o. briareus II ! even smaller then the last one

andrewkw · 07/03/2011, 08:34 AM

Yesterday I was finally ready to convert my old Ceph tank which initially housed dwarf cuttlefish, then an octopus to a predator / nps tank.

I went to a local fish store to purchase a snowflake eel as the first inhabitant. Since the tank is already Octo proof an eel would be no problem. Little did I know what I'd come home with.

They had a critter keeper with an unknown Octopus hiding in a pvc elbow. I figured at this side it had to be a dwarf, but I'll take a look anyway. When they got him out I was shocked to find an almost perfect O. Briareus! He had all 8 of his arms and was super tiny. At this point I basically had to buy it. If I left it in the store some idiot would have taken it home and stuck it in his reef or tried to feed it goldfish or something else silly, so I took him home.

I'm keeping him in the critter keeper for now inside the 90. He ate ghost shrimp in the store and I fed him a bit of PE Mysis but I will soon move him to uncooked shrimp. If I can get him eating out of my hand early that will be great and I can release him into the tank.

Typically they hide all the time until about 5 months of age. This guy is probably 2-3 months old and if I put him in the tank now I probably won't see him until the end of summer. I'd also have to exclusively feed him live food since I'd never see him so I'll do my best to avoid that situation.

Here are the first pics, much much more to come.

andrewkw · 07/03/2011, 12:15 PM

I got him to take some PE Mysis off the tweezers again today. Also he grabbed my hand but is still very timid.

He's not too happy in the critter keeper but the stress he has in there is worth it as it's getting him comfortable with me. I added a second darker pvc that is more enclosed should he feel the need to hide in there.

First videos!

http://youtu.be/s1DwX8brCEE

http://youtu.be/qiylwwKmiI8

haysanatar · 07/04/2011, 11:31 AM

nice!

Flame_Angel · 07/09/2011, 08:55 AM

Gorgeous! Love the blue eyes on him.

andrewkw · 07/10/2011, 06:29 PM

Didn't take him long to escape the critter keeper. He just wasn't happy in there but in the main display he is adjusting very well.

Here are some pictures I never got a chance to post from last week. Prior to the escape.

Today I went to feed him a fiddler on tweezers, he grabbed the tweezers out of my hand and the crab made a run for it. I later got them back and gave him some pe mysis. He also grabbed my hand with 2 arms and held on for about 5 seconds. I'm surprised he is so bold, but still super shy. After a 10 minute staring contest he darted towards the back swimming like a squid. I think he may have found the crab but it's hard to say. Hopefully he continues to be this easy to find and feed, I did not see my first octopus for about 2 months straight, didn't matter if it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night I never saw him and the only way I knew he was even around was that crabs were disappearing. Hopefully that means this guy will be much more friendly early on.

andrewkw · 07/17/2011, 05:42 PM

Just 2 weeks in and he's out and about during daylight!

I was shocked to go downstairs and see him on the glass. Of course camcorder battery was almost dead but I got one video then another with my iphone.

He was out for a good 10 minutes then I gave him some PE Mysis, at first again more interested in the tweezers but then he started picking up the mysis one by one before darting to the back.

Going to try and pick up some ghost shrimp this week and will probably end up placing an order for fiddlers from paul. Right now the heat is brutal so it might not be the best time to order.

Anyway here is the video and some pics :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhhxLNl_ns

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN0SyU4KAaU

curlykid · 07/19/2011, 09:33 AM

caribbean reef octopus?

Jocephus · 07/21/2011, 08:39 AM

Pretty little guy!

ashtree68 · 07/22/2011, 11:47 AM

Very jealous, would love to get one!

andrewkw · 08/21/2011, 09:43 AM

Poor guy could not figure out how to get a crab out of an open jar. He made half a dozen attempts and with the lights soon coming on I gave him another crab. Which he pounced on before i could even turn the camera to him.

He is still very shy but he did grab my arm a couple of times and stay relatively in the open. I took a couple of pictures and some videos which are below :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjLZgmSMF1M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evd5N1-Xxvw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-dey3kGTQk

jeosbo · 08/23/2011, 10:06 AM

That little guy is awesome

haysanatar · 08/23/2011, 10:13 AM

cool litle bugger
how do you have to top secured?

Lmecher · 08/23/2011, 01:09 PM

I am very jealous, the LFS around here almost never carry octopuses. Nice find : )

jeosbo · 08/24/2011, 07:05 AM

What is the average lifespan for this species? I'd love to mess with cephs but their lifespan makes me a little nervous.

andrewkw · 08/24/2011, 06:02 PM

I have mesh on the top with wood weighing it down across the eurobracing.

The average lifespan of this species is 12-18 months but the last one I had didn't quite make it that long. I think it's closer to 12 but over a year has been done.

jeosbo · 08/25/2011, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrewkw

I have mesh on the top with wood weighing it down across the eurobracing.

