is this odd??

MRICKEN1012 · 07/25/2008, 07:17 PM

I have had my Octo (common brown) for about 2 months. Is it odd for them to have tank mates? He lives with a peppermint shrimp that has been with him since I got him. About a month ago I put in a engineer gobie an orange cheek gobie and 2 snails. Just wondering if its odd that he doesnt eat any of them.

Animal Mother · 07/25/2008, 11:59 PM

Well.. unfortunately "Common" octo doesn't tell us much, so it could very well be out of the ordinary or not so out of the ordinary depending on the actual species you have.

I've found that Abdopus aculeatus is very tankmate friendly. I've kept 2 in 2 different tanks, both peaceful community reefs. The one before didn't hurt any of the fish or even the emerald crab. The one I have currently resides with 3 peppermint shrimp, a rabbitfish, and a coris wrasse for over a month now.

Now any of your other "common" octopus species I wouldn't try it with. My Octopus briareus would no doubt destroy anything I put in the tank with it, be it for food or just playing with it.

Is there any way you can confirm what the actual species of your octo is? That would give you a better idea of whether this is ordinary behavior or not.

Animal Mother · 07/26/2008, 12:04 AM

Bah! duplicate post.

MRICKEN1012 · 07/26/2008, 01:25 PM

All I know as far as the name is its a common brown

gholland · 07/26/2008, 03:47 PM

"Common brown" is not a name... That's dealer talk for "I don't know what it is and don't care enough to find out."

My crystal ball doesn't seem to be working at the moment... Can you post a pic? Does it have ocelli (eyespots)? How big is the mantle? How long are the arms? Is it diurnal or nocturnal?

Animal Mother · 07/26/2008, 04:15 PM

Does it look like any of these?
Abdopus aculeatus

Octopus hummelincki

Octopus briareus

Octopus vulgaris

gholland · 07/26/2008, 04:30 PM

Oh sure... show him everything but a mercatoris!

(If Einy only knew...)

gholland · 07/26/2008, 05:08 PM

Octopus mercatoris

Animal Mother · 07/26/2008, 05:09 PM

You have much better merc pics than I ever got I'm sure! The only ones I got were during acclimation.

There. :-P

gholland · 07/26/2008, 05:15 PM

Heh... beat you to the punch! But it's nice to see Einy in something other than blue! Something like... green? He really didn't know he was a merc did he?

Animal Mother · 07/26/2008, 05:19 PM

Yeah

I got all kinds of misinformation when I first tried to ID him. I figured that one out on Cephbase.org when it was working good. It's a shame that site is so squirrelly.

For you Greg... the more common brownish-red.

Animal Mother · 07/26/2008, 05:26 PM

Dwarfs have big eyeballs and stay tiny (go figure).

Briareus have a constant blue-green iridescence and red mottling. Very long legs and extensive webbing, like an umbrella. Generally smooth skinned but can have minimal texturing.

Aculeatus generally are sandy brown with black markings, also sometimes solid black with a white stripe down their mantle and "face". They can also invert their color scheme to white with black markings. Very long legs. Texture is usually algae-like, rarely smooth.

Hummelincki and Vulgaris both look pretty similar, large stocky mantle with shorter stouter legs. Hummelincki have the distinct blue eye-spot underneath their eyes, Vulgaris do not have the eye-spot. They are both very capable of a variety of color and texture changes.

Bimacs are less common these days and are cold water species. They also have the blue eye-spot like Hummelincki but are generally not as heavily textured, could be confused with Hummelincki pretty easily.

All of which can have a brown coloration when at rest, like a few dozen other species of octos. These are just the ones you will typically find in the trade currently.

gholland · 07/27/2008, 10:25 AM

Okay... now I feel dense. I just now realized (after reading all of Einy's old threads on TONMO) that he was the merc pictured in my June '07 issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist! The orange critter-keeper should have clued me in, eh? Doh!

Animal Mother · 07/27/2008, 12:43 PM

Yeah, Einy had his "15 minutes" of fame

07/25/2008, 07:17 PM	#1
MRICKEN1012 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: michigan Posts: 662	is this odd?? I have had my Octo (common brown) for about 2 months. Is it odd for them to have tank mates? He lives with a peppermint shrimp that has been with him since I got him. About a month ago I put in a engineer gobie an orange cheek gobie and 2 snails. Just wondering if its odd that he doesnt eat any of them.

