[Octopus]: Unidentified Flying Octopus & Baby Cuttlefish
- Thread starter Hahmlet
- Start date
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- Tags
- cuttlefish octopus
Hey Tonmo thanks for checking in! It's been going great, just busy with work and didn't have time to post anything.
1) Firstly, my octopus is a girl. She's been super outgoing and always sticking to the glass and following me everyday, so I managed to get a good look at the tip of her third right arm.
Here is a video of her giving me a gift and using my corals to block the entrance to her cave.
2) She always sticks on the glass and waits for me to pass her a clam. Her favorite. She doesn't seem to finish a whole clam like the video from before, where she spit out a chunk if I feed her everyday, so I feed her 1 clam every 2 days now.
3) My baby cuttlefish passed on.
He survived 3~4 weeks after hatching.Day 11 - First meal ever, ate a mini meal worm except for the tip.
Day 12 - Ate another mini meal worm.
Day 13 - Ate another mini meal worm.
Day 14 - Caught the mini meal worm in the middle, ate enough to break it into half and then did not eat anymore.
Day 15 - Ate half a mini meal worm.
Day 16 - I tried frozen mysis, and he actually caught one and ate it.
Day 17 - Did not take mysis, caught a meal worm then spit it out shortly.
Day 18 - Did not eat.
Day 19 - Did not eat.
Day 20 - Passed away.
3) Right before he passed on, another 2 eggs hatched, so there were 3 at one point. Both baby cuttlefish that just hatched did not seem interested in eating as well. I deduced that the first cuttlefish was actually from a different batch, hence the huge difference in the hatching period. They kept hatching for the past 4~5 days and now I have 11 babies and looks like another 3 eggs will be good to hatch, so I should have a total of 14 babies. I noticed that the shrimp clinging on the breeder box is scaring them and may be preventing them from eating, so they will go in the sump once I am able to catch them. Also I hope that having many siblings around may help them feel more at ease and even feel the need to compete for food. Will try feeding them again tomorrow. Growing fairy shrimp and brine shrimp to adulthood both failed. Not easy, but gonna keep trying.
Great update! Thanks for the detail on the hatchling's feeding habits; this is excellent insight. Appreciate you sharing.
11 April 2023
The 3 more cuttlefish eggs did not hatch. They started to shrink and instead, so I took them out and threw them away.
My 11 cuttlefish babies are still not eating.
12 April 2023
A stroke of luck! My peppermint shrimp gave birth. This time I netted the shrimp fries and dropped them in the breeder box.
I saw 4-5 of them hunting. The rest were not interested.
So it was a food problem. Looks like frozen mysis and mini meal worms will not work. Mini meal worms also tend to drown really fast, so they stop moving before the cuttlefish even notice them. I was happy, but knew it wasn't going to last.
13 April 2023
Still not taking my food. But at night another peppermint shrimp gave birth again! Food for my babies 2 days in a row.
14 April 2023
First thing in the morning I went over to look at my babies. One of them locked eyes with me, and began to swim down to the sand. Wait what? It was leaning on the breeder box from the outside. Managed to scoop him up real quick and put him back in the breeder box. He must have squeezed out through a hole half his size.
15 April 2023
Woke up and only counted 8 baby cuttlefish. Either 3 of them squeezed through the same hole and are in my tank, or the they cannibalized each other, or my cleaner shrimp caught them through the hole and ripped them to shreds. I don't think it was my octopus because the breeder box has a locking mechanism and it was still locked in the morning. It's possible that she could have unlocked it, ate the babies and closed it back, but highly unlikely I think.
Squeezed a cotton bud through the hole to cover it.
16 April 2023
Breakthrough! My refugium is teeming with life. Different types of worms and pods all over the place... I caught a few amphipods and put them in the breeder box. I was hesitant at first, because the amphipods were fast and looked mean. I was afraid they would eat the eggs or attack the babies even. But I caught a smaller one and right away the babies started feeding. There seem to be a few babies who are still quite timid and afraid of the amphipods, but some of them started eating. Hope this food works out.
The baby in the video already caught a small amphipod and was sucking on it, you can see other amphipods nearby which are a little bigger.