The average lifespan of this species is 12-18 months but the last one I had didn't quite make it that long. I think it's closer to 12 but over a year has been done.

Thanks...forgive my ignorance but are there any species with significantly longer lifespans (years not months)?

andrewkw · 08/25/2011, 08:54 PM

GPO (giant pacific octopus) is the only one that will live a couple of years. You need 1000+ gallons a chiller, a ton of food to keep one and probably have to collect it yourself.

A lot of the dwarf species lifespan is only 6-8 months which is part of the reason they have a reputation for being hard to keep. They aren't really hard they just don't live long no matter what.

Captivity lifespans are generally longer then in the wild since no predators and you can hand feed them after they lose the will to hunt.

I took this video this morning, almost eating out of my hand.

http://youtu.be/eGOX1tdXKSg

jeosbo · 08/26/2011, 07:17 AM

Awesome video...and thanks for the info, looks like no octopi for me right now though.

CCarlson · 08/27/2011, 06:00 AM

Great vids!

andrewkw · 09/06/2011, 08:10 PM

The colour changes in this video are very impressive. The fact he can't get the crab out of a jar with no lid not so much..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvDaTn7HuZA

Jasanden · 09/07/2011, 04:09 PM

The color change is amazing. I have to ask , what made you change from a cuttle tank to octopus?

andrewkw · 09/07/2011, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasanden

The color change is amazing. I have to ask , what made you change from a cuttle tank to octopus?

Well for one the cuttlefish died. This is actually my second octopus, I kept cuttlefish twice but never got them to successfully lay eggs. The second batch did mate but they died before any eggs were laid.

The biggest reason is cost. I still feed my octo live crabs but can make do with 2-3 shipments throughout his life and also feed him any number of locally available grocery store foods primarily uncooked shrimp.

Baby cuttlefish require hundreds of mysids, which cost hundreds of dollars. I needed shipments every 2 weeks at least 4-5 times which cost hundreds of dollars. Then shore shimp then finally they would eat some frozen.

aerie2008 · 09/08/2011, 12:01 PM

SWEET! Please keep posting pics.

LeLutinBanni · 09/09/2011, 09:27 AM

This is crazy...keep posting

andrewkw · 09/26/2011, 09:16 PM

New photos followed by a bunch of new videos. They are uploading now.

http://youtu.be/l5pclPwOGeo

07/03/2011, 08:34 AM	#1
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	o. briareus II ! even smaller then the last one Yesterday I was finally ready to convert my old Ceph tank which initially housed dwarf cuttlefish, then an octopus to a predator / nps tank. I went to a local fish store to purchase a snowflake eel as the first inhabitant. Since the tank is already Octo proof an eel would be no problem. Little did I know what I'd come home with. They had a critter keeper with an unknown Octopus hiding in a pvc elbow. I figured at this side it had to be a dwarf, but I'll take a look anyway. When they got him out I was shocked to find an almost perfect O. Briareus! He had all 8 of his arms and was super tiny. At this point I basically had to buy it. If I left it in the store some idiot would have taken it home and stuck it in his reef or tried to feed it goldfish or something else silly, so I took him home. I'm keeping him in the critter keeper for now inside the 90. He ate ghost shrimp in the store and I fed him a bit of PE Mysis but I will soon move him to uncooked shrimp. If I can get him eating out of my hand early that will be great and I can release him into the tank. Typically they hide all the time until about 5 months of age. This guy is probably 2-3 months old and if I put him in the tank now I probably won't see him until the end of summer. I'd also have to exclusively feed him live food since I'd never see him so I'll do my best to avoid that situation. Here are the first pics, much much more to come.

07/09/2011, 08:55 AM	#4
Flame_Angel Ready For Business Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sutton, NH Posts: 596	Gorgeous! Love the blue eyes on him. __________________ Operation: Rebuild:

07/19/2011, 09:33 AM	#7
curlykid Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: America Posts: 722	caribbean reef octopus? __________________ Sent from my fingers using sensory organs

07/22/2011, 11:47 AM	#9
ashtree68 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Lincoln Park-Chicago Posts: 1,922	Very jealous, would love to get one! __________________ -Ashton

09/08/2011, 12:01 PM	#23
aerie2008 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Germany Posts: 141	SWEET! Please keep posting pics. __________________ 14 g tank since Sept2009. Koralia Nano + AquaClear 50. Solaris Marine 18 W (10.000 K). Mushrooms, Palys, Xenia, and Actinia equina. Avatar by KURT ZIMMERMANN

07/03/2011, 12:15 PM	#2
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	I got him to take some PE Mysis off the tweezers again today. Also he grabbed my hand but is still very timid. He's not too happy in the critter keeper but the stress he has in there is worth it as it's getting him comfortable with me. I added a second darker pvc that is more enclosed should he feel the need to hide in there. First videos! http://youtu.be/s1DwX8brCEE http://youtu.be/qiylwwKmiI8

07/04/2011, 11:31 AM	#3
haysanatar Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 192	nice!

