Friday Fun: Octopus Juggling Fellow Aquarium Occupants

Posted on October 31, 2008  Comments (11)

photo of Otto the Octopus

Otto the octopus wreaks havoc

Otto is constantly craving for attention and always comes up with new stunts so we have realised we will have to keep more careful eye on him – and also perhaps give him a few more toys to play with.

“Once we saw him juggling the hermit crabs in his tank, another time he threw stones against the glass damaging it. And from time to time he completely re-arranges his tank to make it suit his own taste better – much to the distress of his fellow tank inhabitants.”

Staff believe that the octopus called Otto had been annoyed by the bright light shining into his aquarium and had discovered he could extinguish it by climbing onto the rim of his tank and squirting a jet of water in its direction. The short-circuit had baffled electricians as well as staff at the Sea Star Aquarium in Coburg, Germany, who decided to take shifts sleeping on the floor to find out what caused the mysterious blackouts.

Related: more fun postsThe Brine Lake Beneath the SeaBaby Sand Dollars Clone Themselves When They Sense DangerVirgin Birth for Another Shark Species

11 Responses to “Friday Fun: Octopus Juggling Fellow Aquarium Occupants”

  1. Anonymous
    November 1st, 2008 @ 3:40 pm

    Otto is a very funny creature! It’s interesting how odd and territorial some creatures can be(like the turtle at the bottom of the blog). I recently got back from a cruise to Cabo San Lucas. It was absolutely amazing! Anyway, while snorkeling we found a little hermit crab that was so territorial. we would pick up a star fish and put it in his little “cove” and he would literally pick it up and move it out. We did this over and over again and each time he would do the same thing. Needless to say this fascinated me for hours. Funny creatures!

  2. Brandon
    November 12th, 2008 @ 6:42 pm

    Animals of all kinds are very smart. Never seen anything like this before though. Very interesting.

  3. Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog » Octopuses Give Eight Thumbs up to HDTV
    December 23rd, 2008 @ 6:40 pm

    […] Octopus Juggling Fellow Aquarium Occupants – Red Octopus in Brine Lake Beneath the Sea – Randomization in Sports – Curious Cat Science Search […]

  4. Anonymous
    February 23rd, 2009 @ 8:11 am

    Well… could that be real? I’m not really convinced that an octopus can think or remember something. But maybe they can I don`t know it, what about their brain are they intelligent… tel me..

  5. Deon
    April 21st, 2009 @ 8:02 am

    And who said sea creatures can’t display personality! What a great pet to have. Is he alone in the tank? Maybe a (girl)friend will keep him occupied…

  6. Anonymous
    November 22nd, 2010 @ 11:11 pm

    Animals of all kinds are very smart. Never seen anything like this before though. Very interesting.Otto is a very funny creature! It’s interesting how odd and territorial some creatures can be(like the turtle at the bottom of the blog).

  7. Critter Cam: Sea Lion versus Octopus » Curious Cat Science Blog
    November 23rd, 2011 @ 5:47 am

    “In one of the more spectacular pieces of Crittercam video so far, we can see this female working hard to handle a challenging prey item – a large octopus…”

  8. Friday Fun: Octopus Walks on Land » Curious Cat Science and Engineering Blog
    November 25th, 2011 @ 6:27 am

    […] A few year ago (2008) I posted about another very cool octopus, who liked to juggling fellow aquarium occupants. […]

  9. Anonymous
    January 3rd, 2012 @ 11:13 pm

    I have been diving 21 times now and have still yet to see an octopus. One of their best skills is the skill of emulating the background so you can’t see them. I don’t know how the nature documentary cameramen find them!
    Awesome creatures.

  10. Anonymous
    May 7th, 2014 @ 9:44 am

    Otto is a verry funny friend! I saw many octopuses in my life, also in real life and I am really thinking about build an aquarium and take care of some.

  11. Benjamin S
    August 11th, 2014 @ 5:13 pm

    it’s well known that the eyes of octopus are the most complex of all nonvertebrates, but their cleverness is obviously even more astonishing…

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