What are you feeding your octopus?

[Armstrong]

Armstrong, why don't you go to the places where Carol hunts for octo food and find some hermit crabs? They'd be the best food for your octopus right now. Don't bother with the other types of food - crabs will suffice.

Nancy

Ya, Im going to have to do that this week. In inlets like these, their's bound to be a lot of stuff washed ashore. But im going to stick to hermits for now cuz thats what Tom said he fed most of them. He also told me they may not eat for 1 month, but it'll be ok. I just hope its not that long.

 

[derek11]

my local bait shop sells saltwater grass shrimp at 12.00 a pound. thats about 150 2 inch long shrimp. he loves them and they are easy on the wallet.

 

[Danthemarineman]

Are thoes shrimp frozen??

 

[tywtly]

What would a good diet for o. mercatoris be?

 

[Nancy]

The same as for larger octopuses, only smaller crabs, smaller pieces of shrimp.

Nancy

 

[tywtly]

Ok, but I don't have a local bait shop, so where could I get food?

 

[cuttlegirl]

I get my live food from aquaculturestore.com, they sell shore shrimp and fiddler crabs.

 

[tywtly]

Ok, thanks. So for a merc, I should feed about a few shrimp and/or crabs a week, right? Would a system like this work?

Monday: 2 crabs
Tuesday: 1 shrimp
Wednesday: nothing
Thursday: 1 crab
Friday: 2 shrimp
Saturday: 1 crab, 1 shrimp
Sunday: nothing

 

[Nancy]

Your octopus will not overeat. It would be better to feed him every day and see how much he wants. He might not need two shrimps, for instance. Crabs should be his favorite food.

Nancy

 

[tywtly]

Ok, so just feed him till he's done? Works for me.

 

[Nancy]

Just be sure to remove the leftover parts of the crab or shrimp - you can leave the live ones!

Nancy

 

[tywtly]

Ok, daily feedings, clean up afterwards. Got it

 

[socal_saltwater]

i've heard feeding octos goldfish is a no-no...but can anyone tell me exactly why?

i'm thinking maybe that's why my octo died. i had perfect water parameters (even checked by my LFS for accuracy) and fed him daily, gave him plenty of hiding places, etc.

maybe the goldfish?

 

[Jean]

i've heard feeding octos goldfish is a no-no...but can anyone tell me exactly why?

i'm thinking maybe that's why my octo died. i had perfect water parameters (even checked by my LFS for accuracy) and fed him daily, gave him plenty of hiding places, etc.

maybe the goldfish?

It's possible. FW fish (and to some extent FW crustaceans) have the wrong ratio's of fat and protein for marine critters. A good rule of thumb is to feed marine species to marine species and FW to FW. Also if that fish had been treated with copper or had been in a tank that had been treated with copper that would've been fatal too.

Sorry about your octi

How long had you had him? Octopus don't live long and it may simply have reached the end of it's life expectancy.

J

 

[skeezguy]

Can anyone tell me what ways that i can try to get my Octo to eat cocktail shrimp or other frozen foods that i could select from the grocery store. I tried to feed him a shrimp (thawed) I just droped it in the tank near him & he grabed it & tasted it for a while but then i found the shrimp a little later. I also trie it on a feeding stick & to give to him by hand. I am not sure if he just dont like it or do i need to build him up to eating it. Or is there anything else that most octo's like to eat that isnt going to cost so much.

I have been feeding him crayfish & he eats those in 10 seconds. But those are costing me $3 USA each. I live in Indiana so it is winter time & i can go to a creek & just catch them myself If any people can give me any helpful tips would be great.

I also have another questen. How can you tell if an octo is blind or idf its eyes are closed. My octo swims around for hours but it never looks like its eyes are open & it seems to ignore everyone & every thing. Wehn i put a crayfish in the tank the octo acts like it never even sees it & takes the crayfish when it happens to brush one of its arms & then it just grabe it & bring it to its mouth. Here is a picture of it & this is the way its eyes looks all of the time.