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Dividing a tank, and keeping 2 O. mercatoris?

Joined
Oct 13, 2005
Messages
511
Would is be possible to divide a 47 gallon tank, and keep 2 O. mercatoris? If I do, the divider will be made of either netting, or that craft mesh stuff, and I will utilize Thales' idea of having a door that can be slid out of place, to have "visitation" and hopefully (if they are a male and female pair) they will breed. Does cannibalism set in slowly, or is it something they don't like about the other octo, and they just go at it, and kill it instantly, or is it if they are together for prolonged periods of time?

AMS,

Do you have AIM? if so, I would really appreciate it if you could talk to me with your experiences in keeping O. mercatoris,
 
My experiences were with O. digueti, but they were actually fairly social in a larger tank (55 gallons), and had no cannibalism occuring during the six months they were maintained.
 
First I have to find some that aren't $100 each...>: (

Do O. digueti get larger, smaller, or the same size as O. mercatoris? Anyone know of anyone that has some mercatoris? I found one website, but the owner was very snobby, and didn't seem like he wanted to collect 1, let alone 2 for me...
 
Brock,

I think you've been looking at this with some unrealistic expectations

Most cephs aren't easily available. That's why everyone gets so excited when someone has bimacs. If you can find someone willing to get the species you want, $100 is a bargain. No matter what species of octopus you're looking for, chances are its not in your city and you need to pay $$$ to have it shipped to you. If that's not in your price range your best shot is to get an LFS octopus and watch it while it hides in its den for the last three weeks of its natural lifespan.

Remember that the realm of experienced ceph keepers doesn't go much further than a mere handful of people in this forum. You can post asking if anyone has O. mercatoris and you can post asking if anyone has O. digueti or any number of a hundred other species; and chances are no one does. If you search the forums for O. digueti and find the only person who's kept them caught them himself, chances are you won't find a vendor (and even if you did, you'd still have to hand over the $$$ to ship it!). If you find a company who sells your species in bulk to research labs is it surprising that they don't want to catch a single one for you and lose money on the deal?

This is why I made that wisecrack the other day about the clownfish. Pet shops don't sell species of octopus like they sell breeds of kitten so all of us have the following options: take a chance on what the LFS has, catch our own, spend the money or stick with the clownfish.

Good luck,

Dan
 
I know that, I simply stated that I was going to keep looking around and see if I find any for cheaper. I know that the member here AMS has successfully reared O. mercatoris hatchlings, and s/he told me where s/he bought it. The place I was looking at is carribeancreatures, which I know sells to hobbyists. I'm going to spend the money, I simply implied that i'm still looking. I will be getting the octopus I want, O. mercatoris.
 
AMS,

Do you have AIM? if so, I would really appreciate it if you could talk to me with your experiences in keeping O. mercatoris,
Nope, no AIM. PM would be our only means of communication :smile:

Yes, I have reared o.mercatoris in the past with success, I even had some accept frozen. I bought mine from carribeancreatures.com like Brock has pointed out, however, if you can find any place that sells dwarfs chances are they are o.mercatoris.

If you want some more info on rearing don't hesitate to PM me Brock.
 
Hi Guys

why not keep the information in this thread rather than PMs. That way future people searching for information on these species will find it and you can help them out too?

Thanks
Colin
 
Colin;81748 said:
Hi Guys

why not keep the information in this thread rather than PMs. That way future people searching for information on these species will find it and you can help them out too?

Thanks
Colin
Thats fine with me :biggrin2:
 
Fine with me too! Sorry, I didn't really consider the fact that this info would be useful to others, lol.

How big were the babies when born? What was their first food? What did you keep them in to prevent cannibalism? How big was the mother when full grown? Was the mother active, and social with you? Did you obtain a gravid female, or actually breed them? What did you do with the babies? Sorry for so many questions, lol.
 
Colin;81748 said:
Hi Guys

why not keep the information in this thread rather than PMs. That way future people searching for information on these species will find it and you can help them out too?

Thanks
Colin

Absolutely!

I believe Einy is most likely O. Mercatoris so I'd like as much insight as I can get.

He's put on a show for me a few times, never predictable though. Some nights he comes right out as soon as all of the lights are out. Some nights he doesn't come out for hours after the lights are out, in which case I don't know what he does because I have to sleep. Sometimes all he does is perch on his den and watch the Fiddler crab walk back and forth and doesn't eat it for a day or two. He seems to prefer small hermits for meals, instead of fiddlers. I saw him grab a hermit shell and slowly crawl around the tank with it once, seemingly imitating a hermit. Last night he made a failed attempt at snaring a relatively large Fiddler as it walked past his den, he had his revenge about an hour later. Most mornings he will be peeking out of his den, just his little alienesque head. He does a pretty good impression of "The Thinker", his head appears to be propped up on a single arm he sticks out and curls under his head, but sometimes over his head, between his eyes.
Last night after his meal he stayed out and climbed around the side of the tank. This was a first. Most of the time he goes right back to his den right after he eats.
 
Brock Fluharty;81771 said:
Fine with me too! Sorry, I didn't really consider the fact that this info would be useful to others, lol.

How big were the babies when born? What was their first food? What did you keep them in to prevent cannibalism? How big was the mother when full grown? Was the mother active, and social with you? Did you obtain a gravid female, or actually breed them? What did you do with the babies? Sorry for so many questions, lol.

I really can't remember the size of the newly hatched ones, it's been a while since I have reared them. The first food was amphipods, that was there staple actually. I would feed live mysis when I could, very small ghost shrimp, and brine shrimp if I was in a pinch. To prevent cannibalism I set up 3 ten gallon tanks with 1 divider in each tank. Reared a total of 6, 4 survived. For filtration in these tanks I used live rock and a small bio-wheel HOB filter. The mother was pretty social, not as much as most octos but still enjoyable. She was fairly active, enjoyed playing with her toys. I obtained a gravid female. I kept one of them for myself and sold the other 3.

Animal Mother, if you want your dwarf to be less elusive don't put on the light. Ambient light is all that's needed. All I used was ambient light during the day and a lunar light at night.

Hope this helped.
 

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