It's been a week since I received an octopus bimaculoide from fishsupply.com. And, I'm happy to report that she's doing well. She's always hungry and constantly roaming the tank. Very bold! She even tried to eat my finger once! Here are some of my observations.
She's by far the most interesting ceature I've had in a fish tank. Definitely very intelligent with almost mammalian behavior sometimes. When she wakes up in the morning, she would stretch her arms, rub her eyes! Sometimes, she would go behind a rock and peek from behind it at me. When hungry, she's very active, crusing the tank all day. It's very funny when she goes for a free swim, almost like a jelly fish.
Within a day of arrival, she's discovered all the hidden crabs in the rocks. She also ate crayfish with relish. Amazingly, she also attacks supermarket shrimp, and play tug of war with the stick that I use to feed her. (It's amazing how strong she is.) However, I'm not too impress by her hunting prowess, the damsel is still alive in the tank! Although I think it lives in fear. I've seen her methods of going after it. Just before dawn, she tries to go under the rock where the damsel sleeps and slowly creeps in. But her arms are not fast at all, the damsel easily slips away.
Color changes are quite frequent. Obviously, this is how they communicate. I just haven't figured out what the message is. The most interesting is when she turns half black and half white, down the middle like the joker. I've only seen that once.
Now for setup details. It's a 29G tank with liverock. The tank is run like a reef tank. No mechanical filtration. Occasionally, I'll run carbon. I use a prizm skimmer. (I'm not too impressed with it. Works like a bakpack. I still see a slick on the tank surface.) No sump. The tank is not heated. But the temperature is still around 77-79. This is too high. I have to figure out a way of lowering it. Tankmates are a royal tux urchin, a tigertail cucumber and the damsel. I'm planning on adding a sea star. She leave everything alone except for the damsel.
I say she but that's really a guess. I heard males have an arm that's slightly different. I can't see any differences in her arms. Her head is about 1.5 to 2in long. The arms are about 5in long. I have a suspicion that she's almost full grown. Does anyone have any idea how large a full grown bimaculoide is?
She's by far the most interesting ceature I've had in a fish tank. Definitely very intelligent with almost mammalian behavior sometimes. When she wakes up in the morning, she would stretch her arms, rub her eyes! Sometimes, she would go behind a rock and peek from behind it at me. When hungry, she's very active, crusing the tank all day. It's very funny when she goes for a free swim, almost like a jelly fish.
Within a day of arrival, she's discovered all the hidden crabs in the rocks. She also ate crayfish with relish. Amazingly, she also attacks supermarket shrimp, and play tug of war with the stick that I use to feed her. (It's amazing how strong she is.) However, I'm not too impress by her hunting prowess, the damsel is still alive in the tank! Although I think it lives in fear. I've seen her methods of going after it. Just before dawn, she tries to go under the rock where the damsel sleeps and slowly creeps in. But her arms are not fast at all, the damsel easily slips away.
Color changes are quite frequent. Obviously, this is how they communicate. I just haven't figured out what the message is. The most interesting is when she turns half black and half white, down the middle like the joker. I've only seen that once.
Now for setup details. It's a 29G tank with liverock. The tank is run like a reef tank. No mechanical filtration. Occasionally, I'll run carbon. I use a prizm skimmer. (I'm not too impressed with it. Works like a bakpack. I still see a slick on the tank surface.) No sump. The tank is not heated. But the temperature is still around 77-79. This is too high. I have to figure out a way of lowering it. Tankmates are a royal tux urchin, a tigertail cucumber and the damsel. I'm planning on adding a sea star. She leave everything alone except for the damsel.
I say she but that's really a guess. I heard males have an arm that's slightly different. I can't see any differences in her arms. Her head is about 1.5 to 2in long. The arms are about 5in long. I have a suspicion that she's almost full grown. Does anyone have any idea how large a full grown bimaculoide is?