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octo not eating

octoqueen

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Oct 7, 2010
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Hi everyone. I don't think my last post got through. I just had a question about putting Garlic Guard from SeaChem on the shrimp I feed my A. aculeatus (he eats about once a week). My lab coordinator suggested it, but I am not sure its a good idea. Any thoughts?
Octoqueen
 
I don't know, but I can find out on Monday when the lab opens. What really bothers me is that the other days, he usually will play with the shrimp and feeding stick, but leaves without taking it. He is getting more acitve and has started to come out more often so I thought his eating habits would improve.???
 
Oh, its frozen. We also occationally feed him pollock and some clam, but he seems to prefer the shrimp. One of the lab volunteers put some hermit crabs in the tank and I noticed he has eaten most of those. I am trying to get some other live crabs in because I think the movement would stimulate him to hunt, but I am still working on my lab coordinator.
 
Even Neogonodactylus (Roy Caldwell), who advocates feeding sparcely for potential longevity benefits, feeds his octopuses 2-3 times a week, once is not enough. We have found with our adults that the diet needs to be varied or they will start rejecting food and live fiddlers are a standard part of most ceph keepers feeding routine. Other crabs are as acceptable but not as readily available. We have also noted that the shrimp needs to be relatively fresh so we only buy 1/4 at a time and that the smaller shrimp are more readily taken (possibly something to do with toughness).
 
He's nearly a foot from mantle to arm tip. The pollock is a type of fish that looks a lot like salmon, only it is sort of tan instead of pink.
Yes I know live fiddler crabs would be the best, but I can't get my coordinator to order any. I guess I will order them myself.
But I can go back and say that Garlic Guard isn't the way to go, right?
Thanks for the imput,
octoqueen
 
octoqueen;166420 said:
But I can go back and say that Garlic Guard isn't the way to go, right?
No Garlic Guard! Maybe you should show him this thread.

If he wants credentials, I've worked as an aquarist at the Waikiki Aquarium. You need to find some live food. It is also possible that your animal is at the end of its lifespan and is not interested in food. The other possibility is that the water parameters are off in the system. What are the ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels?
 
I looked up some reviews of Garlic Guard. The manufacturer says it is for FISH but it does say that it is reef safe, so if probably does not contain any copper (which would be toxic to the octopus). One issue is that there is no expiration date on this product (and it doesn't have to be refrigerated), which means one of two things. One is that it has some kind of preservative that could harm the octopus, or there is no preservative and it could go bad.
 
Yea, I couldn't really find a lot out there on it. I saw that is was for fish, but was safe for reefs. But I never thought about the preservative(or lack thereof). The water is fine: ammonia - 0, nitrite- 0, nitrate - 0, SG 1.026, temp - 67F. Thanks for all the feedback.
Octoqueen
 
WAIT, WHY is the the water temperature at 67F. This is a warm water animal! Proper temperatures would be 75F - 78F, 72 at the coldest. Bring the temps up VERY slowly (a couple of degrees a day)but the improper temp would explain an inactive animal and why it is not eating normally.
 

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