Cowpie - A.aculeatus

oneandseven

Cuttlefish
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Joined
Aug 23, 2011
Messages
23
:octorun:

Hello Everyone! I am a new caretaker for my first abdophus octopus. He/she arrived on Tues. from Drs F & S. I have him in a 34 gal tank, and today he ate a ginormous crab. I am including some pics, and if someone ID's him as something else, please let me know. This is truly an amazing creature. Thank you for all the good information :read:I gathered prior to ordering this octo. One thing I noticed, is that he likes to curl up in a corner about halfway up the tank, on the glass, even though he has lots of rock caves.
 

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is that he likes to curl up in a corner about halfway up the tank, on the glass, even though he has lots of rock caves.
This is normal of this species, espescially when first introduced.

I have him in a 34 gal tank
Too small...these guys are suppose to have at least 55 gallons. it also looks like you have a hang on back filtration system. this may not be sufficient to filter the tank, as octopuses are messy eaters and they can create a lot of waste. a protein skimmer is also essential for both food waste and inkings.
 
My new pet

I do not have a hang on filter, it's an overflow to the sump, in which I have an installed protein skimmer! I also have a canister filter hooked up to the sump. I am well aware of the large amount of waste they produce. The photos show the octo in the tank while I was still hooking everything up, and the intake of the canister was still in the tank, instead of the sump.
If all you have to offer is criticism, then maybe I'm in the wrong place. I thought this was a place to grow, share, learn, and support cephalopod enthusiasts. Sorry!:hmm:
 
I thought this was a place to grow, share, learn, and support cephalopod enthusiasts. Sorry!
It is :smile:


I didn't mean to come off so negative in my first post; however, I'm not going to support, nor will most other members and staff, the keeping of an animal in a tank that is way too small. We promote the proper care of cephalopods here on TONMO.
 
Forgive Me

:roll:I'm sorry, guess I was a little over sensitive. I DO want my octo to be stress free, but captivity does have a certain limiting effect. I will get a bigger tank asap. Do you count the volume of the sump when calculating the total gallons? If so, then it's bigger. I have always liked to do things the correct way, so to think I messed up, well, I was upset, it's tough being human sometimes!! Thanks for your input:smile:
 
Do you count the volume of the sump when calculating the total gallons?
No i was only talking about the tank itself, so the little guy has enough room to crawl around, hunt, and play. 55 would be my suggestion, if you have the means and the space obviously the bigger the better. but most of the octopuses commonly kept in home aquariums will do fine in a 55 w/ a sump. IMO the perfect octo tank is a 65 tall.
 
Hi oneandseven, and welcome! I can definitely understand -- I don't own a tank; never have, but I can imagine how it would feel to be so excited about something such as this, only to find you have a problem that could be very daunting to fix. Good advice for you here from our resident experts. I look forward to learning more about your tank and your new octo as time goes on!
 
:angel:Well, I am pleased to announce that "Cowpie" :lol: unfortunately the name stuck, is in his new 58 gal rectangular tank and doing excellent. I am still concerned about how much to feed him. Right now he gets one fiddler a day, but today, I gave him a second one, and he jumped on it and ate it. I tried to upload a cool video I got of him flashing and going through his chromatophoric repetoire!
 
Awesome!
The name is hilarious.

One fiddler a day is usually plenty. I have had some octos that only ate every other day and I have had some that would eat a few times a day. If the octopus takes a second crab then its fine. I dont think you will over feed it. However, the more food you feed, the more mess it makes in the tank.


I tried to upload a cool video I got of him flashing and going through his chromatophoric repetoire!

Or video feature is not operational right now so the best way to post a video is with youtube, or a similar site.
 
Would you like me to include Cowpie's name in the title? It is often helpful to find even your own posts at a later date. I also encourage including he species name even though I list it in the List of Our Octopuses annual post.
 
Sure, include his name and that he is an Adophus Aculeatus sp? I think I will upload the video to youtube. He ate two crabs yesterday also, but today, he didn't want any, and he was unusually dark in color. Usually when he's cruising around, he is that "cardboard box" brown. I think the NO3 is up, so I did an H2O change. What you said is spot on, the more he eats, the more organic toxic waste is produced. Next time I will be more cautious.This is his "prickly spotty" mood, like when I approach the tank and he gets nervous. I just uploaded my video to youtube

 

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The passing of Cowpie

:sad:I am devastated, and extremely saddened to tell you that yesterday, my beloved octopus found a tiny spot in the back of the tank where the duct tape had come loose. It left a gap between the plastic strip and the frame, and during the night, escaped to his death. It's as if someone has punched me in the stomach. I blame myself for not taping the area better. I need to grieve now, bye:goodbye:
 
So sad and I know (from experience) that it will take awhile to not want to cry when you look at the tank. It is odd this should happen today as I was talking to Neal earlier about escapes and tank design/size, not a normal discussion.
 
Odd

I agree it's odd, since I had had him for 3 weeks, and he never looked like he was looking for a way out. The most heart wrenching thing is that I cannot find his body. I have searched high and low (mostly low) under everything, with a flashlight, and he has simply disappeared. He would have fallen 4 feet to the floor, and it is carpeted everywhere. How far do you think he could get? I feel it would bring closure if I could find his poor little body.:cry:
 

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