O. mercatoris babies!

[DWhatley]

Lev,
Fantastic detail but I saw the movie

Trapper's tank is hexagonal and I am trying to figure out what I can use to mimic your containers. She may be jobini instead of mercatoris but I am going give it my best shot with whatever she is brooding.

Is the mom still hanging in there? If not, how many weeks after the babies did she live? Trapper stopped eating for 3 days but is now taking one crab a day without coaxing and I had to order more this week. I have stopped trying to give her live ones since she starts defending her den rather than killing for food. I was feeding occassional live stuck on an air line to try to give her some "excersize" and may be the reason she went on a hunger strike last week.

I went back to be sure you had not mentioned the mom's death an saw a post I missed asking about prebrooding. Trapper did not start brooding for the first two months so the eggs may not even be viable. She moved her den about every 3 days in a regular counter clockwise motion (I have a hex shaped tank) but rarely took the same den - wit one exception - and ONLY came out at night (I leave a red LED light on ALL the time). I would wait up to see her come out (usually around 4 in the morning) and try to interact but she never became friendly. She did stay out when she saw me (rather than hiding back in the LR) but avoided the side of the tank where I would stand. Just before she started brooding, she actually came up to my hand while I was putting a dead crab in a feeder. She inspected the crab but did not take it. That is the best it got

Just before she started brooding I put an attached collection of giant barnicles in the tank and she chose one to brood. I was able to rearrange the structure to be able to see her (and get food to her door) all the time so I actually see more of her now than before. Up until her hunger strike last week she would leave her door open during the day and often be awake (unlike her prebrooding behavior). Lately, however, she keeps the door shut (shell) most of the day AND night but will open it enough to take a crab inside or for short periods in the early evening.

 

[Lev]

That is very interesting. I did not see the mother for quite some time, but I did not see any octopus carcasses either, or water quality fluxes, so I think she's still hanging in there. When I first got her, she laid eggs in a conch shell, and when I moved it to get a better view, the next day she abandoned the eggs and found a new nesting area.

 

[DWhatley]

I guess it is better that you told me that now instead of BEFORE I reoriented trapper's den .

She was waiting for her dead crab tonight but I can't get her interested in anything else and that was my last one until Friday. There is plenty of live stuff in the tank. The hermits and shrimp get closer than she wants them but she just pushes them away and has no interest in eating them. I will TRY to catch one of the "fiddlers that got away" and are roaming the tank but they stay pretty well hidden since they are missing a few legs. I could probably catch a mithrax but I don't know if she will eat it and it would be difficult for me to sacrafice one to find out

Did she lay more eggs after she relocated or just leave the ones in the shell unattended?

 

[Lev]

She laid more eggs. The ones in the shell wasted away.

 

[Kristl]

Hi. I was just wondering what temperature you keep an O. Mercatoris tank at?

 

[Thales]

Nice! Totally wonderful. Any luck on food yet?

 

[Lev]

Food shall be coming shortly. I have arranged a pickup of a bunch of Palaemonetes vulgaris at a UPS Store in Niagara Falls. That way, I don't have to find a way to ship to Canada, so the shipping stays manageable, and I still have my shrimp. I only have about 5 octopus left, but they are quite healthy (including Cthulhu.) He is still the largest, but there are a couple that are approaching his size. At sixty days of age, I plan to transfer them to a 20 gallon tank filled with P. vulgaris. they should be quite large by by then, and maybe I will even try breeding them later on. I have found that feeding them ghost shrimp when they're small is quite bad. I had a lot of deaths. Deaths stopped when I started feeding them guppies instead, and they grew much faster.



The temp. I keep them at is about 80 Fahrenheit.



P.S Hey Thales, I noticed you've acquired a Wonderpus. Very Nice. I hope it does well for you. There really isn't a lot about them in captivity, and most of the cases of them living for a week or so is because they weren't being kept in proper environments, IMO. Very beautiful cephs indeed. I might give them a try one day, if they ever get cheaper and until we get a firm understanding on their environmental status. But if anyone can keep one successfully, it's you.

 

[Lev]

I found the mother dead today. Her mantle length was 2.2 centimeters. Pretty big for a Merc! I suspect she died sometime this week, as her body does not smell or show signs of decomposition. I am working on preserving her as we speak.


Also, while digging around in the other tank, I have found an octopus that is large, like Cthulhu. He is still a bit smaller than him, but quite healthy. Feeding them guppies makes a much bigger difference than feeding them ghost shrimp. They grew much more on guppies.

 

[Lev]

The originals are all still alive, including Cthulhu. Today they are a month and a half old. One more week and they get a tank!

I am going to Cuba post March Break for merely a week. They will be 3 Weeks old at the time, and I feel confident that they are ready to handle the outside world at this age and size. I will give them a tank with quite a bit of space stocked quite handsomely with P. vulgaris and various other things (like small hermit crabs and such)

Regarding the trip itself, I hope to see at least two species of Cephs, O. briareus (which I plan to attempt to raise in maybe a couple of years) and O. vulgaris (No Thanks!) I will make sure to send pictures and videos after I return!

It is likely I will post 2 more times in the next week with updates (obviously on any day if there is something major happening/happened on that day) and post just before I leave. (because there is a certain novelty to that idea)


Feel free to PM me with any questions, but I encourage you to post them in this thread so that everyone can learn something!

 

[monty]

glad to hear "The Kids Are Alright"... I have no deep thoughts, but I figured I'd at least let you know there are people enjoying the updates...

 

[Lev]

I try to update as often as I can, really!

Times have been tough and my grandfather who has been fighting Pancreatic Cancer passed away yesterday, So I will try to update as often as I can for now. Once I come back from vacation there should be more updates and hopefully a video and some pictures.

 

[Nancy]

I'm reading your posts too and find your reports of raising mercatoris very interesting! Thanks for keeping us updated.

Nancy

 

[DWhatley]

Lev,
You know I monitor too .Trapper still simply stays in her den so I am beginning to think the eggs are not viable but will continue to reference your experience as we as refer back, "next time".

Wishing you the best of thoughts and good memories as you adjust to the loss of your grandfather.

 

[monty]

sorry to hear about your grandfather.

 

[Lev]

Thanks guys.

Dwhatley, do not lose hope. My octo mother laid eggs and tended them for about a week before abandoning them, and I thought they weren't viable either. Maybe Trap has laid eggs in her den in some unseen area, similar to what mines did. Anything can happen!


Now, THIS is what you all wanted to see! I am sorry for being late on uploading these babies, but here's a double dose of videos for ya'll.


Here is the last footage of the Mom, probably a couple of days before she died. Notice how large she is for a Merc. about 8-9 CM total length, from arm-tip to arm-tip fully stretched out. 2.2 CM mantle length.




And here are the babies on the 1 month mark, 2 weeks ago. They've grown since then, but not too much.