Creature Feature: Blue Ringed Octopus

The Blue Ringed Octopus is one of the top Critters for Muck Divers … it’s a little bit like a small version of a Whaleshark: everybody really really wants to see one. And of course it is possible to find it here in the Lembeh Strait – the muck diving capital of the world.
The Blue Rined Octopus is a rather small Octopus that lives in Sandy Rubble and is very secretive … occasionally it is found out walking over the sand, but usually it is hiding in between rubble or also very often in bottles (i think they have a slight preferance for coke over sprite). Most of the times it is found in 25-15 meters depth but sometimes also very shallow. When the Blue Ringed Octopus feels threatened it flashes its distinctive pattern of blue rings to display the danger of the poison in its saliva.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4P1d1MnX98&feature=channel_video_title]
They are a rather rare critter that can be seen here occasionally over the whole year – with the peak season between october and january when at times we see them several times a day. The typical month to see them mating is usually around november.
The classic Divesites for Blue Ringed Octopus in Lembeh are Serena, Pintu Colada, Pante Parigi, Nudi Falls, Critter Hunt, Pulau Abadi and even sometimes on our housereef at NAD Lembeh.