[Octopus]: New octupus

Joined
Jun 2, 2015
Messages
389
Location
New york
Hi, I am new to this forum. I bought an octopus about 2 weeks ago. He is alone in a 65gal tank. The salt level is 22 and chiller setpoint maintains water about 76 degrees. I was told he is a Caribbean reef octopus but no scientific name. I have left clams in tank and he has eaten them. He is extremely shy everytime I come in the room he hides as soon as he sees me. I have a red light on tank but he hides while it is on. Is this normal? Water had good test results. Trying to get pic to post to maybe find out species
 
You have me stumped on the 22 for salinity. Salinity is typically measured as specific gravity (1.026 is your target) or parts per thousand (35 ppt being target). There are likely other measures but I don't know of one that would equate to 22 being ocean water, please include the scale.

For Id, multiple, clear photos are the best bet. If it is a common caribbean, the scientific name will be Octopus briareus. Using the search in the journals forum you can specify titles only and type briareus into the query box for a long list of journals and images. You can also visit the List of Our Octopuses thread where the animal name is the link to the journal. Where the animals are displayed in a table (2012 forward), it can be sorted by species.
 
As you probably already know, each animal has (in spite of one paper :wink:) its own personality. There are a few "typical" behaviors we see but you can never count on "typical". I many cases, when a larger juvenile or adult is first placed in a tank, they appear quite friendly for perhaps a month and then become recluse. IME, very young octos are almost never seen until they are about 4 months old (I suspect this is the time they become predator vs prey and/or it may also have to do with sexual maturity). After the age and/or on set shyness is where the individuality starts to develop. I have had very shy adults as well as adults that are eager to interact without food as an incentive. In almost all cases, if you hand feed (using a feeding stick at first, actual hand feeding depends on both the keeper and the animal) daily and spend a lot of quiet time in front of the tank the animal will respond and become curious about its keeper.

For stick/hand feeding I recommend simple raw grocery shrimp, starting with a piece about the size of their eye (somewhat larger if the animal is not very young). Since it is eating clams, I suspect it is a larger animal and a full small shrimp may be accepted but start with half. Offering live fiddler or other small crabs (claws removed) will help make them more active.

If you see it out and it then goes into its den when it sees you, this would be a good time to offer food on a stick but be patient and allow at least half an hour in your attempt to feed.

Do bump your salinity a bit. I am looking forward to pictures :biggrin2:
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top