My new O. Briareus

[skywindsurfer]

Ya I know it was a frown, but I call all those things smiley faces. My octopus came out this morning around 6 - 7 am and there were two fish missing when I checked again around 10 am. I don't really feel bad because these fish aren't really in there as pets. To me they serve two purposes. 1.) They are stimulation and possible snacks for the octopus & 2.) they are aesthetically pleasing to watch swim around so I don't stare at an empty tank all day. Like I said they were really cheap so I can easily buy more. This may sound barbaric but I've seen others place fish into little containers to feed their octopus. This way I get to watch them swim around and it poses a greater challenge for my octopus. Would you mind sharing your pic on this thread? I'm curious to see what yours looks like. Oh and congrats on getting it to eat a shrimp. How did you do it?

 

[Lmecher]

Check out my journal "Ollie my new Briareus"

 

[skywindsurfer]

Beautiful animal. It's a shame that it was damaged. I received mine straight from a pet store down the road from my apartment and she was in perfect condition. She came out tonight around midnight and was crawling all over the tank and glass. I could tell she was hunting by the way she kept spreading out over the rocks. I decided to feed her and possibly spare a few more of the fish I placed in there. For now. lol I placed the peeled shrimp on my feeding stick and lured her into the middle of the tank. I have all of my live rock set up in three walls with nothing in the middle. This creates a kind of canyon look or crevice. I like it. I got the idea from a tank I had seen before. Anyways. I got her to climb down almost into the sand in the very middle to get the shrimp. Though she instantly went back behind the back wall of rocks the second she had the shrimp. Bad news is I probably wont see her for about a day now. I got to see her sprawled out all the way tonight before I fed her, and watching her hunt was AWESOME! I just love the majestic glittery skin they have. Almost like sea angels.

 

[skywindsurfer]

So today I did not feed nor play with my octopus. She came out around midnight again, and to my surprise stayed out until almost 4pm. I was thoroughly surprised at this. She has never stayed out that long. Though not surprising is my fish head count has gone down yet once again. They seem to drop two at a time. I can't help but laugh every time I pass her den. When you look at it you can see parts of her sticking out. lol I almost feel sorry for her. I figure she's staying out longer to stretch her legs a bit so she's not cramped 24/7.

 

[Thales]

I don't really feel bad because these fish aren't really in there as pets.

Thats part of an attitude in the hobby I would like to see changed. I understand they aren't pets, but they are collected the same way pets are - a very long, difficult process that entails a lot of work (for little money on the part of the collector), a lot of resources (flown 15000 miles to get to your house), and a lot of animal deaths along the chain of custody. IMO, using this kid of animal for feeders for animals that do not need this kind of live food in captivity is something to be avoided - when something like frozen silversides are so readily available. They are not feeders, they are collected from the wild and their prices are, IMO artificially low.

]To me they serve two purposes. 1.) They are stimulation and possible snacks for the octopus

Sure, but your animal doesn't need such snacks. Its kind of like buying wild collected exotic rodents as a snack for your cat.

they are aesthetically pleasing to watch swim around so I don't stare at an empty tank all day.

I think that is part of the price you pay when you decide to get an octo. They hide, its part of the deal.

Like I said they were really cheap so I can easily buy more.

I think that is an awkward mentality. IMO price shouldn't impact morals. Again, its the resources used to get the fish to you that mostly makes this a concern.

This may sound barbaric but I've seen others place fish into little containers to feed their octopus.

Its not necessarily barbaric, its just unnecessary for the animal to have a decent life in captivity. Again, its the wild collected nature of the animal you are using as a feeder that makes this a concern, along with the idea that others doing something similar makes it ok.

