[Octopus]: Maurice my octopus species??

[Lov80]

So you mean that Octos can handle Nitrate and Phosphate somewhat well if it's not too high!?
What substances is most dangerous for them in the water? Nitrite, Ammonia?

 

[DWhatley]

Yes and yes. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly to them and need to be maintained at 0.

 

[Lov80]

I've read that Octos must get food that contains a certain amount of copper such as Oysters. If this is skipped they may die. Is that correct according to your experiences?

 

[DWhatley]

No, we have never consciously included copper in the water supply (deadly) or the food (unknown). Oysters, however, are fine to offer but can make a mess of the tank. Clams are a far cleaner mollusk option (not sure about the food value of either).

 

[Lov80]

Maurice only seems to eat every other 2- 3 days. Is that usual? Just a few days from today he seemed to really want something to eat. He starred at me and waited but since I first had to go to the freezer and defrost a shrimp he later seemed to be offended and was hiding in a tube. He finally ate almost 2 days later. Octos seem to have quite different characters.

 

[tonmo]

I think it's OK, any time they eat it seems to be a good sign -- I seem to recall many other octo keepers fretting that their octos don't seem to eat enough, but it usually works out fine. I think we tend to "humanize" them (anthropomorphism) and think that if they haven't eaten in a day or two, they must be starving. Three days might be a bit long but I'm not exactly sure what is "normal" ...reading our other journals is usually helpful in this regard. Thank you for keeping this journal, looking forward to more pics!

 

[cephjedi]

Well I bought this octopus from a big local pet-shop chain and they got it from DE Jong Marinelife in Holland.

Octopus spp.

Reef Octopus

shop.dejongmarinelife.nl

Can you identify it better now. Otherwise I need to wait until I get my octo in a good position.
WellI got my octo a few days before Christmas. Since I first wanted to be sure that it will survive I put him into a transparent plastic 70 Liter box with Fiji sand live rocks and a skimmer. Soon I will put him into a large 240 Liter Tank that I used to have forhatching trout eggs.
Starting a journal? - What do you want me to do?

It's important to note that the example octopus featured on distributor's websites doesn't necessarily coincide with the actual octopus you get. That said, every time I have gotten an octopus from Indonesia, it's been similar to the stock photo, and I have never been able to identify one. They are relatively small ML 2 cm or so, and typically have very very long, thick ropy arms with a lot of webbing. In my experience, these octopuses really like to dig. They will dig under rocks, decorations and any undergravel filter and live there. Because they are also usually extremely nocturnal, sightings were fairly rare. Even challenging octopuses are a lot of fun, though. I will be curious to see how yours fares. Good luck with him/her!

 

[Lov80]

@DWhatley Where did you get this cool Octo-logo?

 

[Lov80]

Do you consider 20 °C too cold for my indonesian/philippino/Bali octopus?

 

[Lov80]

Maurice is getting a new home. Old/provisional home and new home photos. Hiding in his favorite cave while moving! I try to slowly adjust the water although it should be the same since I bought it. Well I bought the water at the same store but at 2 times. Once just 50 Liter for the small tank and the second time 210 Liter for the big aquarium. So it's better to slowly adjust the water.

 

[Lov80]

A look at my octopus at 3.30 am very early morning and he seems to have a hard time choking down a part of a shrimp. Sorry again a bad photo quality.

 

[DWhatley]

@DWhatley Where did you get this cool Octo-logo?

Thanks for the complements on my home grown avatar. I get creative from time to time and attempt a smilie or two.

Do you consider 20 °C too cold for my indonesian/philippino/Bali octopus?

Yes, I would warm the tank slightly from 20C to a minimum of 24C (~68F to 75F). Even that is low for the average temps in Bali but keeping the water a bit lower may be helpful to fight infections, warmer may help interaction/activity though. Here is a link to the average temps in Bali (guestimating local, of course) Bali climate: average weather, temperature, precipitation, best time (scroll down until you see "Bali - Sea Temperature"

 

[Lov80]

Well what actually happened is that I put both heaters (provisional and bigger tank) to 24°C on the scales. The only reason because I found out that both heaters were heating not warm enough was just before I moved Maurice away from his provisional tank. And I compared both tanks that were all 20° C. I used two different thermometers that both showed 20° C. The malfunction eventually has to do that the tank is in the basement where it's a bit cooler.
Do you think that the 'cold' water could be the reason because he/she was not as active and didn't eat as well?
-At the other side: Don't Octos go also deeper into the ocean. Even in Indonesia the water temperature at 20 meters depth may be even a bit lower than 20°C??

 

[DWhatley]

The octo you have is likely a shallow water species so water warmer than 20C is desirable but how much warmer is likely up for debate since we really don't know the temps and depth of origination and hence my suggestion of 24C. Yes, cooler water tends to make them less active and eat less. It could also be that your animal is accustomed to eating every other or every third day. Alternately, it may be full grown and eating less because it needs fewer calories, like humans, in its adult age.

 

[Lov80]

A lots suits that Maurice is that kind of octopus that was suggested. However I think that he is rather night active. He has long tentacles but eventually not as long as the suggested species usually has. I don't know since I am not an expert.