Are octopus eating lionfish?

[Mike]

Apparently this was on Villablanca night dive




Look closely it looks like the octopus was in the process of grabbing the lionfish just before the diver spears it.

 

[cvchief]

1. Awesome video.
2. I kinda felt bad for the lionfish. What a bad day.
3. The octo is like me. Kill me a lionfish and I'll eat it, too. I do prefer Xcalakoko, though.
4. Molesting a puffer? Really?

 

[mstevens]

Wow. That unnecessarily weird editing is not only distracting, but it also makes the actual image smaller than it needs to be and, at times, distorted.

 

[Mitchell Teeters]

The darn like doesn't work for me.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Mike]

Wow. That unnecessarily weird editing is not only distracting, but it also makes the actual image smaller than it needs to be and, at times, distorted.

I totally agree. I also don't get the fast disco beat music with slow motion video either.

---------- Post added February 4th, 2013 at 07:59 PM ----------

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4. Molesting a puffer? Really?

Yep, the video content is pretty eco terroristy, but worth watching to see the octopus.

I believe this is a dive with Dive With Martin and that's the dive master man handling the puffer. There is a part earlier in the video with somebody trying to grab a turtle too.

I did some dives with them many years ago and have pictures with a puffed up puffer thanks to the dive master, back then I didn't know any better and it looks like they still pull the same tricks 10 years later.

 

[cvchief]

Well, it was distracting editing, but the center video part was pretty cool.

 

[DandyDon]

Ugg, there's a new video editing trick - that I never want to use.

Poor porcupine fish. The handler needs busting.

 

[Scoober]

Really interesting octo footage, mike. Really interesting. I have done heaps of diving in habitat shared by octos and lions and I have never seen an octo prey on a lion. Never. I once saw a Goliath chomp one and I had to wonder. I had no idea an octo could pull this off. Love octos!

 

[rick00001967]

can't say i would know whether they are actively hunting them, but i can tell you that we had the luck to find an octo in the reef on a daytime dive and the guide fed an already speard and trimmed lion fish to it. seemed to enjoy it. lol and we enjoyed watching.

btw.....the guide did nothing in a harassing manor to affect the octo. he already had the fish on the spear and another diver located the octo. so he just decided to give it to the octo. he also did it with some morays on other dives. trying to get the local creatures to acquire a taste for them i suppose.

 

[mstevens]

As far as I've can tell, spearing and finning lionfish then feeding them to various other critters has not resulted in any observed hunting of lionfish by indigenous species. It has led to various fish shadowing divers waiting for a handout, though.

I'm all for spearing lionfish, but I think the only species whose feeding habits is likely affect lionfish populations is Homo sapiens.