Tiny Octopus with eggs

[TheKraken'sMom]

several months ago I bought an octopus sold as a 'brown pacific octopus' which I know is not an accurate taxonomy. She is quite tiny, her mantle is maybe an inch or so. For the past few weeks she's been more reclusive and baracadding the entrance to her barnacle home with rocks and shells, she has also started refusing food, or I notice that after she takes a hermit crab from me and I think it's a definite donner, I'll see the same hermit crab walking around the tank days later uneaten. I was able to shift her barnacle to get a better look last night and see she actually has eggs, fertilized to boot. She's tending to them meticulously and two hatched last night. They look like tiny squid with short legs and small retained yolks, jetting around the tank incessantly. Any advice at all would be much appreciated as I was surely not expecting this. I'm heart broken that The Kraken is at the end of her life cycle

 

[tonmo]

wow! First, to TONMO - I'm sorry to hear that The Kraken is near the end. Meanwhile, congratulations on the little ones

I'm sure our resident experts here will be quick to help. Good luck!

 

[TheKraken'sMom]

wow! First, to TONMO - I'm sorry to hear that The Kraken is near the end. Meanwhile, congratulations on the little ones

I'm sure our resident experts here will be quick to help. Good luck!

Thank you. Unfortunately j do believe she is a joubini, and from everything I've read this does not bode well for the survival of her babies

 

[West1]

Hi, any updates?
Where in SoCal did you buy her?