Hello from Las Vegas (help needed)

Well-- sadly the little guy didn't make it. Now I'm 0/2, the shipping just seems to rough. And unlike liveaquaria.com that will refund you 100% including shipping Tom's only refunds the cost of the octo S*** :mad:
 
The larger vendors can take a loss more easily and extend their pricing to help cover but the individual collector cannot afford to increase prices or extend their guarantees to include shipping, most will not ship delicate animals at all.
 


Help with an ID?? This is my third octo and luckily this one came in alive and well it seems. It went after a peice of krill shrimp but since the shrimp was as big as he was it he didn't eat it all. It is very small, (compared to the others I have received) And sadly i had to give a piece of my mind to the woman at the local FedEx here in las vegas when I saw them throwing my box around. That is why my others didn't make it. They really dont give a S*** about the boxes even when it has FRAGILE and LIVE MARINE ANIMAL written all over it...

So not that i got that off my chest.. Looking for you all to chime in on what species you think it is..



Thanks
 

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Some standard questions that will help with ID:

What body of water did it call home?
What is the mantle (behind the eyes to the end of the sack - mantle) ratio
Do you see any distinguishing markings? Eye spots, circles below the eyes on the webbing before the arms split, spots (usually white)on the arms, unusually pattern between or just under the eyes
Color of the edge of the suckers.
Arm length and description. Quick tapering or thick and ropey looking

The photos are not too helpful but the color, eyes and arm taper could be O. mercatoris if from the Caribbean. They eyes and mantle shape would discount vulgaris.
 
Ordered it from Saltwaterfish.com They called it a Pacific Octopus. i attached a screen shot of the page.

Arm seemed more thick, compared to thin. The rest I am not sure of at this point since he is so small and didnt see much. No distinguishing spots or colors.
 

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Unfortunately, vendor's photos are representations (as they would be with fish) and not even species specific (as they would NOT be with fish). For years Saltwater used a picture of a bimac but sold O. hummelincki from Haiti. However, the picture looks a lot like the one you have. I don't put a lot of faith their "Pacific" notation though. There is a Pacific equivalent to O. mercatoris that I cannot tell the differences in from photos (I have never seen one live). Look at Roy's photo of O. digueti and at his O. mercatoris to see how closely they resemble your animal. Pay particular attention to the arm to mantle ratio (~2.5:1 for either) and tapering of the arms.
 
Definitly more like O. digueti, the other looks more like a dwarf to me. Mine has more brown in the color. When i came home from work 6pm pst he was on the glass with the red LED's on and was very active in the tank. By the time i got back from dinner 9 pst he was hiding. I attached a few more photos. Again no real distinguishing spots. The web in-between the tentacles is small in comparison to some of the other photos i have seen. I am hoping/thinking I got a baby vulgaris or bimac?



 

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The arms are too long for either O.mercatoris or O.digueti (both dwarves) and the bottom picture is totaly wrong in color as well. I see something when I blow up the bottom one that could easily be an eye spot that is not showing color.

Look VERY carefully next time it is on the glass and see what color the tips of the suckers reveal. The colors I am looking for are either blue/purple or orange. I would start thinking O. hummelincki or O.bimaculoides except I have never seen either of those show red. I have had two that would show red as very young animals. One had an eyespot and I never determined his species but I think the arms are too long (looking back proportionally, the arms are definitely too long - darn, I so want this species to show up). The other was my jougaris (madeup name too big for a joubini and too small for a vulgaris), LittleBit. The eyes and mantle don't look right for this one either but a clear close up would help to discount this one. Either of these would be major winners though as they were excellent pets and well sized to live in an aquarium.

I think I see a green sparkle sheen that is reminicent of the small macropus (species unknown) we see from Indonesia. This would fit the red but you should see bright white dots when it is red (and only turns red when mad) and it should be very nocturnal which does not seem to fit. The brown pattern is also not in line from what I have observed.

I am thinking the red is a juvenile only color and that you won't see it for very long but that is just a guess from only two observations so I will try to remember to ask if you stop seeing it again in a month or so.

Work on getting some good pics, love the mystery!
 
I am very happy that the little guy is doing well. He was hidden in the rocks all day (must have found his den) I turned the Red LED's on at sundown and right on time 7pm he came out and was crawling around. Found a large (compared to him) piece of Krill I left in the tank upfront and jumped on it but seemed to leave it after a while. I managed to get another photo. I added the skull from another tank thinking it would make a perfect den for my octo. The other two i got that didn't make it were much larger and better suited for it but this little guy needs to grow more.

Well I am hoping to have an ID as time goes on and he grows.

 

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Enlarge this picture a(click on it) nd see what you think (note the red color in the lower right frame). The eyes still look dwarfish to me but looking back on Little Bit I can see where certain angles might give that 'Y' look. The proportions look right but I am not sold. Take as many different shots as you can of its different looks and patterns. If it is the same as Little Bit, there will be many variations but not much skin texture. It may be wishful thinking that is pushing me this way as she was one of my favorites. The time of day for activity fits her early pattern.
 
Hey guys,

Been while since i posted. My ceph journey has been interesting. So found out I have a dwarf octo. Found this out about a month ago or so when it started brooding and refused to eat. Just last night i saw the first baby octos swimming around and today counted about 14 in the tank.

I have a 75 g tank with a lot of rock.

Funny thing have it i think i have a chance of them surviving since about two-three weeks ago i notcied serval hundred baby crabs in the tank. One of them must have been carrying larvae. So i am watching to say the least. I havent read to much about the brooding process or about trying to help the babies survive so i am typing as fast as i can so one of you can chime in to help.

Thanks


 

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I don't know there's much you can do except fingers crossed and keep that live tucker coming. You may want to cycle another tank to have on standby, as when they get bigger they are very likely to turn cannibal! Perhaps set up a net breeder????
 

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