The semi humid paste was prepared on a 2-week basis and stored at − 10 °C. Each diet's energy content was measured in a calorimetric pump (Parr@) calibrated with benzoic acid (Table 1). Octopuses were fed twice a day (9:00 and 14:00 h) with 30% living weight day− 1 for all diets (Quintana et al., 2011). Diets were separated into 200 mg portions and stored at − 10 °C until use. All the portions were placed over bivalve conchs that were offered to the octopus as a plate.