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octopus hitchhiker??
- Thread starter turbo2oh
- Start date
gwrulzmylife
New member
lol, I used mine to clean out LR before, nice glass fish trap used two weeks later to get him out baited with his favorite! Mine was not a hitch hicker, but a second from OCtopets. Worth the cost to me just for cleaning the LR.
Cheers!
Cheers!
slave-of-rock
New member
are they as hard to take care of as people say? like what temps do they need and to they need a perfectly sealed tank also? thanks
-kyle
-kyle
Anemone said:Okay, here's a pic of july865's hitchiker (now in my tank- thanks Al).
Think the id is the same (Octopus mercatorus)?
Kevin
Tha't not the safest place for your octo. You're going to come home one day and find him burnt to that heater. Since you have that heater in your tank, I'm assuming that you're tank has openings in the top.
In an octo tank, the main thing you need to do is to make sure the top of your tank is COMPLETELY sealed off. It will escape, and you wont know it till you find him dried up on the floor.
FL Knifemaker
New member
We should start a TBS Octo club
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=489252
As cool and interesting as they are, I found accidentally introducing them to a reef tank is a pain in the butt!! I'm conviced that they like to destroy stuff just for sport.
Mine are/where totally nocturnal. They upset just about everthing they can get ahold of in the tank including breaking off attached clams 4 times their size! My first one ate about a dozen medium size hermits in about 5 days. He also ate several other crabs and killed and left dead several snails.
The only way I was able to catch mine was once the last hermit was gone I put a single hermit into a beer bottle in the tank. I set the bottle on an angle so the crab couldn't climb out. Within about 2 hours after lights out, I heard the hermits shell rattling in the bottle, turned on my moonlight and snatched the bottle, octo and half eaten hermit out of the tank :rollface: He now resides with one of the employees at my LFS.
Now I have to repeat the process with Octo II .
Good luck catching one with a net, they are like a rocket!!
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=489252
As cool and interesting as they are, I found accidentally introducing them to a reef tank is a pain in the butt!! I'm conviced that they like to destroy stuff just for sport.
Mine are/where totally nocturnal. They upset just about everthing they can get ahold of in the tank including breaking off attached clams 4 times their size! My first one ate about a dozen medium size hermits in about 5 days. He also ate several other crabs and killed and left dead several snails.
The only way I was able to catch mine was once the last hermit was gone I put a single hermit into a beer bottle in the tank. I set the bottle on an angle so the crab couldn't climb out. Within about 2 hours after lights out, I heard the hermits shell rattling in the bottle, turned on my moonlight and snatched the bottle, octo and half eaten hermit out of the tank :rollface: He now resides with one of the employees at my LFS.
Now I have to repeat the process with Octo II .
Good luck catching one with a net, they are like a rocket!!
The octo is quite happy muching on the hermits I provide. The heater shouldn't be much of an inconvenience - octos move quickly enough that they can get off a hot heater - unlike cukes and anemones.
The tank is sealed pretty tightly (it's an eclipse tank - they have a tightly fitting hood except for a small slot where the power lines come in). Only about 1/4" opening left, and if that appears to be a problem, I'll seal it with tape.
Definitely nocturnal. Has ignored the three snails I put in its tank, but appears to be eating about 2 hermits a night.
Did the hitchiker you got eat those clams Knifemaker? I've got a few hitchiker clams/mollusks that are accessible in other tanks, and if your octo ate yours, I could move some of mine to provide a little variety.
Kevin
The heater shouldn't be much of an inconvenience - octos move quickly enough that they can get off a hot heater - unlike cukes and anemones.The tank is sealed pretty tightly (it's an eclipse tank - they have a tightly fitting hood except for a small slot where the power lines come in). Only about 1/4" opening left, and if that appears to be a problem, I'll seal it with tape.
Definitely nocturnal. Has ignored the three snails I put in its tank, but appears to be eating about 2 hermits a night.
Did the hitchiker you got eat those clams Knifemaker? I've got a few hitchiker clams/mollusks that are accessible in other tanks, and if your octo ate yours, I could move some of mine to provide a little variety.
Kevin
You might also try offering some thawed frozen shrimp (good quality). Most octos favorite foods are crabs and shrimp, but they also sometimes eat snails, clams, etc - depends on the species
I'm wondering about the heater - I've read that octopuses are insensitve to fire, maybe heat, too. I protect my octos from equipment in the acquarium by using loose netting (such as comes with the bags they sell for carbon or the type of netting that comes on aquarium nets). Since octos are so curious, it's a good idea to cover any water intakes. Some of them have even been know to take power heads apart.
Octos are very intelligent - depending somewhat on the species - can be playful. But they do need a tank to themselves, with maybe just a starfish or a pencil urchin as a companion. They need a cleanup crew, too, but some of them may disappear as food!
Nancy
I'm wondering about the heater - I've read that octopuses are insensitve to fire, maybe heat, too. I protect my octos from equipment in the acquarium by using loose netting (such as comes with the bags they sell for carbon or the type of netting that comes on aquarium nets). Since octos are so curious, it's a good idea to cover any water intakes. Some of them have even been know to take power heads apart.
Octos are very intelligent - depending somewhat on the species - can be playful. But they do need a tank to themselves, with maybe just a starfish or a pencil urchin as a companion. They need a cleanup crew, too, but some of them may disappear as food!
Nancy
FL Knifemaker
New member
Kevin,
YES!! Torn from the LR, smashed open and picked clean!! I didn't mind him getting rid of the turkey wing clams but I also have some larger, nice looking attached clams. I can't believe the strength the little octos have!!
Nancy
Are you Nancy from the Octo forum?? If so, thanks for all your help and info over the past few months
YES!! Torn from the LR, smashed open and picked clean!! I didn't mind him getting rid of the turkey wing clams but I also have some larger, nice looking attached clams. I can't believe the strength the little octos have!!
Nancy
Are you Nancy from the Octo forum?? If so, thanks for all your help and info over the past few months
Yes, I help take care of the Ceph Care forum at TONMO. Glad I was able to help. I'm keeping track of hitchhiker octos so I can provide assistance and perhaps write an article on them.
You're right, even little octos are very strong. It doesn't take long for them to win at tug-of-war with the feeding stick or to start pulling the cleaning magnet apart (that was what my octo did when she wanted attention - the outer part fell with a thump and someone came running!) Later on they can move the live rock and redecorate your tank!
Nancy
You're right, even little octos are very strong. It doesn't take long for them to win at tug-of-war with the feeding stick or to start pulling the cleaning magnet apart (that was what my octo did when she wanted attention - the outer part fell with a thump and someone came running!) Later on they can move the live rock and redecorate your tank!
Nancy
