Ruby

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Mine is definitely showing all the signs of a GPO and none of the Reds, right down to where I found him even.

 

[AquaticEngineer]

Quick photo update from today

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

His eyes seem so.... RIGHTEOUS!

Awesome little guy!

 

[cuttlegirl]

Instead of punching a hole in the crab, could you just remove their claws? If you hold the crab in one hand and twist the claw near where it attaches to the body, it should just come right off.