My BEST hitchhiker is an OCTOPUS!

Buddy Pine · 06/25/2006, 06:48 PM

I never expected this to happen to me in my entire life. What a shocker! After picking up a few corals from my local Reef Stores, I was watching my tank one early morning when suddenly I saw something unusual moving besides the new coral i've just bought. I had to rub my eyes exactly what it is, when it moved and saw the tentacles it just freaked me right out! What an AMAZING hitchhiker!. Luckily my camera was handy and took some photos. I was told that it's from Indo Pacific and a Pigmy Octopus species. If anyone knows exactly what it is please let me know, thanks in advance.

These photos was the first day I found him in my tank, April 19, 2006 (night shots).

Buddy Pine · 06/25/2006, 06:50 PM

This is 2 months later, June 24, 2006 (day shots)

Sk8r · 06/25/2006, 06:51 PM

What a neat critter!

DHyslop · 06/25/2006, 07:43 PM

Beautiful little guy! Thanks for sharing.

Do you feed him or let him scrounge?

Dan

Frostyeel · 06/25/2006, 08:17 PM

Does he leave the fish alone? Cool looking octo.

Buddy Pine · 06/25/2006, 08:19 PM

[QUOTE]Originally posted by DHyslop
[B]Beautiful little guy! Thanks for sharing.

Do you feed him or let him scrounge?

I tried feeding him as much as I can but manage to eat a little more than expected.

oceanscurve · 06/25/2006, 09:15 PM

That octopus is going to rip apart your reef tank (eat all the fish, ext.). That inst a pygmy its a briareus. which grows to be 2 feet from tentical to tentical. I suggest returning it to your lfs for your reefs sake or isolating in your quaritine tank until you can get another tank for it.
It is a very cool hitch hicher though,

-Tom

DHyslop · 06/25/2006, 11:02 PM

He's pretty big now, so if you haven't seen him nip at the fish I wouldn't be too worried. Contrary to the stereotypes, its just as common for fish to harm octopus as vice versa; although if yours was being nipped at by the fish, I don't think he would show off like that.

If you were to take it to a LFS they would almost certainly kill it. You have a very happy accidental octopus and you can consider yourself lucky

If you are worried about the fish and want to keep trying to supplement its diet, you can get fiddler crabs for reasonable prices at www.aquaculturestore.com. I don't know if they ship to Canadia, though!

It does look a lot like Octopus briareus, particularly the "web" at the base of its arms, but I don't think that's exclusively diagnostic. If your LFS is correct that it came from the Pacific then it is certainly not O. briareus. The question is whether or not the store really knows where their stuff comes from. Either way, its no dwarf!

Thanks again for sharing. Beautiful little guy.

Dan

thedigitalimager · 06/25/2006, 11:08 PM

Whatever the species, it's fascinating and gorgeous. If it doesn't work out in your tank, I'll bet that a public aquarium would take him. Thanks for sharing such a wonder!

Yasha · 06/26/2006, 10:49 AM

He is one attractive looking octopus. If you are wanting to keep him, post the pics on tonmo. They would be able to tell you what your your hitch hiker is. Keep posting pics of the cute one.

shells · 06/26/2006, 11:03 AM

what an awsome little guy.

mikeatjac · 06/26/2006, 11:30 AM

I would make sure that you have something in place to keep him from climbing out.

Thanks for the pictures, lots of fun viewing. LR is cool, you never know.....

Buddy Pine · 07/01/2006, 06:22 PM

Here he is feeding on Tiger Shrimp, man this guy is strong!!

thedigitalimager · 07/01/2006, 09:02 PM

That's so cool! How often do you feed him?

batesdc · 07/01/2006, 10:07 PM

That is awsome what a great hiker!!!

Buddy Pine · 07/01/2006, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thedigitalimager
That's so cool! How often do you feed him?

once or twice a day, shrimps and Iobsters.

thedigitalimager · 07/01/2006, 11:57 PM

You mentioned that he came in with some corals you purchased. I'm amazed that he went unnoticed. Was he really small? I know they are able to camouflage themselves.

nancyocto · 07/02/2006, 01:24 AM

You have a very beautiful octopus and you're doing well in keeping him. If you ever decide you don't want him (and that would be a shame), there are octopus keepers at this site who would be glad to have such a fine octopus. They'd like to see your excellent photos, too.

Nancy

lessans · 07/04/2006, 03:00 AM

I think it would be cool if you put him in his own tank that way you won't risk the lives of your corals. Plus, if you wanted to you could put in much bigger prey to watch him eat.

Boomer · 07/11/2006, 12:03 AM

Now that is cool

L@@ks liike he likes it there.

