LPSO paralarva

[Neogonodactylus]

Our LPSO females continue to pump out eggs and paralarvae hatch daily. Unfortunately, we have yet to find prey that they will take and they starve after a few days. Having a constant supply of larvae does give me a chance to practice photographing them. This shot was taken hand held of a one day old hatchling free swimming in a 35 gal aquarium. I won't tell you how many shots it took to get one in focus. The larvae are about 4 mm long.

Roy

 

[DWhatley]

Great capture (as always). That photo is a LOOOONG way from my video of the orange dot bobbing around. Does this species have an unusual number of chromatophores at hatching? I've only seen a few species of hatchlings even with photos but this looks like a LOT more than I have seen (I am sure it is more than on the O. briareus I have seen hatch)

I have empathy of the difficulty from my attempt to hand hold a camera and take a clear shot of cephalopod enthusiasts giving enthusiastic lectures not long ago .

Still hoping to see that coffee table book Muctopus is pushing!

Out of curiosity, have you tried something totally unexpected like spirulina powdered algae? Reducing/Increasing the salinity? (read over something recently a above my reading level on osmolarity and the egg casing's protection against changes but once the casing is abandoned, improper salinity - levels being species specific - can cause them not to eat/be able to eat)

 

[Neogonodactylus]

The best food I've found is Cylopsese (Never could spell it!) and it only extends the live a day or two.

Roy

 

[DWhatley]

Cyclop-eeze has been a staple for all my tanks and the primary food for the few large egg hatchlings I have been able to raise. Sadly, the supply is vanishing and the layperson will likely find it non-existent (my regular supplier found a brick for me but told me not to expect more until and if next season - June through October - is successful). The story I received third hand is that the water is rising and changing in salinity (these are raised in cold water somewhere in the "arctic north") so that hatch rates are in a major decline.

I keep wondering more about experimenting with more unexpected differences like feeding algaes, fish waste, salinity variations and perhaps sunlight (Vitamin D). The fish waste idea occured to me when I noticed the few hard corals I keep (and have had for more than 5 years) started to grow and feed when a feeder fish was added to the small tank. The fish was intended as food for an animal that did not survive and was left in the tank. It is a definite carnivore (no clue on the species but it ate its possible siblings when they were added) so the waste it produces is protein. This observation along with the regular detritus consumption of Vampyroteuthis (and I suspect other octopuses from early observations I have mentioned of arms appearing to be catching stuff in the water column and known consumption of Cyclop-eeze by adults) has me wondering if pre-processed (waste) and not live food might provide enough nourishment. I wish I had the resources to experiment!