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So what is this really ?

GKat66

Blue Ring
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Dec 20, 2013
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I ordered this beauty last week and it will be del. on Fri. I have two tanks ready and a third that will be in operation soon. My first octo was a dwarf , however I know this one will be bigger. Will it be ok in a 55 and then move to a 210 as it grows? What is the best method for moving an octo ( least amount of stress ) Divers Den list its size as 5".
octo id.png

It is listed as an Indonesian common octopus
 
It is hard to tell from the photo. When LA shoots their live aquaria octopus pictures, they often are hard to ID and I think it is because of the lighting they use. Additionally, I don't recall them ever having an Indonesian Diver's Den offering (most are from the Caribbean, Indonesians are usually on their more general invert page. If you have the original link, do post it). The fluorescence is not an attribute we associate with any of the Abdopus animals but the stripes and color are not Macropus and the two bumps above the eyes could be "horns" (similar to something I noted when Margay (burryi - I think - was very young). Note that LA size measurements are typically tip of mantle to tip of arm and not the common octopus measurement of mantle length). The arm thickness at the base would be more typical of O. briareus (pretty sure the arms should be much longer but have been bitten off and are regrowing judging from the thick to thin irregularities) than either of the two typical (Abdopus or Macropus) complexes we see from Indonesia. I have a photo of LittleBit (vulgaris) against a white background with a similar striped pattern but with yellow/orange clearly displayed. Vulgaris does show fluorescence but not normally at the eyes (I don't see any suggestion the O. burryi displays the fluorescence).

When it comes in, look closely at the color of the siphon and record all the colors you see displayed over the first couple of weeks.
 

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It came this morning ! My pics are not very clear but I will post them anyway. It displayed leopard spots and stripes most of the time, but when it finally went into the rocks it turned a reddish brown. It's legs are very long compared to the mantle, and also very thin. The mantle is about an inch and a half across, and the longest arms are about 5 inches when it stretches out. I contacted Live Aquaria with questions and they very promptly answered. It was collected in Indonesia, they think it is O. vulgaris, and they have been feeding ghost shrimp. I fed it one before I released it. I also have fiddler crabs on hand as well.20131227_103028.jpg 20131227_104113.jpg 20131227_104126.jpg 20131227_104249.jpg 20131227_104505.jpg 20131227_104509.jpg
 
Unfortunately, your photos are not very helpful :hmm:. I am not sold on vulgaris and we have not seen one collected from Indonesia (they are all over the world, however, so it is entirely possible and they would likely show some differences from the Caribbean animals) if the arms are quite long but am not comfortable with one of the abdopus either. Try to get a good look at the color of the siphon. The eyes seem very prominent, too much so for either species so it may be something quite unique to our normal fare. Keep the cards and letters coming :biggrin2:
 
I believe it's a male , so his name is Ollie. He was out and about checking out the tank this morning at 3:00 until 5:30. I have 2 red lights on in the room ,that I never shut off, but when I try to add any other light he slowly retreats to the rocks. Unlike my other octopus , he doesn't jet around quickly , he moves in a deliberate fashion, using his arms to feel his way along. He took 2 ghost shrimp from a feeding stick , however he was not interested in the fiddler crab I offered or a small piece of table shrimp. I'm having a tough time getting pictures with the lighting , but I did draw a picture of what his coloring is most of the time. When he is on the glass his skin looks smooth, when he's on the rocks he grows little horns and spikes on his mantle. It reminds me of Snoopy the dog with horns above his eyes , hair growing out of his nose, and fangs. He has 2 rows of suckers with no coloring on or around them and no color on his siphon either. Most of the time his base color is cream with the dark brown spots , he turns a dark mottled reddish brown when he goes into the rocks.
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I've been going through journals all morning , after reading Lmecher's journal about Diablo, I've decided that's the one Ollie resembles the most. Coloring and shape and even the way they move are the same . I guess time will tell , at least I have a 210 he can move to.
 
If your drawing with the third right arm is accurate, then Ollie (vs Olivia) is a good choice :biggrin2:. If he looks like Diablo, also look at LittleBit's journal. You can see that when she was very young, she could display a very red color (which added to the ID confusion since vulgaris is not typically red). After she grew, however, the red was never displayed
 

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