[Octopus]: o. Vulgaris, we named him Trevor

Caught this from across the room, 12x zoom with flash. It STILL pissed him off and I don't think I'll be trying it again.
 

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You can use lights during the day (but keep it dark at night and provide a totally dark place in the tank (opaque container, cave, etc). For night lighting use red, not blue). Halides are too bright but PC's don't seem to be a problem. I have gone to all LED now though as I found a sale and the calculations suggested I would have the lights for free in 1 - 1.5 years with the electricity savings (not to mention the heat reduction).

Here are links to several references about longevity (including more infor on the optic gland experiments).

Ultimately, I decided LittleBit was O. vulgaris but was not fully convinced until she died (even thought about O. burryi but then I kept one and the differences were quite clear). My best guess is that she was just a small vulgaris (her growth rate is why I kept thinking not vulgaris). LMecher's el Diablo is more typical. Both of us enjoyed this species immensely and I would love to keep another but you will learn, you happily accept what ever species finds its way to your tank.

Vulgaris are listed as nocturnal or crepuscular but several in situ as well as tank observations suggest that they hunt at any time, making forays to forage and returning to eat and nap. The little piggy appetite is also common with the few that we have seen. All the other species I have kept mostly leave the snails alone and would occasionally eat a seafood market clam. Almost anything in LittleBit's tank was consumed within 24 hours. She even tried to eat a Cowrie 1.5 times her size (one that had lived with two other octopuses without issue).

If you feed live seafood from a market (Asian markets usually have more selection) set them in clean saltwater for 24 hours. Clams need at least an 8" bucket wall or they will be dry by morning :biggrin2: as they often squirt out the nasty water from their previous captivity (and the reason I suggest keeping them quarantined for a day). There are a few places (sometimes you can find them on eBay and I can look up another retailer if you are interested) that sell very small clams that would be appropriately sized for Trevor now but they are quite expensive because of the shipping. Mussels are well accepted but I don't feed them (or oysters) because of the mess they make in the tank. You can offer a too large to open clam on the half shell and it should be taken. Clams are far less of a tank concern and I usually keep them in the tanks to help (albeit only a little) as clean up crew that may be consumed.
 
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I only VERY rarely use a flash (but do, either by accident - harder to do with this camera - or with intent when I am very frustrated.). I keep the camera mounted on a tripod in the room with most of the tanks and have one of my presets set for shooting the tanks.

Yep! Eyes do indeed look vulgaris! Koodos to your LFS, it is VERY rare for them to properly ID. However, a full mantle shot will still help. Octopuses can resemble each other in bits and pieces and the arm length still has me wondering (I keep going back to the first picture). It does look like the eyes are set close to the body, in a flattened disk shape (there is a better way to describe them - need to work on it) and not on a "Y" stem. I look forward to more images.
 
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Oh, one other thought (same as CG mentions) at 8" tip to tip, he really is large enough to be released whenever you are ready. LittleBit was a bit smaller and her first tank was a 37 gallon. We had no problems feeding her once we located her den. There was also a red brittle star in her tank. However, is your red a brittle or a serpent? The red serpents are bright orange and smooth where the brittles are a darker orange (sometimes with brown stripes) and look hairy. If it is a serpent, I would do more checking (I have only had the opportunity to keep one of these but have kept other morphs). The brittles we have kept with all sizes, including new hatch.
 
One more item for the day. The sucker rings will be purple/blue and the funnel/siphon will often be bright orange. Like the rest of the animal, these can change to white but observation has shown no other colors.

The hide and seek game (just noticed that post) seems to be enjoyed by both humans and octopuses. Some will play for extended periods. Most coloration is unclear as to meaning and may be somewhat individual. Rather than watching skin color, I suggest watching the color around the eyes. A POed octo seems to show its mood by making a dark ring, enlarging the appearance of the eye.

I did not mean no lights when I mentioned a totally dark. I meant an opaque den area where you cannot see him (if you can see him, he can see you) and the light does not penetrate. Lighting the tank is fine as long as you provide night time. Red light seems to be an OK substitute for total darkness. I light half my tank with red 24/7. During the day, it does interfere somewhat with pictures but I rarely move it or turn it off.
 
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Okay, a little confused, again. So now you're asking me to let him out of the Box, and turn him loose in a 36g bowfront?
Um, no. :smile: No. I won't be doing that. haha
Somewhere on a recent thread there is a very articulate and nice-seeming person with an octopus they just "let loose" in a tank, and they can't FIND IT now. Since I don't want to be that person, and I LIKE sleeping at night... :smile:
 
I've also read that Octopus see the Red Light better than most fish, and are still put off by it, hide from it, freak out when it's used.
Oh and Red is a SERPENT STAR, I am very very sorry because I had thought I was crystal, on that. SERPENT. :smile:
 
WAIT - It was YOU.
YOU are the one who has another thread going, and LOST YOUR OCTOPUS (well, lost isn't the right word, but still, I bleed with you I do)
So... why on Earth would you ask me to do the same thing?
Is this like, an Initiation or something? :smile:
 
I'm not thinking. I'm not thinking, at ALL.
You nice people don't know where Trevor lives right now. You're picturing something already sealed, probably.
Let me show you, I took this pic not five minutes ago to illustrate.
THIS is where Trevor lives. THIS is why he's in a Box in a Tank. We are following the instructions of the LFS guys who have raised four of these. Our priority was not to seal him in for another (again, time? Size!) ...until he's bigger.
 