Konadog · 07/11/2006, 01:22 AM

Now that's just cool!

melev · 07/11/2006, 03:12 AM

Yes, that is indeed an awesome hitchhiker. At first I was smiling to myself as there wasn't a fish in sight in most of your pictures, until I saw those tangs.

Looks like they are cohabitating well together, and if you feed that octopus as much as you are currently, I have to imagine it will grow more rapidly.

Hopefully there are those here with enough experience to give you the adequate feeding schedule so you don't end up with a giant octopus-in-a-box.

Great pictures!

nancyocto · 07/11/2006, 10:44 AM

You're feeding your octopus the right things and the schedule is good. The size it reaches will depend on the species.

Nancy

Kinetic · 07/11/2006, 03:05 PM

that's so amazing! It looks brown sometimes, then other times white! so cool =)

Fini · 07/11/2006, 05:33 PM

Did you end up making any major changes to the tank since your hitchhiker came (ie: tank top, filtration, rock, corals, etc)?

He's really gorgeous! You've got a rare treat for sure.

06/25/2006, 06:48 PM	#1
Buddy Pine Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ON, Canada Posts: 62	My BEST hitchhiker is an OCTOPUS! I never expected this to happen to me in my entire life. What a shocker! After picking up a few corals from my local Reef Stores, I was watching my tank one early morning when suddenly I saw something unusual moving besides the new coral i've just bought. I had to rub my eyes exactly what it is, when it moved and saw the tentacles it just freaked me right out! What an AMAZING hitchhiker!. Luckily my camera was handy and took some photos. I was told that it's from Indo Pacific and a Pigmy Octopus species. If anyone knows exactly what it is please let me know, thanks in advance. These photos was the first day I found him in my tank, April 19, 2006 (night shots).

06/25/2006, 06:50 PM	#2
Buddy Pine Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ON, Canada Posts: 62	2 months later... This is 2 months later, June 24, 2006 (day shots)

06/25/2006, 06:51 PM	#3
Sk8r Team RC Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 16,156	What a neat critter! __________________ Sk8r "Make haste slowly." ---Augustus. "If anything CAN go wrong, it will, and at the worst possible moment."---St. Murphy. Current Tank Info: 54g, kalk, 250mh 10000; AquaCEV120; Iwaki 100, basement sump/fuge; hermits, snails, one-spot foxface rabbit, YWG; 2 highfin gobies; mandarin [fuge]; scissortail; 1 blue chromis, 1 starry blenny, tailspot blenny, sps, lps;

06/26/2006, 11:30 AM	#12
mikeatjac Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 1,503	I would make sure that you have something in place to keep him from climbing out. Thanks for the pictures, lots of fun viewing. LR is cool, you never know..... __________________ Mike, NFMAS.org member. Current Tank Info: Nothing but SPS, 120g Ref, SSB, i Tech 200, chilled. Cal Reactor and dripping.

07/04/2006, 03:00 AM	#19
lessans Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Marietta, GA Posts: 899	I think it would be cool if you put him in his own tank that way you won't risk the lives of your corals. Plus, if you wanted to you could put in much bigger prey to watch him eat. __________________ "Oh, Mother, I come baring a gift. I'll give you a hint. It's in my diaper and it's not a toaster" -Stewie Griffin Current Tank Info: former tanks: 65 gal reef tank, 10 gal freshwater tank

06/25/2006, 07:43 PM	#4
DHyslop Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: RI Posts: 432	Beautiful little guy! Thanks for sharing. Do you feed him or let him scrounge? Dan

06/25/2006, 08:17 PM	#5
Frostyeel Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davis, CA Posts: 237	Does he leave the fish alone? Cool looking octo.

06/25/2006, 08:19 PM	#6
Buddy Pine Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ON, Canada Posts: 62	[QUOTE]Originally posted by DHyslop [B]Beautiful little guy! Thanks for sharing. Do you feed him or let him scrounge? I tried feeding him as much as I can but manage to eat a little more than expected.

