Squirt- O. Bimaculoides

I don't believe Tony has brought the video upload and viewing into the new software yet so we have to use an external site and then post a video link (using the film strip icon is best). I have found that YouTube is superior to my prior choices and would recommend starting an account (it is free) with them if you don't already have a favorite site. Most of the others are surviving by adding on annoying advertising (the kind that jumps infront of what you went there to see or takes you to another window if you try to type in a text box).

I would have suggested trying a couple of crabs in your sump just to see but, the cold water in FL has made getting fiddlers difficult to find (whether they are buried or dead I am not sure) so keeping them in warmer water is probably the best route, at least until she is eating other foods.
 
Unfortunately, photobucket was my prior choice. As the logged in user, you don't get bombarded viewing your own pictures but try going in not logged in. I was a paying member until they tripled the price and don't use them at all now that we can upload large photos and I have the YouTube account for videos. Unfortunately, a lot of my older photos are still linked to my account and I am not sure if they remain available.
 
Well i got some more photos of squirt eating a crab. Right now i am feeding 2 crabs a day and probably will have her fast one day. What do you guys think about that? Also some other photos of squirt when she was roaming around. I will try and get the videos up when i get a chance been really busy with school.

Hey d, i just realized we have he same camera. The Canon power shot G9. I try do to close ups with it but it will never focus. I have it set on the aquarium setting. Got any tips on how to do that?
 

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I love the camera and my photos are soooo much better since acquiring it but I still have problems getting the macro setting to focus really close. I don't use the aquarium setting but use the underwater setting instead (Animal Mother used that setting as well) and the colors come out much better (it did not do well underwater though but I have only tried that once). As far as I can tell it is the lighting (or lack of) that is the biggest impact on the focus (the green focus beam seems to help a lot). Sometimes, just changing the camera angle will allow it to focus (and a well charged battery). If the box is yellow, it is not worth trying the shot so keep moving the camera to see if you can get it green. Once you have a good set up, save it as C2 (not C1), then you can flip between movie and the preset with one turn. I keep mine on a small tripod that is really not too much of a problem when I choose to hand hold and I can set the legs on the aquarium or a chair when a table is not available. Using the focus positioning feature to direct the focus helps a lot to get the octo and not the LR in focus. Take LOTS of pictures and only keep the ones in focus
- OR -
Hire Roy or Thales to come and do glamour shots :razz:
 
Things seem to be going well with Squirt. Our Tonmo members are keeping very few bimacs right now, because bimacs aren't captured or raised to sell for the pet market. It has to be a do-it-yourself thing like you've demonstrated.

Bimacs are usually friendly and fun to keep, and it looks like you have a good one.

You might try introducing non-live food (OK, dead food). Shrimp has been a popular food, either fresh or freshly thawed. Most people put a piece on the end of a feeding stick (mine was two thin unpainted wooden bamboo skewes lashed together with fish line to make a longer stick. I also blunted the tip a bit. ) Slowly bring the food to where Squirt can reach it. Eventually, Squirt will want to play with the stick, too.

Nancy
 
I tried the bamboo, fed with the blunt end. I didn't mind having my hand in the tank. My husband got me a plastic one, it is much longer and flexible for when he tuggs. It was only a couple dollars and well worth it.
 
bluespotocto;149639 said:
...I try do to close ups with it but it will never focus. I have it set on the aquarium setting. Got any tips on how to do that?
I could never get good pictures of my bimac with my Canon Powershot, but some guys on another forum set me straight. Now I follow a couple of rules, and I get much better pictures:
1) Shoot perpendicular to the glass, with the flash turned off, shoot in a dark room, with only the tank lights on (or extra lights shining into the tank from the top)
2) Set the camera on its "macro" setting. Also, either put it in "auto" mode, or in manual mode, at low ISO.
3) Either use a tripod or hold the camera lens in contact with the glass so that it can't move. If you use a tripod (recommended) use the camera's timer so that you can't jiggle the camera by pushing the button (or use a remote shutter release if your camera accepts one)
4) Clean the glass really well both inside and out, and maybe turn all the pumps off so bubbles and particles settle out of the water.
 
bluespotocto;149556 said:
Well today i got all my crabs and shrimp. I put about 50% of the shrimp in squirts tank and they seem to be doing fine and the tank temp is 60 df. I decided not to do that with the crabs because they are kinda like gold because thats the only thing she is eating.
I've kept two bimacs that I caught (neither as small as yours) and I've never had any problem feeding them defrosted pieces of frozen scallop or shrimp, offered on a bamboo skewer. On Fridays and Saturdays Costco sells scallops, and shrimp, out of a display case, so you can buy as small a quantity as you need (like one of each). If you have access to the ocean, you can easily collect live food to supplement the Costco diet. I've found tiny clams (3/8" to 1/2" across), tiny crabs, copepods, and any number of little things in tide pools and on the wet sand at low tide. I suspect that those little jumping things that look like swarming flies on rotting kelp are actually copepods, which might be a perfect size for a tiny octopus. Take a hand net, and see what you can find! Buying "foreign" food by mail order seems like a huge pain.
 
Well squirt hasnt really come out any more. I did get her to eat some thawed shrimp! She is hiding back against the wall. I do believe she comes out a lot during the night because she is always in different spots in the morning peaking out at us. I do believe they may be half nocturnal half diurnal.

Thank you for the tips with the camera. I helps out a lot!
 
I think young octos of any species are particularly recluse (probably a good thing or they won't become adults). It is likely a good sign that Squirt is hiding and likely means he is comfortable in his environment and knows his way around the LR. Time, patience and a lot of unrequited attention are my best suggestions. I think it is important to get Squirt to understand that you are also part of the safe environment so the more she sees of you the more comfortable she will be. The octos in our dining area are usually more interactive (and come out to watch us eat) that the any kept in the living room where I have to make a point to visit daily. Beldar did interact a lot but I had to make a point to visit nightly and spend 15-30 minutes just sitting with her. I have not taken a lot of time with Creepy(same tank) and we only see arms and eyes and not much of those if she is not hungry.
 
squirt is doing well. she is starting to sit our more and more from her den. When she comes out fully again i will get more pics of her. I havent had any more contact with yet either.

D, you say you get something called cyclopees(something like that) and you say your octos eat it(i think you said that). What is that stuff and where do you get it?
 
I only use the frozen and feed it to all my tanks daily. I know my octos eat it either directly or by eating the pod (that love it) because of the distinct red color of their waste. It is not a main octo staple but has kept some of my post brood females alive when they would not eat anything else (I have posted a video of my first merc eating it direcly from a pipette, she lived 11+ weeks posthatch). It is a good addition to the diet as well as a good food for live food supply (like live shrimp or pods) as well as serpents and other meat eating starfish and shrimp. Unfortunately, it is expensive.
 

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