Octo Laid eggs lastnight..now what?

[05Xrunner]

Well I was lookin in the tank and saw something in the upper corner
looked like mucus. I looked and they are eggs. Yet she doesnt stay
with them and roams around the tank normally. I always thought they
stayed with the eggs and protected them. I dont know what to think
now if she will die since she layed them. I always thought they died
from starvation and being soo tired of not eating in so long and
protecting. it is a Bipedal octo...What is the best way to try and
raise them if they hatch.

 

[Jean]

she may still have more to lay. Once she's finished she should settle in with them and look after them. You'll know if they're fertile soon, they'll develop eye spots. She'll look after them regardless. Try to feed her (some will eat after egg laying) if you feed live food, just leave 1 or 2 crabs/shrimps in the tank, if dead leave it in 1-2 hours then remove uneaten stuff.

As for rearing the babies (zyan should have lots of info on this ) they'll need live food amphipods or such to start with. Be aware that they are cannibals and you'll probably lose heaps. I'd try to thin the brood out by placing some in another tank or (preferably!) if you can release some.

Cheers

J

 

[05Xrunner]

well I have 4 saltwater shrimp in tank so she can feed whenever...some of the ones on the glass already look like they have an eye spot

 

[Jean]

Great..........I'd just keep an eye on things then!

J

 

[05Xrunner]

yea i am going to...I hope maybe she doesnt die soon after if I can get her to eat. Sucks cause I have only had her for 2weeks so far and was 50bucks. Although it would be pretty cool if I can figure out how to raise these.


OHHH and how long does it usually take for the eggs to hatch.

 

[mucktopus]

It almost looks like there had once been more eggs than are there now. She may have eaten some of them, which happens now in then. She'll probably take food for a few more days at least or maybe a week-this isn't entirely uncommon. My guess is that she's active because, although the habitat in the tank might have allowed for it, for some reason she didn't lay the eggs in an ideal setting (a nice hole with lots of pebbles to pull around her and the eggs). Or maybe the batch is infertile and she's abandoned it. Regardless though, she's not long for this world. If the eggs are fertile they'll hatch in approx 3 weeks depending on water temp. She might hang in there the whole time, or check out a little early. There is no hope of hatchling survival beyond 2 - 4 days.

 

[Jean]

It's a shame you've had here such a short while. Even with feeding she won't live long after the eggs hatch we can only keep fingers crossed that she does!

The time it takes the eggs to hatch varies with species and water temp can be anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months!!!!! Although I'd hazard a guess yours will be in a shorter time frame than 3 months if they're eyeing up already!

Cheers

j

 

[05Xrunner]

well she has a cave built up from some rocks she is always down in...Maybe she will lay the rest down there

 

[tywtly]

I don't get it. What are you supposed to do when she lays them? Should you let them hatch in the tank, or get them out somehow before they hatch, or what? This really confuses me, cause it seems like you would need to get them out before they hatch.

 

[Jean]

Leave them. the mother will look after them (as a general rule, fertile or not) and if they are attached to an imovable object such as the tank sides you'll damage them by shifting them. Also Mother will look after them far better than we mere humans

J

 

[Neogonodactylus]

The bottom line is that if an A. aculeatus lays eggs, you are on a finite time line. This is a tropical species and the eggs will hatch in under a month - probably 3 weeks. If you drop the temperature below 23 C, you are risking killing the female and her eggs. Once the eggs hatch, they will die in 2-4 days. No one has succeeded keeping them alive. The female will die around the time of hatching. Their is nothing you can do short of removing her optic gland (and that has never been tried in this species) that will reverse the process. Octopuses are born, grow, reproduce and die - on their own schedule and there really isn't much you can do to change that. If you aren't happy having an animal for a few months of its natural life cycle, then you should probably consider selecting a different organism to keep in an aquarium. There are no ways around the fact that octopus live fast and die young.

Roy

 

[tywtly]

What about after they hatch? How do you get them out?

 

[Jean]

I assume you mean out of the tank? You can use a very fine soft meshed net, but I prefer the use of a turkey baster (essentially a ginormous eye dropper!) It takes longer cos you can only get one or two at a time but I feel they are less damaged.

J

 

[tywtly]

Ok, I see. Thanks for clearing that up, I was actually going crazy about it.