I don't have a problem using w

 

[skywindsurfer]

I understand your point on the whole collection and transportation and wild population and all that. I don't know if Damsels/Chromis are still collected or have been farm raised yet. I know that a lot of clown fish are being farmed raised. This was the first time I have done this and it's not going to be an every day thing. It's not like I stock them when they are all eaten. Also I know that octopus hide the majority of the time. And my argument to live feeder fish would be the same for live crustaceans. They too have to be collected from somewhere, and that is an over all accepted food source by octopus keepers. Whether freshwater or saltwater; collection takes a toll on that specific ecosystem no matter what species is being collected. Now I'm not trying to fight with you over this. You have a valid and justifiable point. I just wanted to try something new and give my octopus a little enrichment.

 

[Thales]

I understand your point on the whole collection and transportation and wild population and all that. I don't know if Damsels/Chromis are still collected or have been farm raised yet.

They are all currently wild collected, and it seems they won't be captive raised anytime soon. If they were captive raised, they would cost more than the wild caught.

. And my argument to live feeder fish would be the same for live crustaceans. They too have to be collected from somewhere, and that is an over all accepted food source by octopus keepers.

Most of the feeder crustaceans are domestically collected so the impact is lessened and the overall environmental costs is lessened. They also end up being more expensive because domestic labor costs more than third world country labor. And, most of the domestic collection doesn't seem to be impacting the collection areas in the same way as south pacific collection has impacted those regions.
Bait shrimp from the bait shop, or shrimp raised in ponds in Florida seems to have not much impact on their respective habitats.

Whether freshwater or saltwater; collection takes a toll on that specific ecosystem no matter what species is being collected.

Sure, but currently and traditionally, south pacific collection has a greater impact because the areas are often overfished.

More importantly, you don't have to feed wild collected fish - if you were feeding captive raised saltwater sailfin mollies, this discussion wouldn't be happening.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Ok, well where can I get some of those mollies?

 

[Thales]

Brine & Ghost Shrimp, Feeder Fish, Aquarium Supply - Live Brine Shrimp

Livestock page

Search for "Flagfish/ Molly Mix"

 

[skywindsurfer]

So I got to see my octopus passing cloud today while I was feeding her a piece of shrimp on a feeding stick. It was aewsome. She would go from one side one color and the other side another color to having the color slide across her body. I tried to show this to my fiancé but every time she would approach the tank my octopus would spook and jet back behind the rocks. I guess she only likes me. She begun to come out more and more during the day. I figure she's finally realised that she'll get fed when I'm around.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Well this is great. My octopus has finally grown acustom to coming out during the day, making her almost completly diurnal. She's gotten wise to me trying to lure her out into the middle of the tank with a shrimp. She is extremely great at grabbing the shrimp before I can even blink. This is making it harder to get her out in the open. I'm going to try and get a video of her passing cloud soon.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Ok so for the past two days or so jewel (as I have FINALY decided to name her) has crammed herself into her den. I tried feeding her tonight, but nothing I did would work. I'm hoping to see her put and about soon. I purchase a pok-e-ball the other day and tonight I took out all the insides and metal piece out. I then silicones it back togethere with a plastic piece as a hinge. I'm hoping she'll take to using it as a move-able den. Kind of like the veined octopus does with coconut shells. Only time will tell.

 

[DWhatley]

I hope you used aquarium silicone. If it does not say aquarium on it see if you can tell what the inactive ingredients are. The difference between aquarium silicone and what you would buy at a home improvement store is the stuff that keeps it liquid. Aquarium silicone uses vinegar where the home improvement silicone uses ammonia. I found this out the hard way. Fortunately, is was with durnig an experiment with a set of small aquariums and some polyps and not a major tank. The polyps in the tank using ammonia based silicone died.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Thanks for the heads up. I know about using only aquarium silicon and not any other kind bit didn't know why. And yes it's aquarium silicon. But I'm not putting it in the tank until I move her to her new one in a month or so.

 

[skywindsurfer]

Passing Cloud

This is only the second time I have seen her do this. It's so awesome. I was able to get a short video of her doing it this time and thought I would share it with everyone on my journal. I'm hoping to get a better video som

etime.