Mongo, the mighty merc

[sedna]

Mongo update

Things with Mongo are business as usual, which is good now that Artemis has passed. Boring is good if it's healthy!

It seems that no matter how many hermits are roaming the tank, Mongo is too lazy to get them himself. This is cool with me, because he has decided to take them directly from my hand! As this is the more physical contact than I expected, I'm thrilled. It also cures me of "my favorite headache" (Cheers, Geddy)- food control. I decided to go with 3 hermits a week. If there are always some roaming, he'll eat when he's hungry. If he's too lazy to hunt for himself, I get the bonus of contact.

For the most part, he hangs out in the same barnacle apartment. He hasn't been to the other one in days. He keeps his shell door held in place and peeks out. When he's hungry, he drops the door for it to become his plate. As stated above, I now hold a hermit in front of his den, and his arms come out to get it. He holds onto my finger a moment after taking the crab, then gets busy eating.

Today's anagram: mo' 'nog!

 

[sedna]

Mother Mongo?

In the last few days, Mongo's den has become more and more crowded with shells. I may have only had aculeatus before, but this unmistakably the den of a brooding octo. In the beginning of the week, she'd still "open her door" to let me know when she wanted to eat, and she'd take hermits from my fingers. By Friday (2-20) I had to move the shell door myself and for the first time a crab went uneaten.

Saturday I decided to buy another merc at my LFS, and then was left with the question of how to add an unrelated octo to the tank. By the time I got "the Other One's" critter keeper acclimating, I noticed Mongo had pulled the biggest shells nearby into the den opening- it looks hilarious. Eventually today, I decided to get a larger keeper and drilled holes in it for increased H2O flow. I put Mongo and her barnacle along with several empty hermit shells and a small chunk of LR in with her. There are tons of little 'pods of some sort running around all of it. After she'd been settled in the keeper a few hours, I moved the blockage from her doorway just enough to offer her a small hermit, and she took it! Now, however, the doorway is so jammed I'll be hesitant to bother it too much.

For now the Other One has only been loose in the tank for 9 hrs or so and hasn't found a den yet. I don't see enlarged suckers, but can't tell if it's M or F. Although it would get crazy, it would be cool to have 2 different broods to mix as hatchlings for genetically different pairs.

Todays Anagram (for Mongo): M. Goon

 

[gholland]

Although it would get crazy, it would be cool to have 2 different broods to mix as hatchlings for genetically different pairs.

Be careful what you wish for! Good luck!

 

[sedna]

Mongo and the Other One

It's been a fun week with the 20 gal! On Sunday, I tried to feed the Other One a piece of scallop on a stick, he ever so gently pushed it away! I've had an octo pounce on the food and spit it out, but he actually pushed it away with his front 2 arms. He took up residence in a small chunk of "Texas Holey rock" which is really cool stuff- lots of great escape routes with one big dome.

Tuesday I got a couple of fiddler crabs from the LFS where kjlittle works and got to meet another TONMO member! That was cool, but the Other One didn't want the crab. It wandered around in there and the Other One just seemed intimidated by it. I had cut off the big front claw and offered it to Mongo, who happily took it! I hadn't seen any real signs of life from her den, and was happy that she would eat.

Over the week I saw the Other One out a lot. He wiggles his arms at me like a person shaking their fist, it's hilarious. I only ever saw Mongo all the way out of her den once, so I've been happily surprised to see so much of him. The fact that he wanders about so much makes me leery of removing Mongo's den from the critter keeper, though.

This afternoon the Other One still hadn't eaten yet, AND Mongo had dropped her shell signaling for food. I took the fiddler out and whacked it in half, then split one piece again. I offered the half the Other One using forceps, and that was all he needed. I gave one quarter to Mongo, I never even saw the tip of an arm, just the chunk of crab disappear from my fingers.

Of course, I'm not sure that the Other One is a "he," but after reading other journals I wonder if this is "typical" male behavior? He seems large and so of course I wonder how long he has, but I'm happy to have him to keep me company now that Mongo is brooding.

 

[Icabod169]

Glad to hear about all your success Sedna. I havn't had any feeding success yet and it's been about 2 days but I'm trying hermits today so I hope he will take. Best of luck with your two.

 

[sedna]

Serious senescence...

After posting last night, I saw the Other One in what I thought looked like a funny pose, until I realized that he was just corkscrewing... I'm not too surprised, he is so large, and he's done with hunting- only eating dead food when made easy for him. I did a water change today and he HATED it. He rolled up and rocked back and forth for an hour and I thought he'd die for sure. He seems better now, out in the open with tightly curled arms, but he's not breathing hard and looks more comfortable than before.

Here is a shot of how the tank is set up now, Mongo's barnacle in the box with her den packed with shells. You can just make out the Other One in the Texas Holey rock- a cool chunk of rock that makes a perfect merc den. I'm not sure If I'll take Mongo's den all the way out of the critter keeper after the Other One passes. I like the idea of keeping bristle worm away from the babies and was thinking that might keep them rounded up after hatching. Any thoughts on that one???

