Hello Everyone!

[Bigredbuddy]

This website has helped me so much in my octopus journey, so I made an account! I currently have a Caribbean dwarf octopus named Buddy who’s either O. mercatoris or O. Joubini I hear they get mixed up a lot. Also have a question for the community while I’m hear! Buddy used to be somewhat active and explore the tank at night and eat live crabs. She winded up laying eggs and about 30-40 baby octopus were once in the tank about 2 months ago but unfortunately I believe all of them have passed sadly. But now ever since Buddy laid eggs she hasn’t been hunting for any live food in the tank and only eats small nibbles of thawed shrimp and doesn’t come out of her den at all besides a few tentacles and I was wondering if any one had any tips for how to get her back exploring the tank so I can try to play with her or just have a positive interaction with her. Any help is much appreciated thank you!

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

Well, first off, welcome to the forum! Second, I’m afraid I have some bad news: Octopuses are semelparous creatures, meaning after they mate (males) or lay eggs (females), they die. More specifically, they stop eating, don’t move much, and slowly waste away. You can look up the other symptoms of octopus senescence online, but, truthfully speaking, if the eggs hatched about two months ago, I’m pretty surprised she’s still alive.

Sorry!

 

[tonmo]

This website has helped me so much in my octopus journey, so I made an account

Thank you for joining TONMO!

Any help is much appreciated thank you!

@ISpeakForTheSeas speaks for the truth as well! Unfortunately, you're not likely to get her back, and it is indeed impressive she's stayed with you for 2 months after laying eggs. There are are perhaps a couple species out of hundreds (I think LPSO is one?) that can in fact mate and keep going, but that is VERY rare and poorly understood.

 

[Bigredbuddy]

Yeah that would make sense, I was hearing that after the eggs she would most likely die either during or a few weeks after but she’s still kicking so I’m happy for that at least! She’s gotten very big and it’s just a shame I can’t see her full size.