Going to have Babies!!!!

[stdawt12]

My Bimic has been gaurding her eggs for about three weeks now, and I can see them developing. Any suggestions on how to increase my survival rate, Feeding, etc. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have her in a 150 gallon talk right now, and I live near Houston.

 

[dutchcourage]

Cool i live near Houston as well im in the Clearlake area where are you? Maybe i can help you raise them with the help of Tonmo members Shoot me a pm if you want. I think the biggest problem will be getting them the food they need.

 

[marinebio_guy]

I would remove the eggs and put them in a holding tank before they hatch. That way it is easier to watch and care for the babies. They could eazily get lost in the main tank. Also it is hard to make sure they are eating in a large tank.

 

[stdawt12]

There mother is doing such a good job protecting them, I don't want to move them, and aggrivate her/them. I was planning on netting them once they hatch.

 

[dutchcourage]

There mother is doing such a good job protecting them, I don't want to move them, and aggrivate her/them. I was planning on netting them once they hatch.

I would not use a fish net on them when they hatch you cause some serious damage to them best bet is to move them before they hatch.

Marinebio_guy what about usin breeder nets?Since you use to live in Galveston maybe you could help him with a local source of food anyways just a thought

 

[Nancy]

Hi stdawt12 and welcome to TONMO.com!

I'm also in Texas, in the Dallas area.

It's not such an easy thing to get those eggs before they hatch. The mother will defend them. Although you're bigger and stronger, I've known people to have quite a struggle, even with 2 people working to get the eggs. And yes, your octopus may dislike you afterwards.
But, it's the best thing to do if you're serious about raising the eggs.

Marinebio_guy could answer this best: I've been told that the eggs must be separated from the mother before hatching or the hatchlings will pick up a parasite from the mother.

There's a possibility the eggs are infertile - that's happened in some cases, including my own.

Once they've hatched, many will seek cover in the live rock, if you leave them in the tank. If you have a mature tank with lots of copepods and amphipods, you could see if one would survive naturally. I had that happen with 6 briareus hatchlings I put in a mature 20 gallon tank.

Nancy

 

[marinebio_guy]

It all depends on how many you want to raise. If you just want a few to survive you can leave them in your main tank. But if you want the majority to survive you will have to put them in another tank. As Nancy said the reason I seperate the eggs is that there has been some evidence that the wild caught parent carry a parasite that may reduce hatchling survival. Also I can keep a better watch over them and know when they will hatch, and make sure they get plenty of water flow around them. Also you have to consider the amount of food you can supply. If you are able to go to Galveston I can tell yo where you can catch mysid shimp and grass shrimp but you need large nets to do so when I was there we had special nets to catch mysids made for us that cost about $350 and take about 3 months to make. For grass shrimp you can buy a saine net a walmart and you can catch a lot depending on the time of year.

 

[main_board]

If you are going to move them, you need to do so sooner rather than later. After a certain point of development, any disruption will cause them to hatch prematurely. If this happens, your survival rate will plummet. Either way, you need to commit to one course of action soon. Also, the eggs should be fertile if you can see them develop, see darker patches through the egg case, and the eggs get larger. In any event, congratulations and good luck!

Cheers!

 

[stdawt12]

I think I am going to go for the natural method. I am not ready to set-up a nursery. Is there anything I can do to help increase the number of pods in my tank before they hatch?

 

[joefish84]

REEF BUGS its a product that you can order online or in reef stores... worked for me. after a week you end up with millions of pods and mysids shrimp.

 

[stdawt12]

I ordered some reef bugs how long will the first box last me?

 

[stdawt12]

Well this morning there were a couple hundred swiming in my tank. They haven't all hatched yet. The mother is still guarding the remaining eggs. The Reef Bugs still haven't arrived hopefully today!!

 

[stdawt12]

My pods won't get here until Tuesday, will they eat phytoplankton?

 

[dutchcourage]

I would like to help him with these babys are they to small to eat live brine when they are born just to get something in there stomachs??I know they cant live off brine but maybe to hold them over for a day?

 

[Nancy]

Some will probably eat each other. They don't eat phytoplankton - that's plants. Probably won't accept anything frozen. Could you offer to give some to anyone in the area who would take a few to put in a more mature tank?

Nancy