The 3 more cuttlefish eggs did not hatch. They started to shrink and instead, so I took them out and threw them away.
My 11 cuttlefish babies are still not eating.
12 April 2023
A stroke of luck! My peppermint shrimp gave birth. This time I netted the shrimp fries and dropped them in the breeder box.
I saw 4-5 of them hunting. The rest were not interested.
So it was a food problem. Looks like frozen mysis and mini meal worms will not work. Mini meal worms also tend to drown really fast, so they stop moving before the cuttlefish even notice them. I was happy, but knew it wasn't going to last.
13 April 2023
Still not taking my food. But at night another peppermint shrimp gave birth again! Food for my babies 2 days in a row.
14 April 2023
First thing in the morning I went over to look at my babies. One of them locked eyes with me, and began to swim down to the sand. Wait what? It was leaning on the breeder box from the outside. Managed to scoop him up real quick and put him back in the breeder box. He must have squeezed out through a hole half his size.
15 April 2023
Woke up and only counted 8 baby cuttlefish. Either 3 of them squeezed through the same hole and are in my tank, or the they cannibalized each other, or my cleaner shrimp caught them through the hole and ripped them to shreds. I don't think it was my octopus because the breeder box has a locking mechanism and it was still locked in the morning. It's possible that she could have unlocked it, ate the babies and closed it back, but highly unlikely I think.
Squeezed a cotton bud through the hole to cover it.
16 April 2023
Breakthrough! My refugium is teeming with life. Different types of worms and pods all over the place... I caught a few amphipods and put them in the breeder box. I was hesitant at first, because the amphipods were fast and looked mean. I was afraid they would eat the eggs or attack the babies even. But I caught a smaller one and right away the babies started feeding. There seem to be a few babies who are still quite timid and afraid of the amphipods, but some of them started eating. Hope this food works out.
The baby in the video already caught a small amphipod and was sucking on it, you can see other amphipods nearby which are a little bigger.
Great updates -- looks like you're doing a solid job here!
Wonderful journaling- so organized with your approach!
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Please note that this response was generated by a robot.
Hello!
Thank you for sharing your tank with us!
Your tank is beautiful! It looks very nice and clean.
I like your cuttlefish. He looks very cute and adorable!
I am very happy to hear that you are testing out a theory that they won't eat tank mates they grew up with.
I hope that you will keep us updated with your tank.
Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day!
Hello!
Thank you for sharing your tank with us!
Your tank is beautiful! It looks very nice and clean.
I like your cuttlefish. He looks very cute and adorable!
I am very happy to hear that you are testing out a theory that they won't eat tank mates they grew up with.
I hope that you will keep us updated with your tank.
Thank you for sharing and have a wonderful day!
gotta get it a bit smarter! 
Not a good update.
All was going well with 3 cuttlefish babies actually getting quite bigger than the rest. I noticed some were just timid and bad at catching the amphipods.
Some cuttlefish baby were getting hurt trying to eat the bigger amphipods. One even lost one of its "legs" and instead used a longish thin replacement "leg" to balance on the bottom of the breeder box.
I got myself a California Sea Hare and it was fine for a few days.
I bought some turbo snails for my octopus and caught a bunch of amphipods for my cuttlefish as I was going I was going away for 2 days.
22 April 2023
Came back from my trip, and there was quite a bit of algae on the glass so visibility was low.
Octopus was fine and greeted me immediately so I fed her. Turbo snails were untouched.
Next thing I noticed that I only had 1 cuttlefish baby left. The survivor was the one legged cuttlefish baby.
The rest were eaten and only their cuttlebone was left in the breeder box.
Even some of my corals were closing up.
Then I noticed that my California Sea Hare was dead for about a day already.
It was disintegrating as I took it out of the tank and so I did a good water change.
So I guess the ammonia spike killed the cuttlefish babies and then the amphipods took care of the carcasses.
I bought a huge meat coral for a steal during my trip and placed it in the tank.
23 April 2023
I finally got around to cleaning the tank glass and noticed that my tank water was still cloudy despite the water change yesterday.
The last baby cuttlefish was also noticeably smaller than before.
