MaccaPopEye
New member
Nope, open topped tank. All I have been able to do is line the rim with velcro hooks. Hopefully it wont feel the need to go looking for food, there are heaps of crabs in there.
URGENT Anyone know how to catch an occy
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Martini5788
New member
Oh ok
MaccaPopEye
New member
Yeah sorry I posted the pics in the OP but I moved them in my photobucket gallery and I cant figure out how to eddit the post to put the correct links in. Here are the terrible quality pics. Obviously if I can catch him I will post better pictures, blue ring or not.
MaccaPopEye
New member
Unfortunately not much to update 
It's been a week and a half since my last post and I still haven't had time to get down to the beach and collect some crabs for live bait (I am going to try again to get out there tomorrow).
I have been staying up as late as possible most nights and even pulled 2 all nighters last week where I left the tank in darkness and came out and turned a torch on every hour or so to scan around. That combined with checking the tank first thing after finishing work at 0130am and 0630am most days and I still have not had another sighting. Not even a possible sighting.
If I hadn't of snapped a photo I would think I was going mad. Even with the photo I think I may still be going mad :headwalls:
Part of me thinks that the poor little guy could have died either in the tank or crawled out and over the back where I cant see and died there, even if it is a blue ring I hope not as there will be no way to find out and I will forever wonder and have to be super cautious reaching into the tank. But then I remind myself that it was in there for a month without being seen to begin with. An octopus the size 5c piece has a lot of hiding places in a 400L tank.
There are still lots of crabs in the tank and I am still seeing some small ones so if it is still there it wont be going hungry. Hopefully I get out soon to get some live bait and try the bottle trap again. On recomendation of a friend I am also going to add a couple of "Octopus traps" aka a small terracotta pot and an empty stubby. Still hoping to catch it so I can get an ID. Or even sight it again just to keep a grip on my sanity.
Cheers,
Macca
It's been a week and a half since my last post and I still haven't had time to get down to the beach and collect some crabs for live bait (I am going to try again to get out there tomorrow).
I have been staying up as late as possible most nights and even pulled 2 all nighters last week where I left the tank in darkness and came out and turned a torch on every hour or so to scan around. That combined with checking the tank first thing after finishing work at 0130am and 0630am most days and I still have not had another sighting. Not even a possible sighting.
If I hadn't of snapped a photo I would think I was going mad. Even with the photo I think I may still be going mad :headwalls:
Part of me thinks that the poor little guy could have died either in the tank or crawled out and over the back where I cant see and died there, even if it is a blue ring I hope not as there will be no way to find out and I will forever wonder and have to be super cautious reaching into the tank. But then I remind myself that it was in there for a month without being seen to begin with. An octopus the size 5c piece has a lot of hiding places in a 400L tank.
There are still lots of crabs in the tank and I am still seeing some small ones so if it is still there it wont be going hungry. Hopefully I get out soon to get some live bait and try the bottle trap again. On recomendation of a friend I am also going to add a couple of "Octopus traps" aka a small terracotta pot and an empty stubby. Still hoping to catch it so I can get an ID. Or even sight it again just to keep a grip on my sanity.
Cheers,
Macca
Martini5788
New member
I think all of us will vouch for your sanity. You have proof, photographic evidence haha. At some point or another, an occy was in there. How large is 5c in Australia? Don't know the currency there, sorry if that's a stupid question
MaccaPopEye
New member
Haha sorry not a stupid question at all, I forgot this was an international forum.
A 5c piece is just under 2cm in diameter. Or about 3/4" in freedom units. And with its legs out it was around 3cm diameter or 1 & 3/4".
A 5c piece is just under 2cm in diameter. Or about 3/4" in freedom units. And with its legs out it was around 3cm diameter or 1 & 3/4".
Martini5788
New member
Wow that's teeny tiny. No wonder you can't find it! It could be literally anywhere
MaccaPopEye
New member
It's been a while since I checked this thread but I actually have a small update. My crab population has been in decline and until last night I thought there had only been 2-3 left for almost a month now (and quite large ones too). Occasionaly I seen mangled crab remains on the sand bed. This could be the occy or my mantis or even both.
Working shift work helps as I reguarly finish at 2am and can grab a torch and check the tank. Well last night I got home and did my routine check, and as I am moving the torch from the left hand side over to the right I saw a blur fly faster than I thought possible from the top corner down to the bottom corner which is hidden by rocks. Whatever it was looked brown/orange and moved way too fast (and I was way too tired) for me to see any kind of shape but unless I was so tired I was seeing things then I have a pretty good idea of what it could have been.
After I determined it was gone and my chances at a decent sighting were nil I moved the torch back up to the top right hand corner to see why it was up there and lo and behold sitting ontop of a powerhead there is the only small crab I have seen in the tank in the last few weeks.
From this possible sighting I have concluded a couple of things:
1) If it was the octopus then it is still alive but running out of food. So I will endevour to go crab collecting soon to top up the supply.
