[Octopus]: Houdini - O. Briareus Baby

[QueenB]

I've been finding more things for her to eat. Sort of experimenting on what she will consume.

She was not interested in the lobster whatsoever. But my husband enjoyed the rest of it.



I ordered a new batch of fiddlers from Paul & Sarah Sach's and within a day the males started killing each other and then the females in the tank. So I had no choice but to take them all out and freeze them till it's time to feed. I was hoping to be able to keep them peacefully in a 10g. I may try all females next time.

I was curious on crawfish as well so I ordered 2 with the fiddlers. The first one was so tiny I think she could have flossed her beak with it because she was still doing the crazy leg letting me know she was still hungry. The 2nd was much more her size.


Note the new den she found. The middle rock has a large center for her to move around in. The holes are on the small side but just big enough for her to fit through for now.

She's getting bigger, but not as fast as I thought she would.

The large crawfish was about 1 1/2".





Small Crawfish

Larger crawfish

 

[DWhatley]

The large crawfish video is private so I can't see it. YouTube has a privacy option that allows anyone with a link to view but it won't show up in a search if you want to keep videos semi-private. Should you choose to, you can simply release crayfish (crawdads, crawfish, ...) without impaling them. I have never had one to be not eaten and crayfish can survive in the saltwater for roughly an hour.

Other people have noted that their octopuses had no interest in Maine lobster (mine have never been offered any. The whole thing is reserved for my stomach). No clue why this is as FL lobster are definitely part of their natural food. They are most known for raiding the crab traps though.

 

[QueenB]

I need to start updating more, but it's been kind of busy around here lately. She still comes out for her feedings in her lower right feeding pocket almost every time she wants to eat. Hence the first Video. (her normal feed me pose) Please watch them fullscreen.

I made a couple new red flashlights because the cheap ones I buy don't last very long. ( FYI: Red Vellum is almost impossible to find except on eBay)

She is getting bigger as you can see, but still has TONS of movable room.





I have been trying to feed her by hand, but she is still extremely skiddish. She inked the last time I failed at it. So I tried to feed her again tonight but I second guessed it and BOY AM I GLAD I DID! (hence the 2nd video)

 

[QueenB]

Her normal pose is poking out of one of her many dens she has in this tank, and just sitting there watching me with those " Hungry Eyes" (insert music Que here). I try to make her feedings every 3 days, because she doesn't always consume it if I feed her daily. I feel bad because it makes me feel like I'm starving her, but she's so good and hungry when I feed her there's nothing left but maybe shells, a tail, or sometimes silver side eyeballs. The feedings of a Ceph head!

Anyway tonight I was cleaning, vacuuming, and dusting the pet room (former dining room) since I re-homed one of my babies (Goffin Cockatoo) last night. But I did find her a very very good home. My screening process is extensive.

I was cleaning & I walked out of the room to fill my spray bottle up with vinegar (my favorite thing to use on tank glass) and my husband walked into the room as I was walking out, and shouted "Holy Crap!" I panicked as I normally do thinking she might have finally gotten out, hence the name Houdini.

She has to be going through some kind of a growth spurt.

These are the shots I got of her today.

 

[QueenB]

Size reference


May 24th 2014 (2-3 months old)




October 14th 2014 (7-8 mo old)

 

[QueenB]

It's 4 Am who's ready for some Eye Candy? (Taken with my Samsung Galaxy Note 3)











And my Favorite so far!

 

[QueenB]

I had to take the Mexican Turbo out of the tank tonight. He almost became a late night snack. I caught her trying to get it out of it's shell so I distracted her with a fresh piece of shrimp and she released him. So I stuck him in the other tank for now. I am not happy about not having any kind of clean up crew in that tank whatsoever. Def no starfish, she eats any kind of crab I stick in there for sure. and now my Mexican Turbo's are not safe in there.

As I said before she does not mind my dining room light being on when she interacts with me. We played touch tonight through the glass. And she didn't run off when I was using my Cell Phone to catch her. She comes out and sits there till I turn around from my desk, and I scootch over to the tank on my chair and we just sit there watching one another. But tonight was an extra special night. She's getting a lot bolder now as you can see.

 

[QueenB]

And if that wasn't enough Eye Candy for you.

How about some really nice close up Video's?

Watch full screen the detail in her skin and those eyes just amaze me!

 

[DWhatley]

NICE! Enough sweets for me tonight. I am off to bed for a bit.

 

[QueenB]

Any clues on some other tank mates safe enough to help keep it clean? Starfish, snails, and crabs are out of the question. I had urchins before but didn't think they did much.

