ID this lfs octopus

[tkong]

what kind of octopus is this? sorry the pics suck. they are with my iphone and the octopus wouldnt move

 

[DWhatley]

Given the arm length to mantle proportions, eye horns, eye star and coloration, I would guess this is an Indonesian animal in the abdopus family, likely aculeatus. Without a size reference the age is a guess but the mantle looks full and elongated enough to suggest adult.

 

[tkong]

thanks...so is he worth buying? is it too old? the lfs said this is the longest living octopus that they have gotten in and they have had him for three months.

 

[DWhatley]

Sadly, these are usually collected near the end of their lives and we often (as implied by your LSF) see them die of apparent natural causes (and definitely natural with the females that lay and brood eggs) within a couple of months. iAlex acquired Durzo, one of the longest living (to my memory) animal we seen (5 months) but there have been a few others on TONMO that have lived slightly longer. I really can't advise on "should I buy this one", especially without observing it (and even then it is a crap shoot). Price, along with the understanding that it is likely adult will have to serve to make your choice. If it is showing weak coloration and does not show a lot of cirri this can indicate end of life but it can also be correctable water quality. In the photos, I did not observe cork screw arms (literally hanging limpy down in a winding cork screw pattern) so there may be some time yet but my SWAG would be 2 months or less.

 

[gpx1200]

Given the arm length to mantle proportions, eye horns, eye star and coloration, I would guess this is an Indonesian animal in the abdopus family, likely aculeatus. Without a size reference the age is a guess but the mantle looks full and elongated enough to suggest adult.

so are eye horns strictly an aculetus trate?

 

[DWhatley]

No, not at all. Many will show some kind of "horn" but the Abdopus complex seem to display them a lot. It is the combination of characteristics (especially the mantle to arm length combined with the arm thickness and general coloration) that make me think this is aculeatus.