Octopus source in New Zealand?

Update

I now have two!

One 424g and a larger 916g one arrived today :smile: Both female.

The smaller one has a damaged cornea, which is slowly recovering, but otherwise both seem in good health, very interactive! The smaller one can open jars and is learning how to 'touch' one target over another (presented outside the tank).
 
PICTURES! How about starting a journal (collective would be OK). We do have a single journal on an in situ octo (unfortunately she, Situ, seems to have gone off to brood recently) but none on lab animals.
 
Pictures of Octavia and Tiberia
 

Attachments

  • conv_294592.jpg
    conv_294592.jpg
    321.7 KB · Views: 113
  • conv_294593.jpg
    conv_294593.jpg
    294.5 KB · Views: 143
It's in a stand-off with a paddle crab in an adjacent tank! The crab was frozen with it's claws in the air. That was on the first day of them meeting each other.
 
Sorry, I don't think I expressed my questions clearly :oops::old:

Is the octopus on the left a Octopus tetricus (Common Sydney Octopus/Gloomy Octopus)?

Are you sure about the gender of this one? The enlarged suckers are usually found on males but the focal angle of the camera along with the suckers being on the glass may make them appear extra large.
 
I'm not sure on the species of either, although they appear identical (most of the time). The enlarged suckers are just an artifact of the glass, the same type of artifacts which make the optics challenging :wink:

Both R3 limbs have suckers extending right to the tip - is this an absolute method of sexing?
 
fillup;142189 said:
Both R3 limbs have suckers extending right to the tip - is this an absolute method of sexing?


Only when they're mature, immature males look very much the same as females, and with the weights you give I'd guess they were fairly immature, unless they're a small species, our subadult to adult P. cordiformis weigh anywhere from 5 to 18 Kg (18 was an exceptionally large individual, not quite as big as Davy, we never did get him on the scales!)

J
 
Until the systematic status of O. tetricus is resolved (a long story) you are best to use the name O. gibbsi. I have to pop up and take a look at them. Make sure you have some refugia in the tank; these are rock/reef-dwelling species.
 

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