 

[DWhatley]

When you say starfish, are you including serpent or brittle stars? If so why? It is not unheard of (but is unheard of on this forum and with all hobby kept animals) for an octopus to eat either of these. Pencil urchins will help but the serpents will get the larger chunks better than any other CUC I know of. I would also suggest modifying your feeding schedule to every or every other day. Snails are not a favorite food (but is a natural one) so I suspect she is hungry. Another option I have tried with success is adding several clams to the bottom substrate. They are minimal cleaners and will be eaten but are often left alone unless the animal is very hungry (especially if you have 4 or 5 in the tank). With a serpent or brittle star, there is never a mess in my tank after one is eaten. I do put them in a bucket in tank water for 6 hours or so (and change the water when it gets yucky, adding an air stone if I leave them overnight) before I put them in the tank. This ensures they are alive and that they eliminate most anything they have taken in that you don't want in the tank.

 

[QueenB]

I don't want to take the chance of one actually getting to her and eating her. I think I read somewhere on one of the forums they think their starfish got to it.

I did have a green brittle star that got absolutely humongous. I gave it away because it got so aggressive when it was feeding time in the tanks.

I try to feed her every other day, but she just grabs it and spits it out within 5 min. So it just sits there although I grab it out so it doesn't spoil the water. I just fed her a piece of shrimp earlier in the day before she attacked the snail. Inkman is having the same problem. Twitch is eating her snails in the tank to. I do the same thing when I toss in some clams, but she hasn't bothered with them either.

She eats mainly salmon, silver sides, skewered craw fish, skewered crawdads, shrimp, and fiddlers.

Think it might be my portion size? I do give her big chunks now.

 

[DWhatley]

Consumption quantity does change as they grow, increasing as they reach maturity but then decreasing at senescence.

A brittle or serpent won't harm an octopus (but DO avoid the green as they can get aggressive when they get large - probably still can't harm an octopus but I recommend against getting one for any tank). The only incident we have on record with starfish is the possibility of a Bahama star trapping a small hummelincki in her den. It is unclear if the animal died and the star was cleaning up a dead animal or if the Bahama was able to trap it but your good to go with serpents or brittles. The Bahama (and some others) feeds differently than the serpents. I keep at least one in every octo tank. My favorite are the red/orange brittles (all named Pesky). They have a bit of personality (very little but still enough to make you smile) and do a great job at finding hidden scraps. All of them learn feeding time but the orange will occasionally be seen during the day where most others are very nocturnal.

Whether or not an octopus eats snails or hermits is a mystery and may have to do with where they lived before being captured. There are many journals where octos are given hermits as food but I have several red legs (I don't like blue legs and don't keep them in any of the tanks - they have killed more snails than octopuses) that have survived numerous octopuses and have never seen (with the exception of a vulgaris - she ate ANYTHING that moved) mine eat them. I have seen snails become food but am usually able to keep several in the tanks, others not so much.

 

[QueenB]

I just got off the phone searching for Red Brittle Starfish. The guy I got the Houdini from has some Navy Red Brittle Starfish. I'm gonna go look at them tonight. It's a 2 hour drive for me, but I need a cleanup crew. He also has some scarlets on sale in clean up crews.

I'm thinking maybe 2 Mexican Turbos, 1-2 Red Brittles (dep on size) and some red legs.

I was always told the reds ate corals, and the blues were safe...but I guess with a specie specific tank, It's the opposite. I was getting them for $.25 a piece. (still an expensive meal for her when she consumed every single one in the tank)

I'm gonna try to bump up her with much smaller peices 1-2 times a day, and just take out what she doesn't consume. I overfed Wink, and it feels as if I'm starving this one now. Not intentionally but she really only eats every 3 days. But I'm gonna do some closer observation feeding her daily, but chopping her potion size down but giving her a few pieces untill she doesn't want them anymore. (wish she would give the ice cube back)

I've been kind of toying around with plastics to feed her with. I have a used soft dog food container that has a lid. I clean it out super well, cut the oval out of the lid (sand it down with a nail file a tad so it's not a sharp edge), and weigh it down in the tank with one of the shells. She moves the shell away from the hole and floats to the top while pulling out or eating the shrimp, fish, etc. inside the plastic bowl. I've tried a few various bottles as well but she doesn't bother with the bottles yet. Her ice cube is stuck in her den so far back that I'm too afraid to go pull it back out. I may try a live fiddler in the bottle again. It seemed she couldn't figure out how to get back out of it once so I stopped using it.

 

[DWhatley]

Looking forward the videos