07/25/2008, 11:59 PM	#2
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	Well.. unfortunately "Common" octo doesn't tell us much, so it could very well be out of the ordinary or not so out of the ordinary depending on the actual species you have. I've found that Abdopus aculeatus is very tankmate friendly. I've kept 2 in 2 different tanks, both peaceful community reefs. The one before didn't hurt any of the fish or even the emerald crab. The one I have currently resides with 3 peppermint shrimp, a rabbitfish, and a coris wrasse for over a month now. Now any of your other "common" octopus species I wouldn't try it with. My Octopus briareus would no doubt destroy anything I put in the tank with it, be it for food or just playing with it. Is there any way you can confirm what the actual species of your octo is? That would give you a better idea of whether this is ordinary behavior or not. __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now.

07/26/2008, 12:04 AM	#3
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	Bah! duplicate post. __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now.

07/26/2008, 04:15 PM	#6
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	Does it look like any of these? Abdopus aculeatus Octopus hummelincki Octopus briareus Octopus vulgaris __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now. Last edited by Animal Mother; 07/26/2008 at 04:27 PM.

07/26/2008, 05:09 PM	#9
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	You have much better merc pics than I ever got I'm sure! The only ones I got were during acclimation. There. :-P __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now.

07/26/2008, 01:25 PM	#4
MRICKEN1012 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: michigan Posts: 662	All I know as far as the name is its a common brown

07/26/2008, 03:47 PM	#5
gholland Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 238	"Common brown" is not a name... That's dealer talk for "I don't know what it is and don't care enough to find out." My crystal ball doesn't seem to be working at the moment... Can you post a pic? Does it have ocelli (eyespots)? How big is the mantle? How long are the arms? Is it diurnal or nocturnal?

07/26/2008, 04:30 PM	#7
gholland Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 238	Oh sure... show him everything but a mercatoris! (If Einy only knew...)

07/26/2008, 05:08 PM	#8
gholland Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 238	Octopus mercatoris

07/26/2008, 05:15 PM	#10
gholland Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 238	Heh... beat you to the punch! But it's nice to see Einy in something other than blue! Something like... green? He really didn't know he was a merc did he?

07/26/2008, 05:19 PM	#11
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	Yeah I got all kinds of misinformation when I first tried to ID him. I figured that one out on Cephbase.org when it was working good. It's a shame that site is so squirrelly. For you Greg... the more common brownish-red. __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now.

07/26/2008, 05:26 PM	#12
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	Dwarfs have big eyeballs and stay tiny (go figure). Briareus have a constant blue-green iridescence and red mottling. Very long legs and extensive webbing, like an umbrella. Generally smooth skinned but can have minimal texturing. Aculeatus generally are sandy brown with black markings, also sometimes solid black with a white stripe down their mantle and "face". They can also invert their color scheme to white with black markings. Very long legs. Texture is usually algae-like, rarely smooth. Hummelincki and Vulgaris both look pretty similar, large stocky mantle with shorter stouter legs. Hummelincki have the distinct blue eye-spot underneath their eyes, Vulgaris do not have the eye-spot. They are both very capable of a variety of color and texture changes. Bimacs are less common these days and are cold water species. They also have the blue eye-spot like Hummelincki but are generally not as heavily textured, could be confused with Hummelincki pretty easily. All of which can have a brown coloration when at rest, like a few dozen other species of octos. These are just the ones you will typically find in the trade currently. __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now.

07/27/2008, 10:25 AM	#13
gholland Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 238	Okay... now I feel dense. I just now realized (after reading all of Einy's old threads on TONMO) that he was the merc pictured in my June '07 issue of Tropical Fish Hobbyist! The orange critter-keeper should have clued me in, eh? Doh!

07/27/2008, 12:43 PM	#14
Animal Mother Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 452	Yeah, Einy had his "15 minutes" of fame __________________ "You might not believe it but under fire Animal Mother is one of the finest human beings in the world. All he needs is someone to throw hand grenades at him for the rest of his life." - Full Metal Jacket Current Tank Info: 60 gallon cube, w/ 30 gallon sump, octopus-proof lid. Dry for now.