o. briareus II ! even smaller then the last one total impulse purchase

[DWhatley]

Neal and I are developing a "continue to watch and see" theory on the hand grabbing based upon an obvious cause and effect we see with Little Bit. EVERY time she grabs our hands she sheds sucker lining and it occured to Neal that this might be the reason behind the behavior. I have started to rub her suckers where I see new shed in an attempt to appear something like a cleaner shrimp

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

Hmm? Cleaner shrimp like behavior, never heard anything like it. Fascinating, I'm glad you mention that. The thought of one octopus doing that was in my head for a couple days after you replied.
Also corpusse, I've heard that when some people give food as enrichment like in child-proof medicine containers, they also tend to poke holes in the containers so the octopus has a better chance of noticing through taste etc. That Octopus is really fond of you though.

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

I just killed another forum didn't I? Sniff.....sniff......why!

 

[corpusse]

Hmm? Cleaner shrimp like behavior, never heard anything like it. Fascinating, I'm glad you mention that. The thought of one octopus doing that was in my head for a couple days after you replied.
Also corpusse, I've heard that when some people give food as enrichment like in child-proof medicine containers, they also tend to poke holes in the containers so the octopus has a better chance of noticing through taste etc. That Octopus is really fond of you though.

I'm not sure how fond of me he is lately, I just got bit! I think it might have been an accident. I was quickly hand feeding him a shrimp. As far as I know I'm the first to be bit? The skin is punctured the size of a pinhole and I lost maybe 1/8th of a drop of blood. No big deal but I was pretty surprised!

His feeding schedule has been a bit erratic lately. That may have also contributed.

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

Oh thank lord you replied! I felt so bad ending an ongoing forum. And also about the bite I've always wondered how much damage those smaller octopuses can cause when they bite someone with their beak. It's ironic that he bit the hand that feeds him. How often do you feed him?

 

[corpusse]

Sorry I just haven't been on TONMO lately. I haven't been photographing as much as I used to, although I really should get some more good ones as we all know he won't be around forever...

I typically feed every 2-3 days, however the last 2 times has been 3-4 days. One large shrimp shell on. I just started a new job and have been busy with some other projects. However If I do go 3-4 days he will come out and let me know he's hungry. If I feed every 2-3 I must entice him to come out.

I'm going to try and go back to every 2 days and see what happens. Usually that is okay for a couple of times then he will stop eating for about 3 more days then get hungry again. The unbalanced schedule is just as much a product of him as it is me.

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

Yeah I guess it's better to give him food every 2-3 days just so you know he has been eating well, after all if you wait 4-5 days the octopuses KILLER instincts start to kick in.

 

[DWhatley]

Now you've gone and done it, I don't have a no bites recorded species any more . I added your description to our bites thread with an age guess of 5-6 months. If you thought to take a picture, I would like to add it. Since you did not mention it, I assume there was no venom reaction at all? The couple of nips I have gotten from other species did not break the skin so there was no opportunity.

Did he release you or did you have to free yourself?

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

shoulda seen my blue ring scar, got in 1997, hur hur hur.... I'm call my scar betty, oh and there is nancy...gunshot wound....

Hey if your going to put a picture do not put it on this forum because I am queasy with blood, I can tell the "1/8 of a drop of blood" you said earlier was pure modesty!

 

[corpusse]

As soon as he broke the skin I started moving around until I could get him to release me.

Initially I didn't think it was a big deal, however about 12hrs later in the shower there was a mild to moderate burn. It swelled up, but still very minor. By the next day I did not feel it at all, but now 5 days later there is a tiny mark.

Yesterday I decided I better clean the front glass since I went to the extra expensive of buying a starfire front. I'm really trying to reboot my tanks after several months of neglect. The octo tank is the only one that doesn't really require much, empty the skimmer cup once in a while and a quick water change. Since there are no corals and low light, I don't get excessive algae growth and never test the water.

Anyway here are the bite pictures and then some new photos of the Octopus.

\

Again the bite overall was nothing. Less of a sting then a lionfish or bee.

After a few flash pics he decided to ink so I took the rest without the flash

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

And you posted pics.....

 

[corpusse]

They aren't graphic at all. No blood!

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

They aren't graphic at all. No blood!

But there's soooo much bloooood! Ieeeeeee!
'







Has he always been that small?

 

[DWhatley]

He looks great and so healthy!

When you first got him, do you recall the temperature of your tank? I just lost one after a week and am racking my brain trying to isolate what might have been off with the tank. He was growing well and eating then showed up during the day and went downhill over the next four or five hours. I had just removed Little Bit from the tank when he arrived (where she had been housed from a very young animal and lived in the tank for 6 months) so I don't think there was anything in the water that would have caused the decline. Thinking back on my hatchlings, they were born in the summer at a time we were doing without AC so I am fishing for something like temperature.

It is almost neat to see the beak mark . One thing I always try to practice is to put an antibiotic cream on any hand cuts after I work in the tanks. There are a number of scary problems that have shown up from time to time from both marine and fw tanks that merit taking a little extra precautionary effort with your hands. Puncture wounds are notorious for becoming infected and hard to heal. I was taught (and practice) to force a puncture wound to bleed to help prevent infection but don't know if this is still an accepted method.

 

[corpusse]

Thanks! His grip is super strong so I would say he is very healthy. He did lose the tip of one arm in korilia but it is growing back and has since used them again to shed skin.

I don't recall the temp but it would be somewhere around 78 degrees. I no longer constantly monitor since his tank has just a skimmer, return pump and 2 powerheads along with one led light. Nothing is generating a lot of heat. Only on my main reef tank do I have a temperature controller.

This has healed fine other then the tiny mark but I know all about "scary problems". If I'm fragging I try and remember to wear gloves which only happens sometimes but my right thumb has had a skin problem going on 4 years now. I actually just ran into a friend at a LFS who had a similar problem and his just went away after several years. I have been to the doctor for it but he quickly dismissed it as a problem and did not take the idea of a toxin seriously. It's basically an annoyance I've come to live with.