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HELP!! Octopus laid eggs!!

Okay everything's in place. The additional reef soup arrived yesterday as well as the Hawaiian feeders. This is definitely costing a bit more then I initially expected but It's a one-of-a-kind learning experience.

I wake up once a night to go check on the eggs. Hoping to see something amazing. She is still guarding the cluster intensely. I think the time is definitely nearing.

Octo How are things on your end?


BTW. Just wanted to mention how nice everyone on this site has been. Thank you!!
 
I have moved my octopus upstairs into a 30g with no fish their is a lot of algae growing on the rocks, and lots of hiding places. I also think that they are fertilized because I see little brown specs on some of the eggs. Do you know if yours are fertilized yet?
 
octo..;191218 said:
I have moved my octopus upstairs into a 30g with no fish their is a lot of algae growing on the rocks, and lots of hiding places. I also think that they are fertilized because I see little brown specs on some of the eggs. Do you know if yours are fertilized yet?

Octo, The eggs first appeared with black eye specs. Eventually they turned brownish. When they appeared almost dark brown the eggs started to slowly hatch within the last few days.
 
The mother is breathing heavily. She has definitely exerted all of her energy in order see the eggs to term. A octopus version of Charlolette's Web. The babies seem to be responding well to the roti-feast reef food. I cant see any of the live food. Hopefully some will make it. I'm going to go buy a magnifying glass hoping to capture a photo or 2.
 
Octo.. The large egg species definitely take longer than the small eggs but 8-10 weeks is normal so 3 weeks is not particularly long even for small eggs. The GPO (small egg) broods for over 6 months. Water temperature appears to have a major impact on hatching time and, at least for research, can be controlled somewhat by lowering or raising the temperature. If you want to experiment since the mother is gone, you might split off some of the eggs and keep them at a warmer temperature.
 
Despite my efforts I think most of the babies are dead. I tried feeding them roti- feast which they seemed to respond well to. The day after the live food was introduced they seemed to have died. Bummer..
 
I was hoping you would get at least two weeks but, as I might have mentioned :roll:, we really don't know why they ALL die so quickly. The assumption is food but I keep thinking that there is something lacking in the water. There are some hints that others feel some kind of absorption may take place in the first few days/weeks but nothing that has been tested (indeed the thoughts come after failures with trying different foods). Another thought (again untested or not published and not successful) is a potential for ingesting copper (externally it would kill them). I hope you remain challenged by the idea and will try something again next time.
 
DWhatley;191469 said:
I was hoping you would get at least two weeks but, as I might have mentioned :roll:, we really don't know why they ALL die so quickly. The assumption is food but I keep thinking that there is something lacking in the water. There are some hints that others feel some kind of absorption may take place in the first few days/weeks but nothing that has been tested (indeed the thoughts come after failures with trying different foods). Another thought (again untested or not published and not successful) is a potential for ingesting copper (externally it would kill them). I hope you remain challenged by the idea and will try something again next time.

D,

Challenge Accepted!!! I was thinking something of the same thing. I think i'm gonna turn a 20 g. into a fish less reef..I 'm going to try and breed Copepods and rotifers in it as well. I think the babies might need some of the essential trace elements like calcium, Magnesium, Iodine, etc.. I was thinking this prior to them hatching, but i was afraid of changing the water so close to the hatching stage. It was a good lesson. Hopefully Octo will have better luck. Thanks for everyones support and comments, especially yours D!!!

G.
 
I had that same problem of over a few hundred babies all dying and not sure what they needed as food the gut loading of copepods and rotifiers and phyto plus all the trace elements sounds like it could be a good idea
 
A couple of concepts I have found in the articles posted is that food size matters and continues to be an eating factor. Flood feeding vs smaller concentrations has been mentioned as well but may not apply. When compared to cuttlefish (and the comparison may be totally invalid), food may not be the primary factor for the die offs since cuttles usually don't eat the first few days (often the first week). However, cuttles that eat soonest seem to have the best chances for success. There is some indication that absorption through the mantle might be part of the key but what needs to be there (or what needs not to be there) is a mystery. The failure rates are so high (even with benthic hatchlings) that any documented experimentation is welcomed.
 

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