After a bit of inspection I saw that the meat coral I brought back was disintegrating. I took it out and added some carbon to the tank.
When I checked on the little one, it had squirted a trail of ink on the bottom of the breeder box and passed away.
24 April 2023
The water became clear again, all the corals were opening up. But it was too late.
All was going well with 3 cuttlefish babies actually getting quite bigger than the rest. I noticed some were just timid and bad at catching the amphipods.
Some cuttlefish baby were getting hurt trying to eat the bigger amphipods. One even lost one of its "legs" and instead used a longish thin replacement "leg" to balance on the bottom of the breeder box.
I got myself a California Sea Hare and it was fine for a few days.
I bought some turbo snails for my octopus and caught a bunch of amphipods for my cuttlefish as I was going I was going away for 2 days.
22 April 2023
Came back from my trip, and there was quite a bit of algae on the glass so visibility was low.
Octopus was fine and greeted me immediately so I fed her. Turbo snails were untouched.
Next thing I noticed that I only had 1 cuttlefish baby left. The survivor was the one legged cuttlefish baby.
The rest were eaten and only their cuttlebone was left in the breeder box.
Even some of my corals were closing up.
Then I noticed that my California Sea Hare was dead for about a day already.
It was disintegrating as I took it out of the tank and so I did a good water change.
So I guess the ammonia spike killed the cuttlefish babies and then the amphipods took care of the carcasses.
I bought a huge meat coral for a steal during my trip and placed it in the tank.
23 April 2023
I finally got around to cleaning the tank glass and noticed that my tank water was still cloudy despite the water change yesterday.
The last baby cuttlefish was also noticeably smaller than before.
After a bit of inspection I saw that the meat coral I brought back was disintegrating. I took it out and added some carbon to the tank.
When I checked on the little one, it had squirted a trail of ink on the bottom of the breeder box and passed away.
24 April 2023
The water became clear again, all the corals were opening up. But it was too late.
I'm giving it another shot. I bought 2 bundles of cuttlefish eggs yesterday, so twice as much as last time.
So a few things I've learned from last time that I will implement differently this time.
1) No more sea hares.
2) The transparent and bloated eggs are a more mature batch and will hatch sooner.
3) Big Amphipods can hurt the cuttlefish babies, only feed the smaller ones.
1 May 2023
I think this is actually going to work. First one just hatched.
QUESTION
Does anyone know what this is? It's about the half the size of a cuttlefish baby's head, and it has a cloudy white color.
The baby cuttlefish was startled and seemed to spit it out of it's mouth.
So a few things I've learned from last time that I will implement differently this time.
1) No more sea hares.
2) The transparent and bloated eggs are a more mature batch and will hatch sooner.
3) Big Amphipods can hurt the cuttlefish babies, only feed the smaller ones.
1 May 2023
I think this is actually going to work. First one just hatched.
QUESTION
Does anyone know what this is? It's about the half the size of a cuttlefish baby's head, and it has a cloudy white color.
The baby cuttlefish was startled and seemed to spit it out of it's mouth.
Day 2 - 2 May 2023
- 2 more babies hatched yesterday evening. 3 babies in total.
- Caught a couple amphipods for them, but they do not seem interested in eating at all.
- I was feeding my octopus girl today and as usual she grabbed my hand and the clam. She wrapped around my hand and for the first time I felt her biting on my finger! It did not hurt at all, and I could barely feel it. A faint scraping feeling on my finger.
Day 5 - 5 May 2023
- My baby girl seems to be going through senescence. For the first time today she rejected food. When I nudged her with some clam, she just pushed it away with her arms and moved to another spot. She never once stuck on the glass to greet me.
- Her colors are faded and greyish, and she is sort of wrapping her arms around herself, with the suckers visible. Normally I don't think I see her suckers as they are latched on to something. There is some white coloring below her eye as well.
- I didn't find any eggs.
- This is too soon.
- Total 21 fries (May 2nd +3, 3rd +5, 4th +9, 5th +4)
- Still not eating in front of me at least, but it does seem like many amphipods are missing from the breeding box. Will take a closer look tomorrow.
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