[Octopus]: New octopus stress breathing?

[Newbie80022]

Hello, like my username suggest, I’m a newbie in octopus caring, I have kept cuttlefish before with success though, as I was saying I just bought my first day octopus(?) juvenile and fed it one and a half clam which it eat promptly, one of the leg is broken but I think it’s not hindering it, but now the octopus is breathing heavily which I consider danger zone (13 breaths to 10 seconds). I must admit that the tank is a three and a half month tank(the required cycle for octopus is 6?) and I’m scared the ammonia in the tank may be slowly killing my octopus (I don’t have test kit yet). The tank inhabitants are a small colony of GSP, two nassarisus snail and two white clams. Any suggestion or pointer of which action must I do now? Thanks.

 

[Nancy]

You need that test kit! Octopuses are very sensitive to ammonia.
In the mean time, try a water change (20%).

Nancy

 

[Newbie80022]

You need that test kit! Octopuses are very sensitive to ammonia.
In the mean time, try a water change (20%).

Nancy

Yeah, I’ll probably go get one by this week, now the octopus is breathing much more calmer now, I think it’s because of new environment stress, also I noticed that everytime when I feed it, it’s breathing will accelerate.

 

[tonmo]

thanks for joining and posting, @Newbie80022 -- let us know the test results!

 

[Newbie80022]

Okay, I have ordered my test kit and it should arrive within the next three days, so far the octopus is going strong, it looks like an abdopus aculeatusis. It’s also accepting food quite readily from clams to frozen shrimp, the broken section of arm also started to grow back! just for safety I also bought a bag of water from the shop I bought the octopus and did a 15% water change. Well, so far the octopus is eating quite fast and it like to spit out the shell, my nassarius snail don’t seem to enjoy consuming the shells either so may I ask if the shell of the shrimp would decompose and cause PH and ammonia to rise? Thanks

 

[tonmo]

I know octos tend to take such shells and build dens with them, so I wouldn't think they'd be a problem in the tank, but perhaps someone with experience can weigh in. Glad your octo is doing well! Since we're here in the journals forum, how about some pics?

 

[Nancy]

You need to clean up after your octopus and remove the shrimp shells. Also, are you keeping salt water on hand to do water changes (20%) every two weeks?

Nancy

 

[Newbie80022]

A

You need to clean up after your octopus and remove the shrimp shells. Also, are you keeping salt water on hand to do water changes (20%) every two weeks?

Nancy

ah yes, I do have another tank that’s containing salt water, but it’s sort of a Refugium from my previous tank, it have multiple clams and two stone crab in it, I also have a protein skinner in, May I ask if I’m supposed to remove the livestock in the backup saltwater tank?

 

[Newbie80022]

Well, the octopus has been in the tank for one and a half week now, I can confirm it’s a abdopus aculeatus, now it’s more active swimming around and possibly asking for food, the broken arm has also grown out now. So far the octopus has only escaped once, which was when I moved him to a current tank. I’m feeding it a mixture of frozen shrimp and clams which is collected from the beach every Two days. But it seems to be in a bit of an appetite, it appears young so should I feed it extra portions? I don’t want it to throw majority of the food away ( ammonia) thanks.

 

[DWhatley]

The amount of food consumed will change with the age of the animal (more as a youth and less as an adult) I feed as much as the animal will eat in one sitting (two if it is a juvenile). They are not prone to overeating but you do want to be sure everything is either eaten or removed (again, ammonia).