Octopus briareus from TomsCaribbean :)

Joined
Apr 19, 2009
Messages
74
Octopus briareus from TomsCaribbean :smile:
day1:
Came in at 3:00 he is very small , i still don't know if it is a male or female really good looking with his blue eyes , i need help on what to feed him ,he is still shy i put him in a breeder net until his tank is set up i got some pic's but when he will start moving around i will get more:
 

Attachments

  • conv_303678.jpg
    conv_303678.jpg
    761 KB · Views: 118
  • conv_303679.jpg
    conv_303679.jpg
    647.8 KB · Views: 72
  • conv_303680.jpg
    conv_303680.jpg
    726.7 KB · Views: 109
Congratulations on your new octopus! Let me know what it's name is and I'll add that to the List of Our Octopuses.

Does your octo really have blue eyes? I don't remember my briareus having blue eyes.

Nancy
 
Nancy;141218 said:
Congratulations on your new octopus! Let me know what it's name is and I'll add that to the List of Our Octopuses.

Does your octo really have blue eyes? I don't remember my briareus having blue eyes.

Nancy

Thank You Nancy ...
I named him Blue , because of his blue eyes , you can see it more in the 2nd pic and i will get more pic's of him closer so everybody see it...he is changing colors but mostly white now.
 
Interesting about the blue eyes. What part of the eye looks blue and what kind of lights do you have on the tank? Briareus has a wonderful green florescent display (which shows with a flashlight at night in the wild and is often how they are located) that looks like a field of glowing dots and I am wondering if your lighting makes it appear blue (they can change the iris - looks like an eyelid - color as well as their skin) but I know Animial_Mother's dwarf reflected a blue color one time (and one time only) during acclimation.

In the briareus white appears to be good color and seems to mean they are relaxed. SueNami uses his other colors (peach and brown) only when he is disturbed. This is not the case with all species but with the two nocturnals from the Caribbean (mercatoris and briareus) I have observed this to be true (and not the case with the diurnal hummelincki).
 
dwhatley;141246 said:
Interesting about the blue eyes. What part of the eye looks blue and what kind of lights do you have on the tank? Briareus has a wonderful green florescent display (which shows with a flashlight at night in the wild and is often how they are located) that looks like a field of glowing dots and I am wondering if your lighting makes it appear blue (they can change the iris - looks like an eyelid - color as well as their skin) but I know Animial_Mother's dwarf reflected a blue color one time (and one time only) during acclimation.

In the briareus white appears to be good color and seems to mean they are relaxed. SueNami uses his other colors (peach and brown) only when he is disturbed. This is not the case with all species but with the two nocturnals from the Caribbean (mercatoris and briareus) I have observed this to be true (and not the case with the diurnal hummelincki).

ok its ether the eyes or around the eyes that is blue , it is really nice but he is still hiding in the breeder net so i cant tell for sure when he will come out i will get more pic's...
i have the coralife 28w lights which has nothing to do with the blue color around his eyes, because you can see the color even with out lights.also he has that wonderful green florescent you wrote about and I've never seen something like that it is really beautiful ,
 
I don't know how often I say, "what a beautiful animal" when I look at SueNami. There is something extra special about the look of the briareus that only partially translates in pictures.
 
How are you trying to feed the shrimp? The best method I have found is to put it on the end of a bamboo skewer and offer it at about half the arms length. This works very well for older octos but the very young ones may be too timid.

Can you get a couple of small fiddler crabs at a LFS? I would recommend finding some locally and then ordering more for regular feeding (Paul Sachs is a reliable and reaonably priced supplier that many of us use). For whatever reason, fiddlers appear to be a universal octo food (I break a tip off the males' claw so they can't pinch) and Paul will do his best to provide the size you request (small in this case).

Young octopuses tend to stay shy for quite some time and it seems they have to reach a certain maturity before they will allow themselves to be seen or begin to interact (I saw this in the mercs and Animal_Mother didn't even know Kalypso was loose in his tank for quite awhile, Nancy had no idea she had a living briareus in a tank for 4 months). Keeping a little guy fed is important and there are few things he can find on his own in a critter keeper (adding pods from your sump or filter or adding some pod infested lettuce macro is a good idea). Feeding Cyclop-eeze (frozen, not the dried) is another small food that octos will eat without direct feeding. Allowing him to hunt the tank would be helpful as well but you will not likely see him at all for awhile and it is hard to be sure he is eating. Live shore shrimp can be added to the environment but they are difficult to catch and cannot be used for the only food.
 
dwhatley;141334 said:
How are you trying to feed the shrimp? The best method I have found is to put it on the end of a bamboo skewer and offer it at about half the arms length. This works very well for older octos but the very young ones may be too timid.

Can you get a couple of small fiddler crabs at a LFS? I would recommend finding some locally and then ordering more for regular feeding (Paul Sachs is a reliable and reaonably priced supplier that many of us use). For whatever reason, fiddlers appear to be a universal octo food (I break a tip off the males' claw so they can't pinch) and Paul will do his best to provide the size you request (small in this case).

Young octopuses tend to stay shy for quite some time and it seems they have to reach a certain maturity before they will allow themselves to be seen or begin to interact (I saw this in the mercs and Animal_Mother didn't even know Kalypso was loose in his tank for quite awhile, Nancy had no idea she had a living briareus in a tank for 4 months). Keeping a little guy fed is important and there are few things he can find on his own in a critter keeper (adding pods from your sump or filter or adding some pod infested lettuce macro is a good idea). Feeding Cyclop-eeze (frozen, not the dried) is another small food that octos will eat without direct feeding. Allowing him to hunt the tank would be helpful as well but you will not likely see him at all for awhile and it is hard to be sure he is eating. Live shore shrimp can be added to the environment but they are difficult to catch and cannot be used for the only food.

Thanks for all the info , i will try and get fiddler crabs to see if he will eat them...
 
bluespotocto;141438 said:
Got any more pics? I would love to see more of blue.

Today Aug. 26 , 2009 blue came out of his hiding place , and i managed to take some pic's he looks like an alien...:welcome: the link is the future 20g tank im still setting up , im going to put live sand and maybe some live rock or if somebody have another suggestion please give us idea's.
the second pic, you can see the breeder net where blue is living now.
's Album - Click to see more photos
 

Attachments

  • conv_294550.jpg
    conv_294550.jpg
    862.1 KB · Views: 131
  • conv_294551.jpg
    conv_294551.jpg
    559.1 KB · Views: 106
  • conv_294552.jpg
    conv_294552.jpg
    610.6 KB · Views: 91
  • conv_294553.jpg
    conv_294553.jpg
    756.1 KB · Views: 117

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top