Hachi - Nocturnal Bimaculoides?

NO chance at all. Everything in the tank is smaller than its mantle, no threat, and has been eaten by Hachi before. Hachi has been eating less too, he used to eat four crabs a day, but now he eats one every few days. I have taken everything out of the tank except a few clams. I have changed the water and checked the water parameters, everything was perfect. I noticed today that Hachi's tentacle tips were brown and curled up. I am worried and afraid it will die. What can I do? I think I should release Hachi, I know it was not the best to release a captive kept octopus, but I think it is the best and only choice.
 
As they grow they require less food but I don't think Hachi is old enough to have started into that phase yet. Can you get a clear photograph? Are the arms curled in what might be called a cork screw (hanging down in spirals)? Description wise, neither brown arms (octopuses have 8 arms, squid and cuttlefish have 8 arms and two tentacles) nor curled arms (depending on the curl)are not alarming so a photograph would be most helpful. Is he still staying on the wall and staying away from the LR? Do/did you have any corals in the tank?
 
He is 10 inches long, is that big enough? He is eating alarmingly little. His arms are not cork screws, they are contracted in curls and do not hang. Only the tips are brown, the rest of him is a pale white, gray, and sometimes brown. I will try to get a photo. He is staying on the wall 24/7, so yes he is staying away from the live rock. I don't have and never had any corals in the tank.
 
I think I should release Hachi, I know it was not the best to release a captive kept octopus, but I think it is the best and only choice.

Please do not do that. He could be contaminated with something foreign and potentially harmful to the natural environment, and we don't want start any ecological problem.
 
LR is one of the MOST likely things to carry invasive species. I recently read an article studying microbes on corals (trying to determine what is reducing the world wide population) mentioning how hard it was to create an artificial environment for research because introducing even the smallest invasive (not necessarily harmful) organisim can cause large changes to the ecosystem.

This is NOT the article I referred to (still hunting that one) but here is a recent posting on researching bacteria and coral death.
 
Thanks guys, Hachi is looking a little better today and is a little more active. Hachi hasn't eaten for a while though.... I hope it is going to be okay. (I only use "it" because its gender is not known.) Took a few pictures, now I just got to figure out how to post them. Its tentacles are now hanging more and look like cork screws (Yaay!). I hope that means something good.
 
Unfortunately, the corkscrew look is NOT good.

One way to post a picture is to click on the little icon that looks like a square with dots at the corners (next to the film icon) in the row just above the where you type. That will pop up a window to load a picture from your computer. If it does not let you browse your computer, click on the tab that says From Computer. Once you find the picture, click on it then click the open button. When the browsing window closes click Upload Files (it does not look like a button and is not obviously something you need to click). That will place it in line with the text. You can caption above the "["attach"]" (quotes are to prevent actual use you will not see them in the real thing) or after the "["/attach"]" and upload up to 4 pictures per post.

Have you tried offering thawed shrimp on a stick? If not gently touch an arm with a well thawed piece of table shrimp. You can use a feeding stick or a bamboo skewer (or, as one member does, the end of a broken fishing pole :roll:). The suckers act much like our taste buds and may stimulate eating. I have found the ones closer to the beak to seem to be the most sensative but do this slowly and patiently and continue with the effort for a timed 10 minutes unless he dives back to the LR.
 
I have, Hachi will only eat live food I've tried krill, shrimp, and various types of fish for more than ten minutes, after a while he gets either gets annoyed pushing it away, running away, or hiding. He only eats live food.
Thanks,
Cameron
 

I have noticed that Hachi has been changing colors a lot. It has also ate a shrimp, but I had to catch it and hand feed. I hope to set up some kind of smaller mini cage(breeding net, critter cage, etc.) inside of my 55 gallon tank so I can monitor Hachi and feed it. Hachi seems to be more active.
 

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Hachi has not moved a lot today. His body is horizontal, like it's jetting, head on one side and all the tentacles on the other. Just laying there in the sand, still alive, but in poor health. Is there any way to save him, medication or something I just don't know about. I am positive he is going to die soon, probably in this week. Any suggestions, I am getting desperate.
Thanks,
Cameron Joe
 
Sadly, I am afraid your analysis is valid. It is possible that Hachi was older than we thought and just small. Size is tricky when it comes to trying to determine age. The lack of appetite, gray color and the prone position are common symptoms at the end of senescence.

You mentioned that you have checked your water but have you checked for ammonia? With only live rock in the tank, just letting it sit for 3 months would not have created enough bacteria to handle octopus waste. When you cycled it, did you add anything to increase the bacteria?
 
That could be correct, though I have seen multiple bimacs in the same area that are way bigger. Yes, ammonia is 0. No, though pH, nitrites, and nitrates are perfect too. Hachi is going to die soon, he is faced down in the live sand in a jetting position, I am afraid he will expire soon, like soon.
Thank you.
 
I usually pick them up and put them in a breeder net at this point to avoid clean-up crews being over efficient. If you do, take care not to panic if he won't let go of you (you may want to use a net) as the only times I have been nipped (never enough to be a concern or even find the next day) has been handling dieing octos who did not want to be put back on the substrate. I think the softness of the hand and the avoidance of the clean-up crew is likely why since they don't understand that I am putting them in a safe place to retire.
 
it may sound terrible to some but at this point I usually euthanize. I don't know if they are actually suffering at this point, but I assume they are and I try to put and end to the suffering as quick as possible.


although this story may end tragically I want o thank you for sharing your experience, these events can be useful to other new keepers seeking knowledge.
 

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