[Octopus]: Houdini - O. Briareus Baby

Status
Not open for further replies.




I took out one of the big pieces of rock because it just didn't look right as you can see in the video. I hate aquascaping a tank, I'm never satisfied with it. I find her and place her in the carrier while I'm aquascaping or doing a good scrub down of the walls. Since it's white, it shows every single coraline algae, scratch, or anything else. This is by far the worst looking tank I have ever owned. The silicone is changing color and the rep for Innovative marine told me it was because of the saltwater chemicals. :rolleyes: I'm extremely disappointed in how this one turned out.


Using this photo as a size reference as you can see she is slowly getting bigger. Play the video and watch as she is released and compare her size to the one in the photo.

 
Last edited:
DWhatley this post is for you!


Ok let me start off with a small note.

I havent really hand fed Houdini.


I've been feeding her from a skewer, or tossing thawed fiddlers, shrimp, oysters, salmon, ect in a small container and letting her get it on her own. She has been skiddish since day one if my hands are in the tank. Other then dancing on the walls with my face plastered to it watching like a small child looking in a toy store window.

Today has been kind if busy, fall cleaning and organizing, bathing dogs, feeding birds, taking goodies to the Men & Women's shelters. So the house has been kind of busy.

Houdini comes out and watches from behind the rocks once in a while, and just sits there. Lights on or off she doesnt care. Today as I passed by with a load of laundry in my hands, she was watching me. So I got closer and she just sat there looking at me with that feed me look.

I went to the kitchen and was about to thaw out a piece of silverside and my husband had just came home and had a live fiddler for her. Talk about great timing! So in a hurry I declawed it and rinsed it off really well, and was gonna place it on the bottom of the sand and let it have a bit of dignity by giving it a chance.

I was trying to grow a set of brass ones and was gonna try to hand feed her like I did with Wink. Wink's arms were the perfect size to grab the fiddlers out of my fingers. And she got so gentle grabbing them out of my fingers I got so comfortable feeding her like that.

I pulled the claw off and dropped it in, and she was watching me from the den rock all 3 of them have been using. I started to put the fiddler on the sand and she started to back away under the rock. Then the fiddler started to move in my fingers. Oh yea that peaked her interest, she came back out from under the den rock within seconds.

Yea I kind of forgot how long her arms could actually get! I dangled it close to her, and she shot 2 arms up and snagged that fiddler so fast my head spun! I squeeled like a pig and my husband is stil laughing at me.

And yes I forgot the darn camera again!!!!

I swear I'm gonna install video cameras to capture these moments!
 
LOL, I keep the camera on a tripod in the main tank room (our eating area, commonly referred to as the breakfast room) and still miss a lot of Kodak moments. Last night, after having missed something similar (one of the cuttles grabbed a shrimp before I put my hand fully in the water and actually came out of the water attached to my fingers) I started thinking about recording all feeding sessions and just deleting most of the videos. Where I am somewhat used to octo arms being grabby (I swear Shiitake thinks grabbing my hand is part of the feeding routine) having a 2" cuttlefish all but jump out of the water and attach to your finger is a new experience. I even tried to temp it to repeat the performance by dangling a shrimp just at the water line but the cuttle would only cautiously approach while the camera was running.
 
She does do a touch and go like Wink did. But I'm scared to think how it's going to be the first time she tries to envelop my hand.

She loves the new aqua scape. In the very center there is a cave like very opened structure I made in hopes to be able to see her feed or even have her den for a while. (I was hoping to take photos better in there) Well I must have made it pretty good because she hangs our there every day and night. She goes to a new den, but when I shine the red light in there for feeding time, she comes out and attaches to the back of that center rock, and just watches me. The only downfall, is where she positions herself, I cannot get a photo or video of her. It's at a downward right angle, just enough to see but not good enough for photo or video. I can see her through the corner of the tank (the IM 38 is bowed as you can see in the videos) but I can't get an angle to get a photo of her. (been trying for a few days)

Gonna do a big order of Fiddlers from Sachs this weekend as she has gotten bigger, and I've gotten lazy with ordering them and I want a fresh supply at the house. We pick them up from the LPS 3 times a week, but it's starting to get expensive. She has all but refused the salmon, oyster, and silver sides. But as long as she's eating something I'm happy.

