the new octo, Schlemm

[norgebyblood]

WTH?!!!!!! He is still alive!!!!!!!!! It seems that now that everyone in the family has accepted his death, he has decided to live forever! he still eats every few days and other than the blindness acts fine, hes even more active than he was when i last posted. what is going on????

 

[Spence24]

Haha, well that's good news I'm glad you get to enjoy some more time with your octo, as to whats going on...well I'll leave that to the experts.

 

[DWhatley]

Glad to know you have had more time with Schlemm than you had expected. I think you are the first person to report (at least over the last 18 months) of keeping a blind octo though. I suspected Trapper of limited vision in her last week but she was not totally blind (at least I don't think she was, she had stopped taking anything but Cyclop-eeze long before she stayed out in the daytime). Unfortunately, the increased activity may be the beginning of the end as I have read other reports that mention the same observation of males near the end of their lives.

 

[corw314]

Ink went blind and continued to live and eat about 4 weeks or more after she was done guarding her eggs. Towards the end there was increased, activity, almost like a pacing with really no purpose. And what a record for longevity in a home tank!!

 

[norgebyblood]

well, he doesnt seem to be eating but he is still rockin and rollin. my mom is gonna take care of him now till he finally passes since i'm now in an apt in ucf.

 

[norgebyblood]

Schlemm has passed

So, after 2 1/2 months of blindness, Schlemm left this world last week. I miss him every time I look at that empty tank, and hate not having the chance to have a new octopus until after college. Schlemm was a great octopus and by far the most interesting pet I've had, and the greatest to come home to. We are keeping his prized snail shells that he slept with every night, one curled under an arm like a child's teddybear.

IN other news, i checked put the LFS in the UCF area and was sorely disappointed. the owner doesnt speak an understandable word of english (asian) and his minion is a complete idiot. I almost got into a full blown argument with him because he thinks octos live for many years in the wild and only live short lives in captivity because its cruel and they cant live to their full potential. Not to mention coral frags i could get for 50-60 dollars at home were going for 90-150 there! Obviously, I'm not going back.

RIP Schlemm, you were always captivating and never bad.

 

[monty]

RIP Schlemm

 

[Animal Mother]

RIP Sorry

 

[sorseress]

RIP Schlemm

 

[cuttlegirl]

RIP Schlemm.

 

[dreadhead]

RIP schlemm.Sorry to hear.

 

[Nancy]

RIP Schlemm

So Schlemm survived two and a half month of blindness and did OK. I looked at the List of Our Octopuses and found that you've had Schlemm since March 11 of last year, more than 10 months. So he lived out his full life with you.

He will be missed by you and all of us.

I was interested that Schlemm slept with his favorite shell tucked under his arm, like a teddy bear. I'm going to start a new thread about that, because I kept a bimc, Ollie, who had a favorite shell she slept with every night, just the way Schlemm did.

Nancy

 

[corw314]

RIP Schlemm...You gave him a great home!

 

[DWhatley]

Norgebyblood,
Thanks for sharing Schlemm's home coming and some of his impact on you and your family.

You might want to be a little less harsh on your LFS. He may be misinformed but he chose not to sell a creature because he felt that an aquarium was the wrong place for it. Considering that octopus is thought of as food in most places, the attitude is to be admired.

 

[norgebyblood]

he didnt choose anything, he was just a plain old sales guy, not the owner. i would admire him if he said he didnt think octos should be in aquariums or something for a factual reason, like he doesnt believe they make good pets, doesnt want people abusing them, etc. but he just wanted to argue with me and tell me im an idiot for "thinking" octos only live for like 3yrs max, he thinks they live for like ten. and in my opinion, a general coral frag the size of a cell phone shouldnt cost $150, it should be at least less than $90. also, the owner didnt even take the time to learn proper english and didnt even acknowledge his customers, he was doing stuff with tanks that couldve been done after-hours.

if i can find a bimac after the tank is re-setup at the school, i think i may try to get my old teacher to invest in her own protein skimmer so she can have an octo in the room again.