Big Bimac Beast!

[Dr. Idso]

Hello,

I just got back from Rocky Point, Mexico, and collected a huge bimac from a coral reef. It is a monster! It's mantle is about 5 to 6 inches in size, and looks like a large oval grapefruit. Its tentacles are as thick as Oscar Meyer hotdogs where they attach to the mantle. It's span from tentacle to tentacle is about 30 inches. It is huge! I have it in a 70 gallon aquarium and will try to upload some pictures of the The Beast tomorrow. So for the record, do bimacs actually get this large?

Thanks.

 

[OctoMonkey]

Hi Doc

dunno if it will be a bimac or not... pics will tell... bimacs are not coral reef animals.

However, as far as siz is concerend it depends on which 'bimac'
O. bimaculatus could get to a body of 20cm (8") whereas O. bimaculoides is only about 12cm (5") with arms of 80 cm('culatus') and 35cm ('culoides')

Bring on the pics.......

BUT that size of octopus in such a small tank will need excellent fitration etc... what system have you got? Just out of noseyness

Colin

 

[Dr. Idso]

Bimac "Beast" pictures

Bimac "Beast" pictures

Here is the "Beast"!!

 

[Dr. Idso]

Another "beast" photo

Another "beast" photo

The "beast".

 

[Dr. Idso]

More of the "Beast"

More of the "Beast"

More of the "Beast"

 

[Dr. Idso]

Last "beast" photo

Last "beast" photo

Last "Beast" photo.

 

[cephalopoder]

Nice octo.
If it is O.bimaculoides the ocelli will have a unbroken chain link circle in the middle.
Bimaculatus has a broken chain link circle.
If it is a female. There is a good chance it will be ready to lay eggs soon. Bimaculoides lays large eggs, bimaculatus, small eggs.
My guess is you might have O.bimaculatus. Look closely at the ocelli and see if you can find a break in the chain link circle.
Please keep us up to date.
-chris

 

[kozmo02]

is that fair to remove that octopus from its natural habitat only to cram it into an aquarium that is so inadequately sized, think of the animal, it doesnt deserve to be locked in a glass box, it should be in the wild where it grew up.

get a baby one, and tank raise it, dont remove animals from the wild.

 

[Dr. Idso]

Hello,

You ask me if removing this beast from the wild is fair? I say yes it is. I feel it is more than fair for the happiness it brings me and my family on a daily basis. Based on what I've learned from this forum, and due to the size of this beast, it probably has very little of its lifespan left to live. Now in its "old age", the "beast" no longer has to worry where its next meal is coming from, or whether or not an eel or shark will attack and feed upon it. True, some people may diasgree with collecting animals from the wild, but I support the practice for private, non-commercial use. I have simply relocated the "beast" into an early retirement home where it will be loved and cared for until the day it passes away. Double check the pictures of the "best" that I posted. It does have what I feel is adequate room to live in its new home, and I believe you can even see it smiling back in approval!

Thanks for your concerns and comments.

 

[cephalopoder]

Why do you think a 70 gallon aquarium is so inadequately sized for this species? In my
experience 70 gallon tank is plenty big enough for any bimac. As for captive breed octos... There has only been two places over the years that have been able to pull captive breeding of octopuses off for resale to the public. Breeding captive raised cephs is not easy. I am working on it though hehehe.I just mated my first pair.
O.bimaculoides and O.bimaculatus are two very common and abundant species that are in no threat from over collection.
I understand you concern over collection of any species, I agree captive breed is the way of the future. Hopefully some day there will be plenty of captive breeed octos for every one.
I am sure The Doc will provide a excellent home, and I consider his asking questions in this forum a sign of responsible ceph keeper.

 

[kozmo02]

what i am saying is, you are taking an animal out of the wild, and putting it into a fish tank. as if to say that this octopus never required more space in the wild than what your providing it in a 70 gallon.

you are ASSUMING it is happy, how do you know it isn't miserable? scared?

you collected an animal from the wild, so that your family can be happy, and that is your prime reason for feeling that it is justified. You, in all honesty, have no right to decide the fait of this animal by removing it from its natural habitat, so that you can put it into a glass box. It really isn't fair. That octopus has adapted to hunting, it has adapted to having to find food on a daily basis, it has adapted to the conditions in which every day he could be food for someone else. It isn't fair to stick him/her in a glass box and throw food at it, like its an animal at the zoo.

But as long as your kids are happy, well that makes it all better......

 

[OctoMonkey]

......and your corals? Those frags originally came from the wild and had also been taken away.

 

[kozmo02]

actually, all of my coral frags have been propagated from tank raised colonies, so maybe a few generations ago the original coral came from the wild, my the frags that i have, never came from a coral that saw the ocean, and mine never saw the ocean, 100% captive raised.

kthx

 

[cephalopoder]

what i am saying is, you are taking an animal out of the wild, and putting it into a fish tank.

