Common Atlantic Octopus eye problems  12/11/08
Hello,
I am an aquarist for a marine biology education center in Rhode Island. I have a Common Atlantic Octopus in a 55 gallon tank with a skimmer, and a whisper filter.
<Mmm... needs more filtration than this...>
A 20 percent water change is performed daily and we test the water quality constantly.
<For? Is the water pre-mixed, stored in advance? Is it natural seawater? If so, how processed?>
Everything seems normal however this Octopus has its eyes closed. I realize they have no eye lids but they can
basically scrunch their eyes shut if necessary. This has been going on for days.
<Not good>
We have nocturnal lighting on the tank as well so lighting is not irritating to it. I have tried to research this issue but I have come up with next to nothing. The Octopus is eating but I am worried we may have a problem. We have another one as well and that one is doing quite well.
<Mmm, how long have you had the one animal?>
They are fed every three days, one crab each. Which seems to work nicely. If you have any suggestions as to what may be the problem, I would love to hear them. Thank you so much!
Allison
<I want to refer you to folks who know much more: Richard Ross... Bob Fenner>

Re: Common Atlantic Octopus eye problems... Rich, it's Bob Fenner looking for input  -12/11/08
Do you have a pic of the scrunched eyes and a Latin name?
:D
Rich
<Thanks much Rich... have CC'd Allison... we'll have to wait/see. Cheers, BobF>

Cuttlefish Injured Tentacles 11/3/05
A week ago I purchased a dwarf cuttlefish (bandensis, I think) from my LFS, who had already kept it for a few months. It was surprisingly healthy and active; the first night I brought it home it ate a white cloud I offered it from my planted tank.  I'm keeping it in a 29-gallon tank with 40 lbs. of oolitic sand and 25 lbs. of LR. I'm running a Bak Pak 2, a small back filter with phosphate remover and carbon, a Fluval 304 powerhead and a RIO 400 powerhead.
<Would add a skimmer>
I keep SPS corals and have a 150W 20K HQI metal halide.
<Bright for these>
My water parameters, I figured, are excellent for a cuttlefish: high calcium and strontium, clean water, etc., except for the bright light. But this cuttlefish is remarkably healthy.
Last night I found it hovering above my pink bird's nest coral. Upon further inspection I noticed its retractable tentacles were stuck inside the coral, keeping the cuttlefish from pulling itself free. A Trapezia guard crab was holding onto the tentacles and eating the end on one. I figure the cuttlefish tried to grab the crab, but couldn't pull the crab out or pull itself free.
<Sounds likely>
It began shooting ink, and I had to manually pull the tentacles away from the crab with my hand. Now the retracting tentacles hang out limp like they're stretched out and stick to everything the cuttlefish touches with them. My question is can a cuttlefish heal from something like this?
<Oh yes>
I've read they can regenerate their tentacles. If I feed it frozen foods it won't need those tentacles to catch live prey, will it?
<Not likely>
Is my cuttlefish going to die?
<Someday...>
What can I do to help? Its behavior seems back to normal, except its a bit shook up still like it doesn't know what to do now that it's two retractable tentacles don't work. If they can heal, how long should it take?
<A month or so>
Your advice is greatly appreciated.
Adam
<As is your input. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

