Worried About New Octopuses

I have seem your pics and its hard to tell from them what species you have. From their size is sounds like they are either very very young or not bimaculatus. After 3 months if there eating well, a bimac would grow quite a bit.
chris
 
I have never been able to ID these guys, especially since I only see them during the night time. I have no idea where they hide during the day, but I assume it is in one of the many small holes in the live rock. I know they are eating well since I have had to continuously supply them with small crabs and snails. They have yet to go after the three Peppermint Shrimp or the eight Blue Damsels in the tank. Is this rather odd? The shrimp have no claws and are pretty much defenseless. I guess the fish have speed and could bite if not secured properly in the octo's arms. I have attempted numerous things to get my octopuses to eat in the open. I have tried putting one of the shrimp into a clear container to entice the octos, but it didn't work. I also caught one snail and tried to hand feed one of the octos. The little guy put one arm on it and wouldn't take it. I finally had to drop the snail when my arm started cramping from being in the same position for fifteen minutes. This made the octopus freak out and ink. Any other tips for seeing these guys in the daylight or getting them to come to me to feed? I'm not giving up on them, but I really hope the cuttlefish guy comes through.

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
I forgot you had the damsels in the tank. Your octos could be scared of them. Damsels can be evil and can peck at a octos eyes. Your octos are real small so that could be part of it and they only come out when the fish sleep. The other thing is they could be a night dwelling species. Some species only come out at night, and hide in the sand or rock during the day. Your best bet might be to remove all your fish and possible octo food for a few days. With the threat of the fish gone, and your octos getting hungry, they could start to come out more to look for food.
Your dealing with tiny octopuses that see you as a giant and possible threat. When they associate you with being the food god they will look forawrd to seeing you more.
Your little one also inked at you, so he could now be scared of you . Not all species or eat snails so your better off offering thawed frozen shrimp to them.
 
I guess I could try getting rid of the damsels. Would they be a threat to the cuttlefish that I might get? I had hoped that they would be a good food source for the octopuses, and they did serve as a good bio-load for the tank. I know that the octos have eaten the snails since I have seen many empty shells left over. There is still a considerable amount of them left in the tank, which is good for fighting algae buildup. I hope these octopuses aren't nocturnal only. I will try your suggestion of removing the damsels and offering food. I will leae the live shrimp in there as they are an easy target in my opinion. Now for some feeding questions. How do I get them to notice the food without scaring them away? Should I use my hand or a stick with the shrimp I am offering? Should I offer the food even if I don't see them or only if I do see them? Should I try the shrimp in a clear container thing again? Should I offer the food during the day and at night or only one of the two?

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
When it comes to cephalopods. I am a firm believer in a species only tank. I have used fish to cycle my aquariums but have sold them back to the LFS when my ceph was orderd.
I had a domino damsel in with my last bimaculoides, a food offering. It was a big octopus when I put the damsel in there. The fish was too quick for the octo to catch at first. The two seemed to get along ok for a few weeks. Then one day it was "Here's Dominos" and the damsel was gone.
I think the octo got bord of his tank mate and snacked on him when the fish was sleeping.
As far as cuttles go. The fish would be gone real quick. I haven't got my cuttles yet. I have been getting my 180 ready for that day and I am still designing my system..sump,uv,macros, skimmer.....
My next venture before cutttles will be... Well you'll have to wait and see hehe.
As far as feeding your little ones. I would wait till you see them, then offer shrimp on the end of probe. A chunk the size of a sugar cube should be good to start.
 
Ahh, so I'm not the only one having a hard time getting cuttles for their home aquarium. Let me know where you get yours from when you do in case my LFS fails to deliver. Anyway, I think I'm going to wait a week or so until I hear back about if I can get the cuttles or not. If I can then great, but if I can't then I will double my efforts with the octopuses. Thanks for the feeding tips. Do you know of anyone out there that actually has shots on a web site of an octopus getting fed? Other than Jimbo Louis and Colin, I haven't seen many sites out there.

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
Mike/Chris
I have some short (15 seconds) MPG of me feeding the cuttles dead shrimp and stuff. Is it possible to upload them onto this site????

On another note. I can now see developments within my briareus eggs. Everything seems okay so far. I will post a pic of my rearing tank when i get that off scraps of paper and into reality...

Colin
 
I've often used Blue damsels to cycle octopus tanks and then left them in there. The Octopuses never seem interested or able to catch the daring little buggers. On one ocassion years ago one did finally turn up missing ...
 
I dont think i can do that on geocities. Better invest in a better site soon!
Next set of videos i do i will email a couple to you or anyone who wants them........
 
That video is SO......FRIGGIN......COOL! Thanks for the link Chris!

Colin: I won't hold it against you for not sharing sooner....
 
AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Now I really want to get my cuttlefish order in! I have had to call the distributor myself to check up on whether or not my LFS has ordred them. It has been four days since I told my LFS that their own distributor carries cuttlefish, and they still havne't ordered them! I'm not sure what else to do to get them to order except try to ask another store to do it. There is a Petland near me, but I'm not sure if they would order from another distributor that isn't on their list. I guess it doesn't hurt to ask.

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
Annick, first off, I only recently figured out i could send those videos by email. So dont think i was keeping it a secret!

Second, dont worry. I'll make sure I can come up with some sexy dance and email it to you or something :D

Chris,
Any chance some of the scientific places in the us would send eggs rather than young uns????????????
 
Colin
I have actually been talking to Richard Stride about importing cuttle eggs this spring. I have a local dealer that has a import licence that is willing to work with me and order some cuttle eggs. As things progress I will keep you all posted. If you want some information colin email me and I will give you his contact info if you don't allready have it.
chris
 
I now have two different LFS's trying to get me some cuttlefish. I have almost given up on Dallas North Aquarium, and when I asked Saltwarer Paradise about it they said they had ordered them before! Hopefully one of these two will come through for me with some cuttles, but if not then I will return to looking for other methods of getting them. Colin, keep those videos coming! They were both great to watch.

Mike

www.schmunkel.0catch.com
 
Thanks Chris
It was Richard who i bought my cuttles from. He was excellant to deal with. I still stay in regular contact with him.

In fact, when i opened my bag of "five" cuttles he had left a tongue in cheek note saying something like "oops, i cant count!" and there were seven in the bag!!!

Richard has the packing and shipping down perfect. I dont see any reason as to why eggs in the post wouldnt work....

I have also recently come across another guy over here who also deals with cuttles from time to time. He is due more eggs in March / April. This guy is only about 50 miles from me. Richard is the opposite end of the UK (probably about 450 miles). However, Keith hasnt exported to the US before whereas Richard has. Both are great guys!
 
OK Colin. I forgive you only due to your lack of technological knowledge about your camera. Have you figured out the self-portrait thing without the picture being upside down? Make sure you're wearing those "tank shorts" when making movies. :)
 
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