I'm really gonna miss her when Inkman gets his tanks done. She is so curiously comical and I'm having a blast with her!

(kicks myself for selling the RSM 250) :mad:
 
DWhatley any chance I can rename this thread?

Baby O. Briareus Houdini?

I can't figure out how to do it.
 
Last edited:
@QueenB,
I renamed it, as requested and move it to the journals section. The software requires a moderator to change titles and move threads so it is not your lack of computer skills :biggrin2:
 
Who wants to play find the Octopus?

o_O



Photo #1 only!





(It took me a min to find her watching me, but when I sat down in front of the tank look what happened!)


She's been pretty brave because she doesn't hide much once I see her. She just does a color changing cloud. Tonight I stuck in the biggest fiddler I could find. (Clawless)












 
I've been looking back over this journal and admiring the excellent photos.
Have you tried holding up the fiddler outside of the tank (while it sill has all of its parts? I think Houdini will recognize what it is, and maybe get excited. This worked with both fiddlers and crawfish for me.

Nancy
 
We have a special thread for "Find the Ceph" images. The game rules are to post the well camouflaged ceph picture in the thread with a link to the journal entry that identifies the location. So in this case (I DID find Houdini after enlarging the image and searching for a few minutes) the first image could be posted in the thread. Then click on the #69 in light gray below the answering post on this thread to get the link to that specific post, copy it from the popup box and paste it to the game thread post.
 
What I love most about my camera is its a cell phone (Galaxy Note 3) and is giving me great photos so far. My digital camera is not liking the red lighting or night incandescent lighting. However I've caught some decent red light photos with this phone.




Found the remnants of that HUGE male fiddler! Legs sprawled all over the back, and the empty carcass shells on the side.

She's really enjoying the new rock setup. As you can see she is out all the time! (1:25 pm)

Picking up a tank stand for the 10 Gallon fiddler tank today. I want to set it up in a different room in case she wants to try and escape again. I have her sealed in there pretty tight, but they always find a way.
 
Looking for a detailed list of fresh sea foods that are ok to feed her as she grows larger. We are seafood lovers and always love to find new recipes to try. So price isn't much of a problem. I can't find blue crab legs around here, and I noticed DWhatley that you search for them sometimes.

Food examples like Lobster, King Crab, Snow Crab, Oysters, Clams, Shrimps (fresh uncooked or frozen uncooked), the different acceptable types of fish like Salmon Talapia Flounder, ect.

I can also get some live Crawfish but was wondering if those would even be suitable for her (clawless).


I'm wanting to experiment with new foods with her, but don't want to give her something toxic or harmful.

We bought Lobsters, King Crab legs, Shrimp, and Oysters today and are having a few friends over for dinner and cards. A few crab legs fell loose from the bunches, and I was curious if they would be ok to give her in small portions. I was also wondering if a few chunks of the lobster would be ok for her. (uncooked of coarse)
 
Having an awesome day with her today as usual. She is not very shy.


Some Photos and videos of her today. (Galaxy note 3)

Devouring a piece of salmon. I think we stressed her out a little with as much as we observed her eating today. I normally watch her from across the room but we were both trying to get photos and video of her today.













 
Anything raw from the saltwater menu is fine but keep in mind that dead crab is not found raw (fresh or frozen). Both crab meat and claws are cooked (steamed) before being sent to the market. I debone any fish to avoid the possibilty of it getting stuck. There are stories of lab octopuses found with bones and shells stuck in their brains (remember that the esophagus passes through their doughnut shaped brain). There are no stories of this being fatal but it is rare to do a necropsy on a pet. Keep in mind that your little one has not experienced any of these foods in the wild and is not "street smart" on eating them.

I have yet to find out what changes when seafood is cooked that makes it less nutritious (but not poisonous) and an occasional piece of cooked seafood should not be harmful (but may not be accepted).

Crawfish can also be fed occasionally even though they are freshwater animals (the same goes for freshwater glass shrimp). The whole animal can be offered live but be sure it is accepted and eaten as it will only live about an hour in the saltwater tank (I have never had a live one be left alone for an hour). To freeze them, remove the claws and tails before they die and discard the body.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

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