Re: Cuttlefish Injured Tentacles 11/3/05
Thanks, Bob. You called it. This morning, not more than 30 hours since the incident, the cuttlefish has recovered. Its tentacles are fully retracted. I had to join the forum and email the members at Tonmo.com. They were not as optimistic as you. Nevertheless, they were very kind and understanding.
<Ah, good>
<<Some months ago I tried to register at Tonmo, never received a confirmation email, and never received a reply from one of the site admins regarding.  Glad this is not the case with all who wish to join this forum.  Marina>>
I spent a lot of time with the cuttlefish last night, offering it frozen krill, which it would not accept. Its tentacles were still hanging limp. But this morning I couldn't see its tentacles and figured it bit them off or they healed. When I fed it an algae-eating shrimp from my planted tank, it took it eagerly.
<Good>
These guys are more resilient than I give them credit for. 
<"Amazing powers of regeneration... cognition, reflex...">
I know the lights are a little strong and that cuttlefish are diurnal, but the lights are on only 9 hours a day and there are several places for it to hide. It likes burying itself in the oolitic sand. I think it will adjust well and really is a great animal for a stony coral tank, because they want anything to do with each other. On the other hand, you should have seen my Nassarius snails going for the cuttlefish when it was injured. The ocean is not a good place to get sick! I had to remove them.
<Good point>
By the way, I am running a protein skimmer: the Bak Pak 2. Nothing special.
<I see>
My one question: Because cuttlefish are supposed to be so smart, will it learn to keep its arms out of the Seriatiopora? Those Trapezia crabs mean business.
<Hard to state... crabs and other crustaceans are "irresistible" to these animals>
Thanks so much, Bob. I'm having a good day.
Adam Michels
<Make it a lifetime! Bob Fenner>

Re: FW: Cuttlefish Injured Tentacles 11/3/05
Correction: "I think it will adjust well and really is a great animal for a stony coral tank, because they want NOTHING to do with each other."  My fault.
<No worries. I understood/stand what you meant/mean>
I've read many of your threads; you guys must really get upset when dealing with so many beginners . . . "I think I want to breed cuttlefish. Do I need a protein skimmer? Will a 10-gallon work?" Ha! 
Adam Michels
<Your time will come, is coming... Bob Fenner> 

Cuttlefish
I work at a local fish store in Washington and with a shipment of marine 
fish came a little cuttlefish. Not knowing what to do our salt water 
department guy put it in a reef tank and the current was too much for it. 
It turned white and tucked itself all up. After putting it into a 
specimen container for a few minutes and not seeing any sign of movement 
the "expert" concluded it was dead, and threw it into the garbage. Finding 
this out I got the cuttlefish out after a few minutes and put it back into 
a specimen container. The cuttlefish still changes colors very slightly in 
small areas of it's body and I wanted to know if this is an indication that 
it is still alive. It hasn't apparently moved at all but continues to alter 
pigments in its flesh. Any info would be great.
Thanks, Davin
>>
Well, it's a shame this little creature was shipped to the store... and it could still be dead, or close to it... and still change color... If you think it is real close to being dead... you might place it in the freezer to more humanely euthanize it.
Bob Fenner

Hi Robert! Have some news (octopus out, seahorse in)
Well it has been awhile!
Hope all is well with your self!
<Yes>
We haven't said much after our touchy debate.
<Mmm, don't recall>
Just thought I let you know that Arnold the octopus has moved on to that
big fish tank in the sky.
I'm really baffled by this, because his water quality was in check. He
didn't eat much 2 days before
his passing. I did notice some strange behavior the night before his
death. He also had a pale gray
look to his skin with black specs or dots. If I do try another Octopus
I'm going to use a bigger tank next time.
<Typical loss pattern... likely "just old age"... Cephalopods don't live long, decline very rapidly at senescence>
Right now I'm starting to transform the 12 gall into a mini reef with a
few seahorse. Found this cool site.
Check it out! http://www.seahorse.org/
<Yes... a very nice group of people, site. Have linked on ours. Bob Fenner>
JET

