• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

thinking of raising briareus

Simple,
You might consider a couple of nets with JUST 1. The predation was very heavy once it started with Conanny's offspring. I know Joe was going to pull out a few more for separation after he gave us the ones he had kept in a separate aquarium but I don't know if he kept even these as individuals. Joe's tank is very large but the babies found and mauled each other very early.

I am about to inherit a 65 from my son so we are going to replace Octane's tank with the larger one (another tank to take care of I don't need!) and likely use it for SueNami's offspring if they happen (unless a concurrent hummelincki detours the plan but even that will likely work out OK after SueNami is gone) so I will be anxious for recordings of successes and failures from both you and Mr. Blobby.
 
Yea after reading Joefish's experience with predation i think ill try separating maybe around 20 or so individually; if i have space i will do more; because he did describe the holes in the mantle which seem to show that they were killing each other. I will probably get the eggs on thursday; I will try to go collect food today and see what i can get..
 
I wonder if perhaps separating them in such a way that they cannot see each other will decrease stress? Sounds impossible tho. I was considering possibly using those little plastic fish brooder boxes and putting black plastic on the sides facing others. But I'm afraid the flow thru those things may not be adequate. Also, can someone tell me approx how long the female will live after spawning? Until the eggs hatch?
 
I plan on perhaps using dixie cups with netting over them; that way they wont see each other and it'll be fairly cheap as well. The important thing isn't so much the flow but the oxygenation of the water; at least thats what it seems from what i've read. Alright well i'm off to go collect amphipods; wish me luck.
 
I was thinking in terms of consistent, fresh water(uh, fresh...salt...water)with the flow part. I will probably go with breeder nets, but check out PennPlax's Betta Condo (google it). Also, what do people (anyone) think about if coral supplements are taken up by/or affect octos/eggs?
 
Well my collecting trip was pretty succesful i got amphipods of all sizes. I was only there for about 20 minutes, but i probably got around 30-50. I have them in a 1 gal tank with an air pump and a bunch of the algae that i found them in. There are some pretty small ones, like this big .. and some bigger ones up to this big .... so they should be good for getting the octops to slowly adjust to larger foods.
 
Bad news, i just got this message from Tom: "I looked really close to the eggs and they do not seem to be developing. There should be eyes in some eggs by now. In fact a couple of them are falling apart. I'm thinking they are not fertile. I will let you know when I get more."
That sucks, oh well i guess i'll just have to wait.
 
Mr. Blobby,
I would avoid using supplements in the tank at all with the female, eggs and hatchlings. Not because I know anything negative but because we don't know what effects they might/might not have and the corals can survive well without them.

Flow is another unknown. In addition to keeping clean water in the container, I tend to think it is quite important for getting the hatchlings to eat. With the mercs, I kept the powerhead blowing through the net. An air stone might be someting to consider for both gas exchange and a little movement. Thales has mentioned that he thinks it is over played but was referring to adults (hopefully he will make a correction if I am misremembering).

Conanny lived several weeks after the hatching (she was still alive when we visited at two weeks post hatch). Most octos we keep will live through the hatching but the post hatch time has varied considerably.
 
you're kidding!

Simple-

He sent the eggs (and the female) to me. I hope I have not been ripped off. There were only about 30 eggs, I figured you got the rest. Of course I have no idea what the eggs are supposed to look like. I can see a very pale blob at one end of each egg, but they do not appear to be moving.

I really hope this does not turn out like it's sounding. I have happily waited and was willing to still wait, to get a healthy animal from a reputable dealer. Tom's seemed highly regarded on this forum, so I figured it was a sure thing. I guess I could e-mail him, but nothing will tell the sure truth but time.

If you do get eggs soon, keep in touch. I am interested to hear how it goes, and I will of course keep posting on progress or lack thereof.
 
Mr. Blobby,

I am a little concerned about your statement,
I have happily waited and was willing to still wait, to get a healthy animal.
A brooding female is not healthy. Females (for most specied there is at least one exception but briareus is not one of them) brood at the end of their lives. Typically, they go into their dens, lay their eggs and tend them without leaving the den. Most will not eat during this time, in spite of many attempts to feed them. Success with getting them to eat while brooding may extend their lives for a few weeks but not months. If anyone knowingly takes a female with eggs, it should be in hopes of raising the young, not in having an octo keeping experience with the adult.
 
well he told me they didnt seem fertile, but it is also possible that he told me that since it would be better for him to sell you the eggs AND the octopus for 36 bucks instead of selling me just the eggs, and keeping a near death octopus, but he felt bad for turning me down so gave me some sort of excuse. I'm not saying he did this or not but it is possible and if so, then there should still be hope. Usually, you can see two little dots in the eggs which are meant to be the eyes of the young.
 
dwhatley;135355 said:
Mr. Blobby,

I am a little concerned about your statement, A brooding female is not healthy. Females (for most specied there is at least one exception but briareus is not one of them) brood at the end of their lives. Typically, they go into their dens, lay their eggs and tend them without leaving the den. Most will not eat during this time, in spite of many attempts to feed them. Success with getting them to eat while brooding may extend their lives for a few weeks but not months. If anyone knowingly takes a female with eggs, it should be in hopes of raising the young, not in having an octo keeping experience with the adult.
Sorry for not being clear, I was reflecting on my trying to choose the right dealer for the right reasons, and also I guess I was thinking of viable eggs as being a potential 'healthy animal'. In hindsight, it was a poor choice of words. I knew that she would be at the end of her life. I was disappointed at the thought of having a dying female and sterile/damaged eggs that wouldn't produce offspring. I just seem to be having the new-mom panic attacks :wink:
 
simple;135358 said:
well he told me they didnt seem fertile, but it is also possible that he told me that since it would be better for him to sell you the eggs AND the octopus for 36 bucks instead of selling me just the eggs, and keeping a near death octopus, but he felt bad for turning me down so gave me some sort of excuse. I'm not saying he did this or not but it is possible and if so, then there should still be hope. Usually, you can see two little dots in the eggs which are meant to be the eyes of the young.
simple-

who knows what really happened. maybe it isn't even the same batch of eggs. Tho it strikes me as a small number of eggs, isn't their clutch size supposed to be much larger- in the 500 range? I got about 30 before she did whatever she did with them.
 
Mr. Blobby,
Thanks for clarifying as I thought you had been reading quite a bit before ordering but sometimes people miss that part and I did not want YOU to have a panic attack :shock:
 

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