The little guy is sick

[asch803]

The Octo at school (bimac) has been "sick" since last Friday...He is usually out on the front glass for a good part of the day - until last Friday...On Friday we tried to feed him a piece of shrimp and he did not come out of his rock to get it, no real big deal...When we came in on Monday the shrimp was still uneaten and of course the water had become a little fouled...I brought in some live crayfish for him and he still showed NO interest and remained in his rock....At that point Ms K and I were thinking maybe "he" was a "she" and had laid eggs in the rock...Well he then came out from the rock and just was sitting in the back of tank not really moving around...We decided to do a water change even though the test showed the water was ok...Did almost a 50% water change on Tuesday and again tried to feed him a crayfish....To make a long story short, he now hasn't eaten in over a week (since last Wed) and hasn't been moving around the tank at all - just very slowly and mostly just sitting in one spot...Any thoughts or suggestions? The kids will be very upset if he doesn't make it - so we're open to any ideas...

Thanks!

Kim and Andy

 

[cephalopoder]

I saw Ms Ks' post on tonmo and I replied but I am not sure if she has looked at it.
What I was worried about was the amount of feeding, vs the tank size and the
filtration she had. I was worried the filtration could not keep up with the waste load
for that size tank. If I remember correctly, she had no skimmer. The other questions
that come to mind is, copper? what are you using for a source of water? Test kits,
are they new ? old ? what make are they. Your ammonia and nitrite should read 0.
Ph, alkalinity? I need to know your whole range of parameters. It could be lots of things.
There is also the chance your octo is old and entering senescence. I would hate to
see the kids let down. If you need immediate help send me a email and I will give you
a number you can reach me at.

 

[asch803]

sick octo

sick octo

The water we've been using is the same water i use at home, filtered Ro/Di...I make it at home and bring it in the next day for water changes...I believe the test kit is made by tetra...The kit actually does not test for Nitrates - only ph (8.0), nitrite (0), ammonia (0) and KH (8 drops - which is perfect) - all tested just fine yesterday...I should bring my Nitrate test kit tomorrow to check...Should i test for phophates or calcium (i have both of those tests at home too)? I can't imagine it's an old Octo since it's a bimac just like mine at home and it's 1/3 the size - he looks to be the same species...If he pulls through or if we end up trying again, i think we need to get a skimmer- maybe a bak-pak...thanks!

Andy

 

[cephalopoder]

Nitrate shouldn't be that big of a deal unless the levels are very high. They are pretty tolerant to nitrate. If you get a skimmer, I would recomend a aqua C remora. They blow the bak paks away. Phophates or calcium shouldn't be a problem. It could be stress? I recomend keeping a pvc elbow with a end cap on it for a octo home. They seem to feel very safe inside of one. I use a 2" elbow when their small and move op to bigger ones as they grow.

 

[asch803]

we'll just see what happens...

we'll just see what happens...

Chris, we had a 2" pvc elbow with an endcap in the tank for a while and he ignored it, but i'll throw it back in...we'll just wait and see what happens...i doubt the nitrates would be too high anyway, since i just did a 50% water change...as far as the aqua c remora goes, is that able to be used with the "octo-proof" precautions which are necessary? That's why i got the bak-pak, it has an in and out tube which i drilled holes for...well thanks for your help, as always!

Andy

 

[asch803]

Chris and/or Colin??

Chris and/or Colin??

The octo survived the weekend and actually did something which might indicate [she] might be laying eggs...As i mentioned, up until last weeek he/she was very active and visible...But now in the past week and a half, she has not eaten a thing and is much less active/visible...Now when we came in this weekend, she had pulled all of the fake plants and much of the coral (subtrate) into the rocks and has created what appears to us to be a den...If she is in fact laying eggs, according to what i remember reading, she could be laying fertalized eggs...I believe that i read an article by James Woods that stated that if you've had the Octo for 3 months or less, there is a good chance the eggs are fertilized...Any opinions? IF they ARE fertilized, is it worth trying to hatch them? The tank is a 20 or 25 gallon tank with only a sand sifting star in there with the octo...is it doable for novices such as myself and Ms K? If there is a chance for it to work, it would of course be a great learning experience for the kids...Although, what would we do with the baby Octos? Errrrrrrrr, maybe a strudent council fund raiser....lol

Anyway, please offer any opinions or suggestions!

Thanks!

Andy and Ms K

 

[cephalopoder]

It can be done, but it a long way to the top if ya want to rock and roll. Here is a link to my good friend, bat island diver, octopus hunting research partner Jimbo's egg rearing journal. This will let you know what you would be in for. Also the hardest part is getting enough live food as you will soon read.
http://www.jimbolouislabs.com/eggjournal.htm