Quick question re: cephalopods, Reef Aquaria and Octopus?
Hi Bob,
<reef aquarist and author, Anthony Calfo in your service>
I have a quick, hopefully simple question for you regarding cephalopods. I have kept reef tanks for the past 10 years (?) or so now and had great success with several different types and themes. One of my earlier tanks was one for an octopus, O. bimaculoides, I believe. It did quite well but after a year or so it died, 
<hmmmm... although short-lived, are you sure that it really did well. Specifically, you are confident that you cared for it in the final year of it's life as evidenced by a sudden and dramatic growth spurt (and egg laying before death for females). This is common physiology for many/most octopus. For example, if a given species has a natural lifespan of say 5 years and reaches a size of 18"... said specimen will live for about 4 years at 4-6" and experience a sudden growth spurt and drive to spawn in the final year before death. I mention this because most folks keep species in aquaria that are too warm and feed a single prey or limited diet and the animal dies within a year. No worries if this was true for you... I just want you to be informed>
as expected, and I moved on to bigger things,
corals and clams and such... Well, at the moment I've got a 2 year old 70 gallon tank with SPS corals and the odd soft coral to fill in some space, and. The other night I noticed that I've lost a clam (very upsetting) and I believe the culprit is a mantis shrimp. 
<quite frankly, this is not at all likely the cause of death for the clam. Look for other possibilities as well. Was the mollusk fairly cleaned out? Doubtful. If so, a crab is more likely. If not, the most common predator are tiny pyramidellid snail infections>
Well long story short, I thought a
neat addition to the tank and a revisited to past interests as well as a
solution to the mantis shrimp problem would be to add an octopus. My
question to you is this, with their sensitivity to water chemistry, do you think this would be a viable addition to this tank. I would hate to kill it by putting in my additives for the corals... Well, let me know what you think. Thanks in advance,
<although I believe that the reef additives are unlikely to amount to enough to kill an octopus, there are some metals used as trace elements that could impact the metal sensitive cephalopod. More importantly, I doubt that you will find a temperature tolerant species of octopus to live without a chiller. Our trade is dominated by tropical species that have a threshold at 76-78F. Warmer temps contribute to premature deaths. Although short-lived, most Octopus should still live for 3-5 years. I would strongly advise that you set up a proper species specific display for the octopus if you must keep one. A small chiller isn't a bad idea either. Most live better and longer closer to 70F. Anthony>
Brian

Re: Quick question re: cephalopods
Hmm, 3-5 years of life, really? All I've read, about this species any ways,
suggests that they have a life span of about 1-1.5 years tops. 
<hmmm... I should clarify, my friend. We are talking about the Two -spot "California mud flat" octopus... cited as being seasonal and occurring from Alaska to Baja. Even in Cal waters... we are hardly talking tropical temps here. This is the first obstacle for aquarists with even hardy species such as the O. bimaculoides. Many folks want to keep octopus, but few aquarists can/do invest in a chiller to keep such animals at even California water temperature (forget the more northern habitat of this seasonal species). And so, their natural lifespan is abbreviated, and reported life spans in popular literature are artifacts of elevated and unnatural temperatures. Not a crime, just an accelerated life cycle for a cold-blooded animal>
I'll have to
go back and look over my log books for then, to see what was happening but
from what I recall it just sort of stopped eating (water quality was perfect
cause I checked that whenever the behavior changed) and then after about a
week or so (I think) it just died. I always just assumed that it was old
age, but I suppose if they live longer than I had though, it could have been
something else. As for the death of my clam that I mentioned the other day,
you can add to that the death of two more. 
<serious bummer, my friend>
These weren't expensive ones,
they'd come with the live rock, but still... The clams look fine one day
and then the next morning they are just eaten clean out. Nothing remains
but a cleaned out, white shell. Very frustrating. I'm not really sure
what's causing this, but I yanked some of my live rock (a piece that seemed
suspect but was easily extractable) and found that I do have mantis shrimp
in the tank. 
<with such dramatic slaughter... agreed shrimp or crab... although to play the odds, a crab has the edge>
This rock had a 2+ inch basher in it, but I know he's not the
only one in the tank cause after I got him I hear several other pops in the
main tank. As for the additives, the only one that I was really worried
about was "Marc Weiss's Black Powder". Stuff works really well on my
corals, and the clams seemed to do well with it too, but I have little
knowledge of what's actually in it and how it would affect an octopus. Well any ways, thanks for all your help.
<do be very careful of adding products that do not list ingredients and cannot be tested for relative (read: good, bad or ugly) efficacy and concentration. Even sugar-based additives make corals look good for a while months) before things get complicated. Best regards, Anthony>
Brian