Ok so let me ask you this. Why did you decide to come into the ceph forum and start this discussion here? Surely there must be other forums you visit that people talk about "wild caught " species they have. Do you lecture them as well? Do you really think that most things for sale in the aquarium trade are captive breed?
You say all of your corals are captive raised.
What about all the other life forms in your tank? Hermits...

maybe a few generations ago the original coral came from the wild

Maybe in a few years, this will be the case with octopuse too. So relax. Take the octo challenge and try and breed some yourself... We need captive breed octos!

 

[kozmo02]

im not coming into this forum to create problems, but i have every right to express my opinions regarding his capturing of this animal out of the wild so his family can be happy.

if you dont like, erase my thread.

 

[Dr. Idso]

Mr. Kozmo,

You apparently "missed" the entire purpose of my previous response and are bringing this discussion down with your "my-opinion-is-more-valid-than-yours" mentality.

Did I not concede in my previous post that "some people may disagree with collecting animals from the wild?" Did Cephalopoder not further concede the same point when he stated that he "understood your concern over the collection of any species?" In spite of such acknowledgement, you continued to sour this discussion by responding with your personal propaganda in a combative manner.

Yes, your opinions are welcome, but this is not a forum that focuses on animal rights issues, nor is it one that centers on the concept of "fairness" betwen mankind and nature's creatures. It is simply a forum dealing primarily with the sharing of information related to cephalopod care from a hobbiest perspective.

I'd say more, but I'm a teacher, not a preacher. (And it's time to head to school). I hope your day will be as great as mine!

 

[kozmo02]

i'm not here to give people crap about what you did, but i just dont realize why it had to be pulled from the wild. i really dont like the idea of things being pulled out of the wild, because thats all we have left, once their gone, our oceans and reefs are over, and it seems to be happening rather quickly. that is why i try to get captive bred corals/fish to try to avoid animals being harvested from the wild as much as possible.

i apologize for being an *****, however, this is topic that i feel rather strongly on, and I just felt like stating my opinions.

 

[CalvinC4S]

I used to go on spring brake at rocky point. The locals would catch the octos by the dozens and eat them.

To bad I was into fire works and drunk chicks back then

I would like to go again and play with the octos. Please tell us how you found and captured it?

It looks great BTW!!

 

[ozmonster]

i really dont like the idea of things being pulled out of the wild ...

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds" - Emerson

Kozmo02, you need to take a step back and try to get a look at the big picture. If we took nothing from the wild, we would not have aquarists at all.

You're position is premised on a need to preserve and protect these animals. You feel that we should no longer take from the wild because we have many species who do well cultivated in a tank. You feel that all other animals should be left to live their lives. Very admirable. And in a vacuum that proposition seems reasonable.

However this is where Emerson will help us. There are more variables that are lurking beneath the surface (no pun intended). Did you ever stop to think that all of the species that now enjoy being raised on our aquariums are saved. Yes, saved. They are saved by extinction. Saved by the powerful forces (both natural and man induced) that are devistated our worlds coral reefs. Not just fish and invertebrates, but we can hope to save many varieties of endangered corals as well. But this will not happen overnight. It takes generations (many genearations for some species) to successful adapt wild animals to captivity. If aquarists were to adopt your position, there would be no chance to save many species from extinction.

The foolish consistency you employ, kozmo, is problematic when you yourself are an aquarist. This is especially true if you have ever purchased any livestock from your LFS that you weren't absolutely certain was not wild. The commercial aquarist trade kills far more animals than hobbyists who collect their own. It is arguable that Dr. Idso is far more honorable for collecting his own than the person who buys at the LFS. It may take two or three octos to get one in Dr. Idso's tank due to collecting/shipping fatalities.

that is why i try to get captive bred corals/fish to try to avoid animals being harvested from the wild as much as possible.

The operative word for me is "try". "Try" signifies that you do not always buy captive bred. Every animal you have in your tank that is not captive makes you a hypocrite. You are no better based on the parameters of your own foolish consistency than Dr. Idso.

The bottom line, Kozmo, is that many people in life latch on to beliefs that seem to work in the limited context to which the belief was acquired. Over time, we stack one belief on another until we become a patchwork of inconsitency.

If you truly believe that we should no longer take animals from the wild and put them in a relatively tiny glass box, then I commend you and respect you for that position. However, this position is inconsistent with the fact that you own an aquarium with at least some wild caught animals (you said "try"). And even if everything in your tank down to the nitroblaster bacteria (animals as well) is captive, you still support, indirectly, the catching of wild species in order to make them captive.

So Kozmo make a choice because you can't have both. Are you an animal rights absolutist or are you a conscientious aquarist?

oz

 

[MickAv8r]

You may have tried not to look like an @ss but you surely succeeded. You lectured about only buying captive propagated well hello? Few exist and those that are captive propped are coming from wild parents. There is no evidence at all that this species is endangered.

Relax, either take some drugs or get off them but you need a change