Ocho - O. Hummelincki

mofitn357

Cuttlefish
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Aug 31, 2009
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Just went and picked up my octopus which I am told is hummelincki. When I got there to pick him up, he was eating a fish which is a good sign considering he had just arrived at the store the night before. He was a red color while eating and then returned to white.

When putting him into my tank, i noticed 2 brown spots on him. I took a couple pictures although they did not turn out great. Since adding him to the tank yesterday, he went into the rocks and I have not seen him since.
 
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very cool!!! where did you get him? Im trying to get a hummelincki, but reefscavengers doesn't have them in stock and they won't respond to my emails when I ask if they know when they'll get them in. Good luck! what are you feeding him/her?
 
When he turned "white" did he stay that way or just flash? Brown spots? Where? I suspect this is not hummelincki but if you will post your pictures, it might help. Hummelinck is not known for a redish coloration and I have only seen white for a very short time and then only when startled (and then two unmistakable bright blue circles will show on either side of the mantle).

If he stayed white and has a green iridescent sheen, he is most likely briareus but the two "brown spots" are curious (there are no false eyespots on briareus) and there are others with false eye spots. One of great interest would be the Caribbean O. maya that we have not seen on TONMO but the availability (it is a food Octo in Mexico), large egg size and physical size make it appear to be an attactive aquarium animal.

The pictures do favor hummelincki for arm to mantle propostions as well as set of the eyes with the thick mantle (It looks like neither briareus nor aculeatus - arms are too short proportionatly for mantle length and mantle too thick) but the peachy red color is more like briareus than hummelincki - color is the least reliable for most species though. If he stays predominately white when relaxed, it won't be hummelincki though.
 
kpage;142507 said:
very cool!!! where did you get him? Im trying to get a hummelincki, but reefscavengers doesn't have them in stock and they won't respond to my emails when I ask if they know when they'll get them in. Good luck! what are you feeding him/her?

I got him from a LFS in the area. I have not offered any food yet as I don't know where he is but I have a crab similar to a fiddler that I picked up when I got him. I have fiddler crabs and shrimp on order. They are supposed to be here wed.
 
I have posted pictures not although they may not be that helpful. When he turned white he stayed like that for a while. They, when in the bucket acclimating, he seemed to be a grey color. When I picked him up to put him in, he first flashed a dark almost black color and then went to the color seen in the picture. The brown spots were located on the webbing. Under the mantle maybe? I am not quite sure. I will attempt to get some better pictures when he comes out.

As far as feeding should I just throw the crab in there and let him find it on his own since I have no idea where he is?
 
As I was wondering about looking for something else, I came across this post of some of the identifying features I have found common on the hummelincki. Hopefully, the markings mentioned will be useful in IDing your new guy.
 
The animal in the other thread may be briareus as well.

CaptFish, look again at the eyes. Adult briareus eyes are more stalk like and sit up from the head (normally :biggrin2:) but we have only had one other baby in recent years so I am not sure if this is true of the young. I have noticed that in Animal Mother's original pictures of Kalypso the eyes don't apprear as raised.

This would be a good test for the "eye" color thought. When you get to see him, look at what appear to be eyelids (I believe it is actually the iris but the appearance will be a top and bottom eye lid, you will see it as a pickish red in my avitar) and see what color is displayed.
 
Actually, with any new octopus you are likely not to see it for a week or two. Sitting quietly in the dark just after lights out might give you a peek. Adding a red light to the tank will let you see what goes on at night without disrupting night time activities. If he is briareus, he is young so you will have lots of adventure time. Checkout Kalypso and Legs in the journals for what you might expect from a young briareus. If it is something else, we will all have fun guessing when you can get more photos and behavior normalizes.
 
So he came out today and has been out for the past hour or so checking me out. He also ate the crab I put in last night. I took some pictures and videos which are loading to photobucket now. He definitely has the 2 blue spots on him. I have decided to name him Ocho- unless that name is already being used.

Please take a look at the pictures and videos to help me ID him and to also see if he looks to be in good health as it is hard for me to tell since I have no experience.

Pics and vids located here- Photo and Video Storage | Photobucket
They are loading now and will probably be done in about 10 minutes or so.
 
Hummelincki :smile: the peach coloring was just a ruse.

Would you post at least one of the photos here so that we have a permenent copy for the journal? Links tend to disappear over time and the journals are helpful for both your own records other keepers.
 
Thats what I was hoping. Is it normal for the tips of the tenticles to be curled a little? You will be able to see better when the videos are loaded... they are going slow. How much larger will he get?
 

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