Katy's first octopus! Species?

[DWhatley]

Katy,
Unfortunately you have just described all the signs of brooding. You can expect to see tiny octos in about a week (see Linda's thread on PoePoe's hatchlings for a recent photo of another small egg species). Unfortunately, she is a small egg species and we have not figured out how to raise the planktonic hatchlings (we do have some success with the larger egg species that have benthic young).

 

[djkaty]

Alright, sorry for the slow replies, I can only do it when I can get to a working PC, but I read your responses the same morning as my previous post, so thank you very much

I figured brooding was the likely cause, just wanted to make sure. A shame, but fortunately in 1 month I have not gotten _too_ attached to her, although I'm still sad about it. What should I do with the baby octopuses? Will they ruin the tank conditions? Do I take them out and dispose of them or allow them to perish in the tank? :/

I have seen no sign of the octopus (dead or alive) yet, but the den defences are still there. I have stopped offering food now as it seems pointless.

 

[DWhatley]

The hatchlings will be really, really tiny, tiny. You will see them swimming but just a pulsing specs and then they will disappear. The mother is the only thing that is likely to foul your tank if left to the clean-up crew. Likely as not, she will die a day or two after all the eggs hatch. Hatching can occur over several days and most people see a first small wave and then a larger one the next day. Some females will leave their den after all the eggs have hatched but you can't rely on it.

 

[cuttlegirl]

Hi Katy,

At least you know that your tank is a good environment for an octopus. You have successfully kept an octopus, even if it was for a short time.

 

[QueenB]

Grats on Ali! Hoping your PC either gets fixed or you get a new one. I would lose my mind if I didn't have mine. Gonna follow you on facebook if you don't mind. Again grats on the new addition!

 

[djkaty]

QueenB: No problem, if you have sent me a friend request and I ignored it, send me another one and put that you are from tonmo

I have got a new PC now... so my question is, how long should these eggs take? I haven't seen any activity in the tank for weeks now.

 

[DWhatley]

Odd. My unscientific rule of thumb is roughly 2-3 weeks for a small egg species and 8-10 for a large (for the ones we keep as hobbiests only, there are major excptions for the larger ones). Do you know if she is still alive? Then again, it has only been abou 3 weeks since you posted the beginning of her brooding behavior.

 

[djkaty]

I have no idea if she is alive. Is there a way to check without pulling all the rocks up?

 

[Lmecher]

It can be nerve racking to be in your situation. I presently have a brooding O. briareus. I had not seen her in about 2 weeks. I have large caves with multiple places for her to possibly build a den. I could not find her even after I tore a few rocks apart. I was worried until after lights out. She emerged partially to pull my green star polyps back to cover her den. At least I know where her den is. In front at the very bottom of the tank with opening towards the back completely out of sight. It would be best not to disturb her too much but you could move a couple shells that block her den entrance and see if she replaces them. Just an idea.

 

[sedna]

I'm guessing that in a day or two after the full moon has passed you'll have some hatchlings. I've been through this a bunch of times. It seems to take about 3 weeks after the last time you saw her out, not from when she started denning. For me, it has always happened right AFTER a full moon. The babies are fun to watch even if they do die out in a couple of days- lots of us have spent lots of money trying to keep them alive! It's fun to see if the babies react to light sources (try getting them to cluster around a flashlight with the tank lights off!), pull one out and look at it under a scope or magnifying glass. It's sad but worth the experience!