The reef octopus is commonly found among the reefs in the Red Sea. They are around 1m long and they have the ability to camouflage. Not only can they change their color but also their pattern and texture. As it moves it changes its colors to match its environment. This means it can change 1000 times in just several hours.  This reef octopus is unlike its brothers and sisters because it hunts in the day whereas other octopuses are nocturnal. 

 Octopuses are carnivores and live off small creatures such as crabs, snails, clams and other small fish. When the octopus is hunting it produces a “passing cloud” near its prey. This helps encourage crabs and other small creatures to move out of the shadow the octopus created and into the octopus’s trap. 

The octopus has a life span of around 12 – 15 months and is usually found alone, however they sometimes hunt cooperatively with the roving coral grouper. This animal has high levels of social repulsion and does not live in groups of its own kind. The octopus lives in a den that it makes and maintains in a hidden place, such as under an overhang, or within the coral heads. Sometimes when it captures a large creature it will bring it back to its den to eat later. Smaller animals like a crab can be killed with a bite or an injection of toxic saliva and then chewed up from the octopus’s beak. Other animals are killed by drilling into their shells. 

Usually the octopus can mate at any time of year; however sometimes mating can become cannibalistic. Usually male octopuses die not long after their mating season. The female octopus remains with her eggs in the den. Once they start to hatch she dies soon after.