2) This is only my second sighting if you can call it that, but both have been at night time. From what I know about blue rings they are diurnal hunters. So this is good news. It could still be a blue ring that is hunting at night as it is too shy with people around during the day but it is certainly a lot less likely.
From here I am going to visit the local aquarium and have a chat with the guy there and see if he knows what other species of octopus it could possibly be. I will also re-commence my attempts at trapping. I am going away for a few weeks soon so I will try to ensure there is ample crabs by then to keep it alive.
More than anything right now I would love to catch it and get an ID. Of course if I have any updates I will report back.
Cheers,
Macca
Working shift work helps as I reguarly finish at 2am and can grab a torch and check the tank. Well last night I got home and did my routine check, and as I am moving the torch from the left hand side over to the right I saw a blur fly faster than I thought possible from the top corner down to the bottom corner which is hidden by rocks. Whatever it was looked brown/orange and moved way too fast (and I was way too tired) for me to see any kind of shape but unless I was so tired I was seeing things then I have a pretty good idea of what it could have been.
After I determined it was gone and my chances at a decent sighting were nil I moved the torch back up to the top right hand corner to see why it was up there and lo and behold sitting ontop of a powerhead there is the only small crab I have seen in the tank in the last few weeks.
From this possible sighting I have concluded a couple of things:
1) If it was the octopus then it is still alive but running out of food. So I will endevour to go crab collecting soon to top up the supply.
2) This is only my second sighting if you can call it that, but both have been at night time. From what I know about blue rings they are diurnal hunters. So this is good news. It could still be a blue ring that is hunting at night as it is too shy with people around during the day but it is certainly a lot less likely.
From here I am going to visit the local aquarium and have a chat with the guy there and see if he knows what other species of octopus it could possibly be. I will also re-commence my attempts at trapping. I am going away for a few weeks soon so I will try to ensure there is ample crabs by then to keep it alive.
More than anything right now I would love to catch it and get an ID. Of course if I have any updates I will report back.
Cheers,
Macca
Well it sounds like it's still Alive but at the same time it sounds like you want to keep it. I thought you wanted to get rid of it? You could starve it. Or nuke the tank with copper. I know that sounds bad but this is quite sometime to wait on what seems to be a pest.
MaccaPopEye
New member
Keep it - depends on the species. My biggest concern was that it was a blue ring due to their high population where the LR came from. It is looking like it may not be a blue ring, in which case I would have no problem keeping it depending on the species.
Kill it - not something I would do deliberately. If it does turn out to be a blue ring then I definitely don't want it in my tank but they are amazing creatures and killing it isn't my plan.
Catch & release - preferred option without a doubt. I raised my concern with parks and wildlife about releasing something that had been living in my tank back into the ocean and they told me to release it if I can catch it.
Copper wouldn't be an option either. Too much coral that has no where to go. After my initial panic dies down I have begun to think of it more as an interesting experience and not really as a pest. It does require me to be a bit vigilant around my tank however if it is a blue ring I have been reliably informed that on contact with air - unlike other species they curl up and fall back into the water so it won't go for a walk which was my biggest fear.
Kill it - not something I would do deliberately. If it does turn out to be a blue ring then I definitely don't want it in my tank but they are amazing creatures and killing it isn't my plan.
Catch & release - preferred option without a doubt. I raised my concern with parks and wildlife about releasing something that had been living in my tank back into the ocean and they told me to release it if I can catch it.
Copper wouldn't be an option either. Too much coral that has no where to go. After my initial panic dies down I have begun to think of it more as an interesting experience and not really as a pest. It does require me to be a bit vigilant around my tank however if it is a blue ring I have been reliably informed that on contact with air - unlike other species they curl up and fall back into the water so it won't go for a walk which was my biggest fear.
Calappidae
Harlequin Shrimp
Thought I'd throw in 2cents about the mantis + octo cohabitation, FWIW, Stomatopods are probably the #1 predator to blue ring octopus. I'm mainly stating this concerning the one you're bringing up, however it's a possibility that the mantis could go after the blue ring (if it is one) but vice versa is very unlikely since some how stomatopods can ignore the venom.
Hope you find out what it is. Amazing read and makes me want to be a bit more careful hand picking my live rock.
Hope you find out what it is. Amazing read and makes me want to be a bit more careful hand picking my live rock.
MaccaPopEye
New member
Unfortunately no update. Haven't seen it again since. The mantis however is now about 8cm and comes out for a feed about once or twice a month. I threw some small crabs in the tank back in July before I went on holiday and they all disappeared within 2 months but if it was the mantis or the octopus who knows. My tank is approaching the one year mark so I'm getting ready to say that whatever species it was it must have been full grown when it went in and hence probably only had a year left alive and has probably died or was killed by the mantis.
And not a triathalete or a fan haha
And not a triathalete or a fan haha
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