Please help ASAP! I only have 2 days.

[skywindsurfer]

An aquarium store near by just got in 3 Octopi. I'm pretty sure one is either a bimac or a mercatoris. Not, but it has a yellowish brown ring around it's false eye spot. The other two I have no idea. They were all supposedly caught in the Caribbean but the store doesn't know their species. They are holding the smaller of the three for me for only two days so I can figure out it's species. Can anyone help me before it's too late and it gets sold? I'm attaching some photos I took with my camera phone. Sorry about the quality. The octo would rarely sit still. The only physical info I can give is that before they moved the rock so I could see it better was that it was a dark reddish brown. Once it got out it turned milky white with only the tip of it's mantle pinkish red and it showed two black dots on the very tip of it's mantle. It's eyes and mantle look kind of like the acuelatus in size comparison and ratio, except it has a really small mantle compared to the rest of it's body and the eyes protrude outward from the body like the acuelatus. So any info would help. Quickly please.

 

[skywindsurfer]

If that first one is a braiuse then why is it out with the lights on? I dont see any green in any of the first photos either.

Well the first one was only out because we disturbed him by moving the rocks as to see him better. Before I only noticed the other two because the first was hiding under a pile of rocks.

 

[bluespotocto]

Oh, thanks. I was just asking because they didnt look like the species you were all saying. Thanks for the ids.

 

[skywindsurfer]

The briareus showed it's true colors when it was placed in an empty bucket. It looked very similar to the picture on this website.....http://www.ccritters.com/catalog/i202.html

 

[TDean]

I never heard of this website before but that is a good deal for a briareus.
All i have been seeing for sale are baby briareuses i thought they didn't mate or hatch until it was warmer.

 

[DWhatley]

Octopuses mate and brood year round but there is a tendency for more to be born in late winter/early spring (or at least it seems so) One of the reasons for seeing briareus right now is that it is lobster and crab season and the trappers seem to be becoming more aware of a market for these nuisance animals that invade their traps and eat their profits.

I read a news release near the end of last year's crab season (spring) that some crabbers stopped before the season ended because the octos were eating most of their catch. This would suggest a bumper year for octos this past winter/spring and we may be seeing the results of the higher numbers now. The primary octo that invades the traps in the Keys is the briareus.

 

[CaptFish]

.http://www.ccritters.com/, is Dana super cool dude and close friend of Tom's Carribean. You will notice they often have the same things on there websites. This is also were I have gotten crabs for octo food

 

[skywindsurfer]

How quickly does the o. briareus reach full length?

 

[Animal Mother]

How quickly does the o. briareus reach full length?

Watch my Kalypso video. It documents from teeny tiny to full-grown, and I dated the video clips.



That was eating mainly thawed shrimp from the supermarket, once a day for about the first 6 months.

 

[skywindsurfer]

That was amazing. I think that O. Briareus is such a stunningly beautiful animal. What size tank did you keep it in?

 

[Animal Mother]

That was amazing. I think that O. Briareus is such a stunningly beautiful animal. What size tank did you keep it in?

75 gallons, and too small by my own opinion.

 

[skywindsurfer]

What do you think would be the best size for a briareus? I mean how many gallons and what demensions?

 

[CaptFish]

My briareus currently has a 30 inch spread, and is still growing. I would say an absolute min of 75 gallons but 125gallons being better

my tank is 5ft x 1.5ft and 2ft tall (60"x18".24")

 

[skywindsurfer]

I have a big thing about restricting a captive animal. I think they should be able to move at least a few inches more then their full body length in either direction at any given time. I was thinking about having a custom tank built that was 5'-6' in length, 3'-4' in higth, and 4'-5' in depth. I think this would give an animal of about 3' total body length plenty of room to swim freely in any direction at any time withought constricting them. Any thoughts on that? I don't know if my calculations are correct, but I think that's roughly somewhere between 450 and 900 gallons. I know it's big but I think it'll be worth it in the long run. There is this huge sump where I work and I really like the dimentions of it. I'm gonna try and get those so I can see how large it actually is.

 

[DWhatley]

A 3' deep tank is a major pain in the kazo to clean (I do it weekly). Measure your arm length from your arm pit to the beginning of your hand (don't include your hand length). I would not recommend a tank higher than that length. If you will have a hood that adds to the height for access then subtract that as well. Generally speaking, two feet is going to be close to the max you will be comfortable with for cleaning, placing LR and being able to retrieve things from the tank. If you decide on a higher tank, consider putting it low to the ground so that you can bend over it.

 

[CaptFish]

Holy Huge tank Batmam! I agree with D big time! even with mine being only 24" it is a huge pain the but dealing with corals and LR sometimes. Let alone all the feeding sticks! also in a tank that big I'm not sure how much you'll see the octo when it's smaller. Having contact with them is the most rewarding, and that may be difficult in a monster tank.