My best friend/one time roommate and I once kept a male O. briareus named Caligula. I have once again acquired an octopus. In honor of Caligula, this latest addition shall be named Gaius. I'm fairly confident it's a male, since it curls its third tentacle when moving around. This is visible in the second link.
I went through the hassle of two failed attempts on the part of liveaquaria to send me an octopus. The first time, they sent me AN EMPTY BAG. The second time, they delayed shipping. I gave up. I told my LFS about the ordeal and much to my surprise, the proprietor told me I was in luck. He had a small animal recently, supplied by the wholesaler 'Sea Dwelling Creatures'. It had escaped its enclosure and gone missing. Several weeks later, the LFS received a call from a customer who had recently purchased live rock from them. He informed them that he had found a hitchhiking octopus in the rock! Somehow he managed to capture it and was planning to return it to the LFS. This phone call came the day before I paid my visit. Steve (the proprietor) informed me the animal would be back in his possession today and it was mine if I wanted it. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to acquire an octo without the hassle of shipping during wintertime (if you can call 60 degrees in january in DC *wintertime*). I went ahead and grabbed him.
He's in acclimation right now. I'll post more pics and vids as I get them. For now, here are a few youtube videos I've put up of him in the bag and in acclimation. @DWhatley @Neogonodactylus Any input is greatly appreciated.
The tank he'll be going into is a 40 gallon cube. It is ~1.5 years old and previously housed a reef. The reef inhabitants were relocated into my 120. The tank is skimmed and is chemically stable. I do ~5 gallon water changes regularly.
FWIW my briareus lived for over 13 months (in captivity) and reached over 4' legspan.
I went through the hassle of two failed attempts on the part of liveaquaria to send me an octopus. The first time, they sent me AN EMPTY BAG. The second time, they delayed shipping. I gave up. I told my LFS about the ordeal and much to my surprise, the proprietor told me I was in luck. He had a small animal recently, supplied by the wholesaler 'Sea Dwelling Creatures'. It had escaped its enclosure and gone missing. Several weeks later, the LFS received a call from a customer who had recently purchased live rock from them. He informed them that he had found a hitchhiking octopus in the rock! Somehow he managed to capture it and was planning to return it to the LFS. This phone call came the day before I paid my visit. Steve (the proprietor) informed me the animal would be back in his possession today and it was mine if I wanted it. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to acquire an octo without the hassle of shipping during wintertime (if you can call 60 degrees in january in DC *wintertime*). I went ahead and grabbed him.
He's in acclimation right now. I'll post more pics and vids as I get them. For now, here are a few youtube videos I've put up of him in the bag and in acclimation. @DWhatley @Neogonodactylus Any input is greatly appreciated.
The tank he'll be going into is a 40 gallon cube. It is ~1.5 years old and previously housed a reef. The reef inhabitants were relocated into my 120. The tank is skimmed and is chemically stable. I do ~5 gallon water changes regularly.
FWIW my briareus lived for over 13 months (in captivity) and reached over 4' legspan.