I should have taken some pictures during the acclimation process, but I was just busy making sure it was all going smoothly. I have been waiting for a photo op, but currently Rubik is exclusively night active. I have some stone crabs that are quite large in my refugium (think that spelling is correct), and have been removing their claws and crushing them to feed Rubik. This is by far the fastest taken food to date. The only time I have seen him completely out of his den since I caught him out the first time was at 2am a couple of nights ago. He was sitting just outside his den, but upon seeing me put his body back in the hole and stretched his eyes out to watch me. I offered him a small piece of squid, and he promptly grabbed my finger and tried to pull it into his hole. This has happened several times now, and I wonder if he has just missed grabbing what I am offering for food or is trying to determine if I am food. He has done this during the day, and is surprisingly strong for such a little one. It is noteworthy that the successive times he has grabbed me the amount of time he holds on has decreased.
I guess since this is now a journal, I should detail his current diet. Since he is new to the tank and adjusting, I have avoided taking a flash photo at night. I figure he eventually will come out during the day, especially if I quit feeding him and force him to daytime hunt. He has decimated the hermit crab population in the tank within a week. 15+ blue leg hermits have most certainly left this plane of reality to date.
He has shown a propensity for hermit crabs and the crab claws, but was uninterested in a very small stone crab. He has eaten squid on several occasions, but shows an almost reluctance at taking it. I want to get him some shrimp to try, but I have not had the time to get any, and the live shrimp available are very large compared to him. He has visibly grown some since entering the tank, as I can tell his tentacles are larger. My greatest concern is that he is not much bigger than a half dollar with his tentacles, and that if he moves his den it will be very hard for me to locate him again as there is 200+ pounds of LR in my tank. His current den is ideal for me to observe his habits, and his "door" is pretty funny as he now uses an astria shell and another put together like teeth so they mesh very well. I can tell when he comes and goes by how the holes in the shells are orientated. Wow, didn't expect to type this much. If anyone else has or had a Briareus and has any helpful info on habits and dietary choices particular to them, it would be greatly appreciated.