 

[DWhatley]

Very interesting thought with the critter keep. As long as you are getting enough water flow, it seems like an excellent id to keep her in there until after the eggs hatch. You might take her rock out afterwards to see if you can continue to feed her but it looks like you have come up with a winner brooding idea.

 

[gholland]

I have to agree with AM. I always keep my mercaplex octominiums directly opposite the return water bar so they get a good circulation of water through them and I keep them at the top of the tank so that they have a free surface of their own (water/air interface). And although it would likely help keep the bristles away during brooding, its not likely to keep the babies rounded up after hatching for very long. The size of those slits in the top aren't going to do it. I've had 1-month-old hatchlings squeeze through 16 mesh window screening like it wasn't even there. If you try covering the top with something smaller than that, water circulation becomes even more difficult.
Greg

 

[sedna]

the Other One has passed...

This morning around 1 am the Other One died. I was sitting near the tank during Letterman, and noticed that the funny pose I mentioned in the last post was actually due to the fact that he had lost control of that arm entirely, and a few others, too. I was getting tired but was super surprised by the fact that he came to the front as soon as he noticed me. We never really had time to form any kind of bond, and I'm sure I'm anthropomorphizing, but it SO seemed like he didn't want to die alone. I sat with him as he alternated between uncontrollable spasms and peaceful moments until he finally died.

I feel sad but am glad I came upon him in time to sit with him, not just for my emotional self, but also for the knowledge I gained in just 7 days with him. I have read D's posts about what looks like the octos having strokes, and that's really how it looked. In 7 days I got a lot more chance to observe adult behavior, see what a fully grown merc looks like.

BTW, his name was not a detached afterthought. It's a super cool tune by the Grateful Dead. Now that seems even more fitting...

 

[Icabod169]

R.I.P

RIP Other One!

So sorry Sedna

 

[gholland]

Sorry Sedna.

 

[monty]

RIP Other

 

[DWhatley]

The over-friendly behavior also seems to be common at death with the mercs. If you will take a look at Wiley's last days you will see that he did not want to leave my hand and he never wanted anything to do with me except receive his food. OhToo was the only octo I have had that reacted aggressively but he too didn't want to leave my hand and the biting may have been because I was trying to remove him. I have attributed it to the hand being soft and easy to attach to, thinking the suckers may be sensitive to the touch at this stage but you do not handle yours (or at least not these) and still saw the animal appear to want company. If I was 30 years younger, I think I could spend a lot of time trying scientifically understand communication with these animals. I feel there is some but it would be facinating to document.

I have to agree with AM.

WhatchatalkingaboutWillis? I think the 51 reference just got automatically sorted into the AM brain slot

 

[sedna]

Brooding as usual

Nothing exciting to report, just business as usual with a brooding octopus. I am happy to note that Mongo is eating, even if just a bit. I can't get her to take shrimp, so now I'm to the point where I have to smash the majority of the shell off of a hermit crab. If you ever do this, where safety goggles because the pieces FLY, and a kitchen mallet won't work, you have to use a regular hammer. Mongo never left anything but the shell after eating hermits before, and now she spits out the head and legs. I figure something is better than nothing, at least she is getting the easy stuff in the tail, I'm going to feed her 2-3 times a week this way until she won't eat any of it. Also I'm glad she's finally getting better at house keeping and spitting out the left- overs, I was worried about pollution.

After the Other One passed, I took the lid off of the critter keeper but left Mongo's barnacle inside. Even if the babies do climb out (I'm planning on getting a breeder net for them) I think it cuts back on the other benthic critters in the den.

 

[sedna]

Why the Anagram (for Mongo)

Well, I've run out of anagrams, my favorite was Greg's "OMG, NO!" and the guy who planted the seed in my mind would probably love that! Since no one has been in a RUSH to say, "PRESTO, I know why she always posts an ANAGRAM (for Mongo)," I figured I'd post a hint. Ceph keeping is no FLY BY NIGHT hobby, always reading subtle SIGNALS from your animals. They do cause PERMANENT WAVES in your memories. Their ink in the water like VAPOR TRAILS, the touch of their arms like a CARESS OF STEEL. It's like a balance of HEMISPHERES, the living animals and mechanical systems. You just have to ROLL THE BONES and hope you get a young, healthy animal then be responsible for the COUNTERPARTS of keeping, the maintenance. Sometimes it's hard to HOLD YOUR FIRE and not overdo the hardware, but any living system is always GRACE UNDER PRESSURE. I could go on, but if I took a SHOW OF HANDS I bet most of you would like to set your SNAKES AND ARROWS on me!

Luckily for you all, I don't know Vogon love poetry or Klingon opera!

P.S. If you get it, PM me and I'll send you a CD of rare tracks and covers, prize every time...