Octopus Reaches Out to Slap a Fish Before Rapidly Changing Colors

Not all animals in the wild in the plains of Africa get along. Surely this doesn’t apply to animals found in the depths of the ocean either. 

Check Out this Amazing Footage Below!

In the video posted below, a diver is taking footage of the world underneath the seas. We see that he is close to a reef, and several fish are swimming around. Below a rock, we see an octopus that is starting to emerge from its dwelling. 

When suddenly, one of the fish comes swimming a little too closely to this octopus for his liking. The octopus reaches out with one of its arms and seemingly slaps this fish. Not only does he do this, but he rapidly changes colors immediately after striking the fish. 

He does this so he can blend into his environment better. Ensuring that whatever fish it was won’t cause him harm before he came out. As he feels there is no immediate threat, the octopus slowly swims out of his hiding place. 

The fish is now on high alert, almost as if he is not happy with being hit by this random octopus for merely swimming around in this big open ocean. The octopus and fish have a staredown as the video below ends.

Octopus (Octopus Vulgaris) Facts

Octopus of the family Octopodidae can be found in tropical and mild-temperature waters worldwide. According to the National Wildlife Federation, octopuses can be found in every ocean. 

As we can imagine, there are more than one species of octopus. It is estimated there are some 300 octopus species worldwide. 

While size will vary depending on species, octopus can generally weigh anywhere from 1-165 pounds. The largest recorded was a giant Pacific octopus that was 30 feet in arm length and weighed 600 pounds! 

An interesting fact to note is that no matter how big an octopus can get, it can get through openings as small as one inch. 

Octopuses prefer to prey on crabs to upkeep their diet. However, as omnivores, they are also known to eat fish, clams, and snails in addition.

There seems to be no shortage of predators where the octopus is concerned. Those who will hunt, kill, and eat octopus are eels, seals, sea otters, sperm whales, and various large fish in the ocean.