06/25/2006, 09:15 PM	#7
oceanscurve Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 35	That octopus is going to rip apart your reef tank (eat all the fish, ext.). That inst a pygmy its a briareus. which grows to be 2 feet from tentical to tentical. I suggest returning it to your lfs for your reefs sake or isolating in your quaritine tank until you can get another tank for it. It is a very cool hitch hicher though, -Tom

06/25/2006, 11:02 PM	#8
DHyslop Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: RI Posts: 432	He's pretty big now, so if you haven't seen him nip at the fish I wouldn't be too worried. Contrary to the stereotypes, its just as common for fish to harm octopus as vice versa; although if yours was being nipped at by the fish, I don't think he would show off like that. If you were to take it to a LFS they would almost certainly kill it. You have a very happy accidental octopus and you can consider yourself lucky If you are worried about the fish and want to keep trying to supplement its diet, you can get fiddler crabs for reasonable prices at www.aquaculturestore.com. I don't know if they ship to Canadia, though! It does look a lot like Octopus briareus, particularly the "web" at the base of its arms, but I don't think that's exclusively diagnostic. If your LFS is correct that it came from the Pacific then it is certainly not O. briareus. The question is whether or not the store really knows where their stuff comes from. Either way, its no dwarf! Thanks again for sharing. Beautiful little guy. Dan

06/25/2006, 11:08 PM	#9
thedigitalimager Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Rockport, Texas Posts: 253	Whatever the species, it's fascinating and gorgeous. If it doesn't work out in your tank, I'll bet that a public aquarium would take him. Thanks for sharing such a wonder!

06/26/2006, 10:49 AM	#10
Yasha Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 19	He is one attractive looking octopus. If you are wanting to keep him, post the pics on tonmo. They would be able to tell you what your your hitch hiker is. Keep posting pics of the cute one.

06/26/2006, 11:03 AM	#11
shells Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Biloxi, MS Posts: 49	what an awsome little guy.

07/01/2006, 06:22 PM	#13
Buddy Pine Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: ON, Canada Posts: 62	Here he is feeding on Tiger Shrimp, man this guy is strong!!

07/01/2006, 09:02 PM	#14
thedigitalimager Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Rockport, Texas Posts: 253	That's so cool! How often do you feed him?

07/01/2006, 10:07 PM	#15
batesdc Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Mesa, AZ Posts: 32	That is awsome what a great hiker!!!

07/01/2006, 11:57 PM	#17
thedigitalimager Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Rockport, Texas Posts: 253	You mentioned that he came in with some corals you purchased. I'm amazed that he went unnoticed. Was he really small? I know they are able to camouflage themselves.

07/02/2006, 01:24 AM	#18
nancyocto Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 31	You have a very beautiful octopus and you're doing well in keeping him. If you ever decide you don't want him (and that would be a shame), there are octopus keepers at this site who would be glad to have such a fine octopus. They'd like to see your excellent photos, too. Nancy

07/11/2006, 12:03 AM	#20
Boomer Bomb Technician (EOD) Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Duluth, Minnesota Posts: 10,444	Now that is cool L@@ks liike he likes it there. __________________ If you See Me Running You Better Catch-Up Seawater Chemistry, Geology, ID Marine Life, Collecting Science Books, Explosives Technology, Audiophile An explosion can be defined as a loud noise, accompanied by the sudden going away of things, from a place where they use to be.

07/11/2006, 01:22 AM	#21
Konadog TRC Leader Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Long Beach, So Cal Posts: 13,345	Now that's just cool! __________________ Save the Reefs................................................................Save the world! -Ken SCMAS Member Current Tank Info: Lee Mar 225 gal, three sided starphire, 60 gal sump. RK Elite controls, ATB Econo 1050 skimmer (3) 250w MH, reefceramics back plates. 1" Wavy Sea, (2) Tunze 6100's, 7095 Multicontroller & Tunze Osmolator with GEO Kalk Reactor

07/11/2006, 03:12 AM	#22
melev Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,444	Yes, that is indeed an awesome hitchhiker. At first I was smiling to myself as there wasn't a fish in sight in most of your pictures, until I saw those tangs. Looks like they are cohabitating well together, and if you feed that octopus as much as you are currently, I have to imagine it will grow more rapidly. Hopefully there are those here with enough experience to give you the adequate feeding schedule so you don't end up with a giant octopus-in-a-box. Great pictures! __________________ Marc Today's avatar is of a section of my reef. (70/365) Current Tank Info: The 14 day 280g Starfire reef - 150g custom sump & Refugium, Euro-Reef 12-2 Protein Skimmer, Calcium Reactor, 900w MH & 320w VHO, Lumenbrights, and more...

07/11/2006, 10:44 AM	#23
nancyocto Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 31	You're feeding your octopus the right things and the schedule is good. The size it reaches will depend on the species. Nancy

07/11/2006, 03:05 PM	#24
Kinetic Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 7,138	that's so amazing! It looks brown sometimes, then other times white! so cool =)

07/11/2006, 05:33 PM	#25
Fini Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 8	Did you end up making any major changes to the tank since your hitchhiker came (ie: tank top, filtration, rock, corals, etc)? He's really gorgeous! You've got a rare treat for sure.