Creating an octopus den with PVC pipe?

[qiazopus]

Oh dear I think I might be a bit confused here as to where you actually place the eggs and keep them in place, especially since they may not completely sink or float.

So I came up with this poorly drawn diagram. Supposed the shaded area in red on the inside of the basket is Surface Y, are the eggs floating up against Y (i.e. egg stalks in contact with Y like in Picture B), or are the eggs resting on Y (i.e. bottom of egg in contact with Y like Picture C), or are the eggs actually outside of the basket resting on it like in Picture A?

If it's like in Picture B, wouldn't the eggs risk sinking to the bottom of the tank? And if it's like in Picture C, wouldn't they also risk floating about?

Yes a video would be very helpful and much appreciated! Do you happen to still have photos of the bimac eggs with the basket?

The flow of the tank can actually be adjusted so I will be able to make it continuous if I want to. Hopefully that would help with removing the nitrogenous wastes as well.

 

[pkilian]

I think you may be overthinking it a bit. Here is a photo of the basket in action (my apologies for the blurry photo) the eggs rest in the bottom of the basket (these are squid eggs so they are a bit rounder than octo eggs but they have the same buoyancy. The eggs settle to the bottom of the basket with no issues, so I think it is set up the same as your diagram C. When I stage octopus eggs in a basket like this I just set them in the basket. Often they are laying on their sides or on top of other eggs, this has never been a problem for me.

I can send a video of proper aeration in a few days when I am back in the lab. Please let me know if this helps clear things up and if you have other questions!

Also, I would highly recommend continuous flow through the tanks if possible. Any updates on the dividers for the heaters and the cables in the tanks?

 

[qiazopus]

Awesome this definitely cleared things up for me! Thank you so much, can’t be more grateful for your advice.

I’ll definitely be finding a way to compartmentalize the devices to separate them from the octopuses, most likely a plastic mesh divider. I’ll also make sure the water flow is continuous

 

[tonmo]

Hi @qiazopus -- what an amazing setup -- how is this project going?

 

[qiazopus]

Hi @qiazopus -- what an amazing setup -- how is this project going?

Hello!^^ Still at the logistics stage while awaiting autumn to arrive (in Australia )