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Also, he is going to be a part of the design of his new tank. Which is to say that he will be able to watch it as we build it up on the opposite wall of the living room, and we'll be explaining to him the entire time who exactly it's for. So he's going to be "in on it". We're picking up the 55g tank and stand Thursday, taking advantage of the "Dollar Per Gallon Sale" again and just getting the tank now to be done with it. :smile:
 
Buying more water today. They open at noon. I hate that; I have the energy NOW :smile: but I have chores to do in the meantime so I vacuumed his floor again, I swear it's like having a Tilapia not an Octopus, took his bottle and scrubbed it while he watched from his PVC. Put two gallons back in to replace what I stole vacuuming, now we are OUT and that makes me nervous.
He likes to trick me. I will wiggle fingers and whisper at, say, this opening of the PVC because that's where he was. Right?
Then he will reach out and lasso me from THAT or THAT opening because he wants me to jump out of my skin.
It's like a guitar string. Sometimes I do notice the suckers but usually it's like a darn WIRE, very strong and just exactly like we were told, you aren't ready for it so you kind of jump every time. One joked "Now I jump in here (indicating torso) but you're going to freak out at first just do NOT jump or move too fast, and he won't stop doing it, he'll reach for you every time if you want him to."
So far that has been Gospel. He's reluctant sometimes, once he was in a rush to eat but usually he likes to sneak up on me. Usually.
Still need to work on filtration.
Decided to go on, and bring in the overflow box. Face my demon in the house, it's worked on the patio for over a month.
 
Here's what we've decided.
Took a few measurements to be certain, and now the plan is...
His 36g bowfront is going to be his Display Refugium, we are placing it beneath his 55g when it arrives.
The 55g will siphon-overflow to the 36g beneath it; the return pump will be housed within. Going to get an internal skimmer for it as well.
Keeping him in the 36g during this time (the time that all of this is being actually set up and set to run).
There's an even bigger Box that he can reside in, within the 36g, to easily keep him safe from all of this equipment. We will be using that for his Feeding Box eventually but for a while he could live in it, probably think he's free (it's ten gallons).
By the time he's big enough, the overhead 55g will be ready and he'll already be acclimated to it. We'll simply lift him out of that one and plop him into the upper one. Then the tanks' roles reverse, obviously.
If we give him a ball of Chaeto to tear apart, will that hurt him?
 
Yes, my tiny guy has disappeared in a 65 gallon tank with a large amount of live rock. He was very young (likely 1-2 months old comparing him to the hatchlings I raised) and I suspect he did not survive but the live rock has so many places to hide that I can't be sure for at least another month. I usually use the 37 gallon for small animals (the size of LittleBit's first tank) but my aging cuttlefish is using it and I was afraid it would disorient him too much to move him to another tank and the outcome would be no different. The 36 is not too big for your little guy but, as I said, when YOU are ready releasing him is OK (but the top may need some rethought for securing it, vulgaris is the strongest of all the species I have kept). The filtration is my biggest concern for the small holding tank, not the size as they don't tend to move around a lot until they are larger. Water quality is very, very important and if you have open hardware, it can be fatal at worst and arm truncation at best.

LOL, If you think he is startling you NOW, you are in quite a time as he grows. LittleBit felt obligated to grab me when I cleaned the tank. Eventually, I learned to ignore the octo attached to my arm during maintenance. I had the impression he was establishing his territory and wanted me to know I was not welcomed to mess with anything.

Your game plan for the 55 sounds good. You will need water movement in the 55 (and should have it in the 36) over and above the return from the sump/refugium. Consider using something like a couple of Koralia style pumps with a zippered netting around them (I use 8" filter bags). A regular power head can be used but you have to octoproof the intakes. You might consider drilling (or having it drilled - not usually all that expensive and Petco may be able to do it for you) the 55. Overflow boxes can be a royal pain, especially when the power goes out and are harder to octoproof. Some of the newer concepts seem to work a lot better but cost more than drilling and adding a weir (the black box that goes between the tank proper and the overflow bulkhead). Also, keep in mind that you will need to keep the sump only partially filled (important when you calculate the depth of your skimmer pump). You will need to measure the power off back drain from the display and then subtract that volume from the full mark, otherwise your sump will overflow when the pump is not functioning. Another oversight that causes problems is the height needed between the sump and the display for the skimmer. Be sure you check the clearance needed for removing the skimmer cup (each style is different).

Just to give you a bit of confidence, I have kept a goodly number of octopuses through natural ends and raised two species from hatchlings born in my tanks. You can check out my photo gallery for most of them (I have not kept it up to date but there are enough to give you an idea). I am not trying to "brag" but I do think it is important to have some idea of the experience behind advice.

Red light for night lighting works very well. Blue moon light is a color that octos may (based upon their physical characteristics - some have reported no problems) actually be brighter than daylight to them. I only light half the tank at night but the octos seem to all prefer the red lighted side up until senescence and then they usually choose to den on the dark side (but not always). This has held true for diurnal, nocturnal and crepuscular animals.
 
Thank you.
The 55g is tempered, all sides, sticker says so. Sticker ALWAYS says so :smile: So it's Siphon Overflow Time.
Fortunately the LFS uses a Siphon Overflow system, and can show me how to screen it off properly.
Oh and it's not our first Sump don't worry about that. It's not our TWELFTH, but it's not our FIRST. :smile:
I can totally screen off an impeller or two, whatever he wants he can have.
Interesting on the red light. Interesting on the water quality points made. Why do people state the opposite, to confuse the issue?
We use LFS water in our house. Outside we use LFS salt. (shrug)
Still wondering if I can hand him some Chaeto to play with. Asterina stars... would he eat them? He can have them. :smile:
 

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