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Need some help!

gnashty

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Sep 30, 2010
Messages
4
First of all - I totally apologize if this is not the right place for this post but need a little help concerning a Briareus Octopus.

Second of all - HELLO!! Octo noob here thanks for having me. I am going to start my research here and if I decide I will take the ceph plunge sometime next year. I currently have a 210 reef tank and am an active member of the ARC (Atlanta Reef Club).

Ok, we have a member who's brother took it upon himself (not a hobbyist) to put a baby Briareus Octopus in his fully established reef tank. This was about a week ago. Obviously he needs this lil fella out and to a good home pronto but he just cant figure out how to catch him. He is starting to wipe out his CUC and im sure the rest is history as well. He has yet to see him, once put in the tank it dissappeared and he just "heard about it" from his brother. "Hey man, got you a cool octopus, its in your tank".....WHAT!!! And has not seen it come out yet...any tricks to catching this feller? He is unable to dismantle the rockwork (although once his livestock is decimated he will probably have to).

Any help would be great!!
 
My first thought was to limit where it can get its food supply. I would try the accli-mate, foster and smith have these. Once it gets used to the food being there I think it shouldnt be a problem. One other thing... it could be nocturnal... if it is then its not going to come out until the lights are off... your friend should be up late to watch (after 12) Try using red lights on the tank at night so he can see. Good luck
 
Limiting food source was my first thought as well, I told him to gather the CUC and toss them in a tupper with a lid with hold in it (oops, just now occurred to me that the octo could open this in no time)..I imagine it is still noctournal since its so young...he sat up a couple nights but found nothing, his patience will likely increase after the first fish death though.

I have a accli-mate currently on loan to another reefer but he can use it after.

Thanks for the tips...keep em coming
 
How big is the octopus? What fish are in the tank? octopus is a favorite snack for a variety of fish. Are you sure it's a Briareus?

I would turn the tank lights and the room lights out and use red lights to illuminate the tank. Then simply waiting very quietly for the little guy to come out and explore. He will eventually move to the glass to explore. Sit nice and still as he is likely very nervous so any movement might prevent him from appearing.
 
I was sure I recognized the name when I saw the post! First, I want it on paper that it is NOT one of my hatchlings :wink:. Second, are we absolutely sure there is an octo IN the tank and that the brother is not being a prankster? A CUC would be an odd thing for the octo to take out, especially if there is more fitting food but I don't keep Cucumbers in with my octos so it may not be a odd as I think. :oops: Never Mind, the Clean Up Crew is definitely first on the list.

If indeed there is an octo in the tank, this is certainly a pickle. Corals are not really much of a concern for the corals sake other than being trampled (they don't eat them) but fish are another matter. I will suggest an experiment I have not tried for the catching them but have used to keep them away from an area (my overflow box). I will have a look on ARC shortly and repost the idea there as well.

O. briareus are crepuscular (early evening/morning) to nocturnal and they don't like bright light so to keep one away from something, add light 24/7. To direct it to something, provide a dark environment, preferably one you can remove (like an empty conch shell or a piece of black PVC with a cap on one end). If you can put the dark trap in the back or into LR without a lot of disruption, that might help. Unfortunately, I have had no luck trying to feed them with dead food by just leaving it available in the tank so baiting a trap with dead food is not likely to help. They don't seem to see well either so if they don't feel the food animal "scratching", or find it serendipitously by putting arms in the LR they don't tend to find intended food.

Posted a note on the ARC thread, hope it helps. If Chris wants to attempt an extraction one night it might be a fun joint adventure but I doubt it will be successful since the octo is not trained to humans.
 
Thanks Everyone - so many questions to answer...so little time...lol!

Dwhatley posted over on ARC and we have the tank owner and D hooked up. hopefully together they can catch em!!

Thank You
 

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