babies hatching, help

[Korndog]

Hi,

After finally figuring out what these strange egg shaped items were in my tank, I've noticed that they have started hatching. I turned off the power head in the tank and turned down the flow from the canister filter. The reason I knew 2 of the little guys had hatched is I put some mysis in the tank to feed my seahorses and 2 of them came out and actually grabbed on to some mysis and looked to eat it.

Here is the short version of the story;

I purchased an octopus from a wholesaler around 2 months ago. I brought her home, acclimated her, and turned her loose in the tank. This was at night so I did this and went to bed. I NEVER saw her again.... well, after having an empty tank for 3-4 weeks I decided to put some seahorses in the cube. About a week ago I noticed some strange egg like things floating around the tank. I posted some pics on RC, finally figured out what they were, and this is what I now have.

Here are some pics I was able to get.

help?

 

[OB]

Little octo's! And of the non planctonic variety by the looks of it! There should be a chance of survival, no? Will the experienced octo-breeders please stand up? You've seen them "pounce" Mysids, at least that should be a good sign

PS: When you nay "NEVER", do you mean not even as sad remains?

 

[Neogonodactylus]

I'm not sure what you want help with. This time of year Octopus mercatoris are popping up everywhere and the females often lay very soon after settling into a new tank. The eggs are not laid all at once, but over several days, so hatching will continue for at least a while. Since this is a big egg species without a planktonic stage, the juveniles are fairly easy to rear. Your biggest problem will be cannibalism. The second problem is that they are nocturnal and secretive, so it is difficult to tell if any are still alive. They will eat most small crustaceans. Mysids, amphipods and even adult brine shrimp (preferrably with a nutrient dip) seem to work well. Be sure to cut down the flow, reduce light levels , and protect all water intakes with filters to prevent them being sucked up. I find that foam fitted over the intake works very well keeping even the smallest octopuses from entering.

Roy

 

[Korndog]

I havent seen the mother since day one. Each night for weeks I would randomly scount the tank with a blue LED flashlight .. looking for a sign, ANY sign ... nothing .. I did, although noticed a small collection of empty snail shells in the tank .. probably 5-7 shells. I havent noticed any new empty shells in weeks, so I assumed she was dead and added some ponies and a starfish.

 

[Neogonodactylus]

Brooding O. mercatoris females don't turn off feeding as completely as do many other octopus. They will continue to accept food for at least a couple of weeks. However, they usually will not leave their den to forage once the first eggs are laid. If she isn't already dead, she will die within a week or so of the last eggs hatching. The fact that some of the eggs are floating around loose suggests that her den was disturbed.

Roy

 

[Mizu]

ok then
you should check your protein and ammonia levels if you ahve a decaying body in there its going to mess with your chemicals BIG time.
try to find the body and remove it (if the other critters have not already done so)
RIP Moma Octo
also try using a red led when scouting
hear tell that sea critters are less trouble by light in the red specturm.
keep pumping in the food for them and try to get one or two into a breeder net.
best of luck to ya

 

[Korndog]

I have looked EVERWHERE for a den .. Ive seen photos of what it looks like when an octo. lays eggs, and that is nowhere to be found. Whats even stranger is, one day I will see 10+ eggs rolling around the sand bed .. then the next day .. 1 .. maybe 2 eggs .. then 5-8 the next day .. then 1 ... and so on. I do have several smaller bristleworms in the tank, but I wouldnt think they would be eating the eggs.

Like I said, I have (to the best of my ability) searched everywhere for the eggs... and I cannot find anything.

 

[OB]

That is weird... There should at least be a body. Remember octopus are able to squeeze through any hole larger than their beaks; you may have to look for the not so obvious locations?

 

[Neogonodactylus]

There may not be a real den. Right now I have two O. m females brooding and both are in the corner of their tanks under some course gravel.

Roy

 

[Korndog]

the mystery remains. Before I put the seahorses in I actually rearranged the rocks (few weeks ago) and dug around one last time for the body of the female .. nothing .. the top of the tank is sealed .. no way out .. and there wasnt anything on the floor, either. She was fairly large, her head was about the size of a ping pong ball.

Who knows...

 

[aximbigfan]

can you post some pics of the tank?

congrats on the baby octos!


chris

 

[Korndog]

Sure, I'll take a few when I get home this afternoon. Its a 37g cube with an XP1 canister filter and a maxijet 600 power head. It has 30lbs +- sand and 40-45lbs of liverock.

 

[aximbigfan]

mama octo could be hiding in a power head.. i think....


chris

 

[Jean]

Do you have any large empty shells in the tank? A few of our small octis have bred in these. Or as Roy said check under the gravel.

J

 

[Korndog]

Well, I found the momma bear last night. I put some frozen baby bloodworms in the tank to see if any more had hatched... when low and behold I see a 3 inch tenticle sticking out of a rock grabbing the food as it floats by. When I put the flashing on her, she retracted back in the hole. This hole is roughly 1/4-1/2 inch in diameter... I really dont know how she got in there, much less how there is room in there for eggs.

Anywho, I got out the blue LED light and shined up in the little hole and there is in fact a big octo up in there. She was moving around quite a bit.

I am curious though, since I never really saw the momma octopus, I dont really know what species it is. When I shined the flashlight on her I saw a white tenticle with blueish/redish spots all over... does this help identify her at all?

I am assuming since she is up in that rock that there are probably a lot more than the 6 eggs I have located actually in that tank. The 2 that have hatched seem to be doing great in the little breeding net I setup. There are 4 other eggs with them that look ready to hatch at any time.