Diego - O. bimaculoides

DWhatley

Kraken
Staff member
Moderator (Staff)
Joined
Sep 4, 2006
Messages
21,018
Location
Cape Coral, FL
I have always wanted to keep a bimac but did not have an available cold tank when Zyan raised his and have since dispensed with putting my hand in cold water. However, Joe-Ceph's post of the little male was just too tempting so we spent the weekend getting our small chiller back in working order and attached to the 45 hex. If he outgrows it, then the reef is available with only one critter to displace (it has a chiller) or we can attempt moving the chiller to the tube tank (but I am afraid it may not cool anything larger than the 45 as it is only a 1/10 hp unit). We will have to operate on the sump when the skimmer is shipped and move the chiller pump (sadly the sump pump would not produce enough flow so a second pump was needed. We do have one that might work for both but it is not an exteral unit and this is a "temporary" set up :roll:).

I had Joe-Ceph ship my very first bimac to the FedEx office that is directly across the street (literally) from my office and arranged to leave early. Shipping FROM California is great since he could deliver it to FedEx by 5:00 CA time and it arrived and was available by noon GA time. I waited until 2:00 so that I would not have to return to work and have to rush the acclimation and then my new little friend came home. Should anyone else need a way to pay for shipping from another origination, FedEx has an excellent set up that will allow you to establish an account, assign a credit card and give authority to ship by a third party without giving administrative rights. All the shipping paperwork can easily be done on-line, including printing the label. There are a few glitches in the software but it was still a great way to accomplish this without COD charges.

Joe-Ceph shipped him in a round cooler he happened upon for a great used price and it was ideal for octopus transport. There was shed in the water but no smell. My test strips were pretty useless (they had arrived already exposed to moisture and I have not replaced them) but I could at least compare the PH between the shipping water and the tank water. The bag water arrived at 67.5 degrees and the aquarium (using the same thermometer) is running at 69 (my chiller actually reads 71). Salinity was low but the same as the tank (1.022 SG) and I will raise it over the next week. The PH was the main parameter that needed serious matching and because the animal showed no stress (exept in the initial stages where he wanted to stretch his arms :biggrin2:) I took 3 hours to acclimate and then fed him a crab and waited until he ate it before releasing him.
 

Attachments

  • conv_304442.jpg
    conv_304442.jpg
    126.3 KB · Views: 182
  • conv_304443.jpg
    conv_304443.jpg
    124.3 KB · Views: 174
  • conv_304444.jpg
    conv_304444.jpg
    118.8 KB · Views: 136
  • conv_304445.jpg
    conv_304445.jpg
    107.7 KB · Views: 146
This was an easy release. He was not difficult to coax into the critter keeper the Mike Wise drilled when he sent Octopus Prime. I have used this "holey" container for many releases and recommend coaxing them into a similar container that can drain at the last minute before transfer when dealing with shipping water. He was ready to explore as soon as the container hit the water and only hid for a few seconds. However, the color change was dramatic. He has been out and about exploring most of the early evening and wears very dark chocolate coloration with peach suckers, not the typical bimac look. We are looking for a candy bar name :biggrin2:

 

Attachments

  • conv_298038.jpg
    conv_298038.jpg
    3.4 MB · Views: 183
  • conv_298039.jpg
    conv_298039.jpg
    8.4 MB · Views: 173
  • conv_298040.jpg
    conv_298040.jpg
    9.2 MB · Views: 156
I don't think the color is unusual for this species (note the word think since I have not kept one) but Neal keeps saying "cross breeding!" because we do seem to notice a lot of variation in individual species. I like the chocolate color when he mixes it with whites and oranges so I hope he will maintain them because of the tank but note when he is on the sand his color is closer to what would be expected (but not what I would expect as typical from photos). He has also shown a nice spikey look that I did not expect :biggrin2:
 
Well congratulations and :welcome: to your little chocolate nugget. I see you have an explorer on your hands, crawling out of the bucket, great photo.
How many does this make? 4? You must be in octopus happy land.

In the video, he looks more black licorice than chocolate.
 
Although very dark, it is still brown with peach ruffles (suckers). I am going to pass the name Truffle by Neal to see what he thinks :biggrin2:

Godiva or Baby Ruth would have been good for a girl (even though the later was named after a male baseball player)

So far I have considered:
Reesey, Heath (Neal already said no to Rolo), Ghirardelli (sounds cool but I would have to learn how to spell it), Crunch (I kind of like this one but not fond of the manufacturer), Cadbury (a good friend had a rabbit with this name), Twix (my favorite at the moment), Skor
 
Looks great! He's been in a 1/3rd full orange 5 gallon bucket for a couple weeks, so I'm sure he's loving his new home.
The water I sent him in was natural seawater from near where I caught him, so the salinity of 1.022 isn't "low" where he's from, but is lower than what is recommended for people who mix water. I've always wondered if the water around tropical reefs has a higher salinity, or if higher salinity is thought to be better than natural salinity for captive animals.

I've found bimacs to often have a nice spikey texture, and to often be dark, especially when trying to hide.
 
D, that's so awesome! From the release pics, it looks like he's actually trying to climb into the tank, "Yea, I'm home!" I like Heath bars best... "Truffle" is a bit girly for a cool dude from CA!
 
When Sedna pointed out that your new octopus is a cool dude from California, it reminded me that Ghirardelli Chocolate was founded in San Francisco (in 1849 by Domingo Ghirardelli), and so is a truly Californian chocolate. You could call your new bimac:
Domingo
Ghiradelli
"G"
Del
or some other variation on the theme.​
 
Wow - congrats - he's gorgeous! I don't know if it's typical with Bimacs or not but my three hatchlings are often a very dark brown when I sneak up on them and peek. After they realize I'm there they get lighter and show some spots. The dark coloring really surprised me too but now I'm getting used to it.

Wish there were an "Octopus Whisperer" in the world to help us decipher what their changes and behaviors mean but I guess you guys (and gals) on this forum are the closest thing thing to an Octopus Whisperer I could ask for!
Sue
 
I know you've most likely made a list of names already, but wanted to toss this in for a few more just in case.

I myself think Vakko is a great male name. Sounds so masculine, and chocolaty. I've had that on my male name list a while.

List of chocolate bar brands - Wikipedia

Although I'm interested in what Épicé would actually taste like it scares me at the same time. :shock:

Épicé - Painted chocolate bar - Cinnamon, Cayenne and Chipotle chili peppers in dark chocolate

Prob need a fire extinguisher handy. lol
 
Chilis and chocolate, mmmmm... The brand Vosges makes some really incredible chocolate bars, chilis, curries, and ginger and wasabe! Yes, the tongue and throat are left with a deliciously slow burn...

I like Domingo, but I'm partial to the song by Yello.
 
Wow....He's simply adorable! Having had many bimacs...I miss them so much! They are truly the "labrador" of the octopus world! Congrats Di!!!!! How far away are you from Moncks Corner.......hmmmmm....
 
Unfortunately Charleston is quite a hike or we would go occassionally to collect food. I am envisioning meeting up in FL after you retire :biggrin2:

Love the naming suggestions but still looking. Neal came up with Diego and Calicalifornias (after Calimacus) and I nixed them (he even tried calling the octo Diego to see if he could get away with it by default :roll:. So now something relating to his home environment is also on the term search list.

So far so good. He was out a little tonight after I put a crab in the tank. He did not pounce on it immediately but took a long detour to investigate. I wish that tank was not so hard to photograph but between the hex shape, the windows on both sides and the scratches (very old tank that was purchased used) it is miserable to attempt anything but closeups and those are not anything to write home about.
 

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