07/10/2011, 06:29 PM	#5
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	Didn't take him long to escape the critter keeper. He just wasn't happy in there but in the main display he is adjusting very well. Here are some pictures I never got a chance to post from last week. Prior to the escape. Today I went to feed him a fiddler on tweezers, he grabbed the tweezers out of my hand and the crab made a run for it. I later got them back and gave him some pe mysis. He also grabbed my hand with 2 arms and held on for about 5 seconds. I'm surprised he is so bold, but still super shy. After a 10 minute staring contest he darted towards the back swimming like a squid. I think he may have found the crab but it's hard to say. Hopefully he continues to be this easy to find and feed, I did not see my first octopus for about 2 months straight, didn't matter if it was the middle of the day or the middle of the night I never saw him and the only way I knew he was even around was that crabs were disappearing. Hopefully that means this guy will be much more friendly early on.

07/17/2011, 05:42 PM	#6
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	Just 2 weeks in and he's out and about during daylight! I was shocked to go downstairs and see him on the glass. Of course camcorder battery was almost dead but I got one video then another with my iphone. He was out for a good 10 minutes then I gave him some PE Mysis, at first again more interested in the tweezers but then he started picking up the mysis one by one before darting to the back. Going to try and pick up some ghost shrimp this week and will probably end up placing an order for fiddlers from paul. Right now the heat is brutal so it might not be the best time to order. Anyway here is the video and some pics : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOhhxLNl_ns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN0SyU4KAaU

07/21/2011, 08:39 AM	#8
Jocephus Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Dover, DE Posts: 995	Pretty little guy!

08/21/2011, 09:43 AM	#10
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	Poor guy could not figure out how to get a crab out of an open jar. He made half a dozen attempts and with the lights soon coming on I gave him another crab. Which he pounced on before i could even turn the camera to him. He is still very shy but he did grab my arm a couple of times and stay relatively in the open. I took a couple of pictures and some videos which are below : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjLZgmSMF1M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evd5N1-Xxvw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-dey3kGTQk

08/23/2011, 10:06 AM	#11
jeosbo Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 67	That little guy is awesome

08/23/2011, 10:13 AM	#12
haysanatar Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 192	cool litle bugger how do you have to top secured?

08/23/2011, 01:09 PM	#13
Lmecher Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 1,337	I am very jealous, the LFS around here almost never carry octopuses. Nice find : )

08/24/2011, 07:05 AM	#14
jeosbo Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 67	What is the average lifespan for this species? I'd love to mess with cephs but their lifespan makes me a little nervous.

08/24/2011, 06:02 PM	#15
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	I have mesh on the top with wood weighing it down across the eurobracing. The average lifespan of this species is 12-18 months but the last one I had didn't quite make it that long. I think it's closer to 12 but over a year has been done.

08/25/2011, 08:54 PM	#17
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	GPO (giant pacific octopus) is the only one that will live a couple of years. You need 1000+ gallons a chiller, a ton of food to keep one and probably have to collect it yourself. A lot of the dwarf species lifespan is only 6-8 months which is part of the reason they have a reputation for being hard to keep. They aren't really hard they just don't live long no matter what. Captivity lifespans are generally longer then in the wild since no predators and you can hand feed them after they lose the will to hunt. I took this video this morning, almost eating out of my hand. http://youtu.be/eGOX1tdXKSg

08/26/2011, 07:17 AM	#18
jeosbo Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Posts: 67	Awesome video...and thanks for the info, looks like no octopi for me right now though.

08/27/2011, 06:00 AM	#19
CCarlson Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 55	Great vids!

09/06/2011, 08:10 PM	#20
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	The colour changes in this video are very impressive. The fact he can't get the crab out of a jar with no lid not so much.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvDaTn7HuZA

09/07/2011, 04:09 PM	#21
Jasanden Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: southeast , pa Posts: 417	The color change is amazing. I have to ask , what made you change from a cuttle tank to octopus?

09/09/2011, 09:27 AM	#24
LeLutinBanni Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Montréal, Québec, Canada Posts: 485	This is crazy...keep posting __________________ Lots of zoans and palys Lots of nems... Too much stock !

09/26/2011, 09:16 PM	#25
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	New photos followed by a bunch of new videos. They are uploading now. http://youtu.be/l5pclPwOGeo

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Need Skimmer for Seaclear system ii Aquarium	juanugarcia	New to the Hobby	3	11/18/2010 10:11 PM
bimac and briareus pics	OctoMonkey	Cephalopods	6	03/23/2002 10:50 AM
1st baby briareus hatched today	OctoMonkey	Cephalopods	8	03/06/2002 06:33 AM
O. briareus problem	OctoMonkey	Cephalopods	13	02/06/2002 01:11 AM
O. briareus	OctoMonkey	Cephalopods	1	12/18/2001 04:07 PM