which octo?

[sulley]

here is one of the little ones

 

[sulley]

and a side view...he is in the bottom right

 

[DWhatley]

Experiment away. The thought that eating each other provided nourishment has occured to me as well. The problem is that one needs to come out top dog or everyone dies. This is getting exciting! You will likely see a slew of them running around shortly.

I was posting while you were uploading the pics - That little guy is way bigger than the mercs and looks larger than the ones Conanny hatched so maybe ... just maybe that is a good sign --- Whoo Hoo!

 

[sulley]

i now but it is kinda tugging at my heart knowing that they will be killed, but on the flip side i know alot of them if not all will die regardless......anyone in the area can have some for free just will increase the odds of survival...i also have a reef tank and a fish only tank i was thinking about putting some nets in there as well...just worried though if it escapes in the reef ill have a wipeout... surpirised how much the little guys ink right away..the second they see the baster they are inking and running for the rocks... lights are on now so they have all hunkered down even in the breeder net

 

[DWhatley]

If they escape the fish tank, they are natural food, likely as well in the reef. Rough to call but might be worth the risk as it is unlikely you would not be able to intervene before the problem is reversed. I would containerize the net in either or both cases though. I have found that cleaning magnets make great attaching devices for something you want to keep on the wall.

The ones that did best for Joe were the ones he sent home with me. They had been quarantined in a small group (8 I think, I took home 4) and had not started attacking each other like the mass in the big tank. Ultimately none of them made it though.

 

[sulley]

okay they are starting to really hatch now...not sure if hatching now or the ones from last night that are just coming out cause it is dark? there are about 15 more...D where are you with your net and baster?????

 

[DWhatley]

I'd be standing at the ready if I could teleport.

 

[sulley]

ha nice d...last night there were at least 100 running around....they are almost impossible to catch..i have one net with 8 in there and 2 others with one in it each...saw the ones in the net eating...put in live brine and cyclopeeze

 

[DWhatley]

If you are going to use brine at all you need use new hatch that still has the yolk sac (12 hours or less old). They won't eat at this stage so there is no abilty to gut load but some people feel adding selcon will coat them and add to the food value. Older brine has no nutritional value. By the time they can eat adult brine it is best to be feeding them small shore shrimp or tiny crabs. Any kind of pod is also a better choice. Keep using the Cyclop-eeze regardless of other foods.

I also recommend putting shells in the nets and having more than enough for the number of octos. My mercs took the shells very early and it made it easy to target feed Cyclop-eeze using a pipette.

 

[sulley]

okay today i noticed about 10 dead ones...do i remove them or let the others munch on them? 3 from the group net are dead....interesting too tuck took all the shells out of her den last night...is this for the little guys to nest in?

 

[DWhatley]

When you find dead ones, look for a little red mark on the mantle. This would be signs of being bitten by a sibbling (we saw this with Conanny's brood). I am not sure what you should do about the dead. You don't want the water quality to deteriorate or have an ammonia hot spot. If the others are not congregating around the dead body, I think I would remove them. I would not let them remain more than 12 hours or so in any case.

Interesting that the den has been opened up but I suspect it is just because it is hatching time rather than some forethought about housing. Do be sure there are plenty of shells for them to hide in though.

 

[sulley]

well tuck passed today...there is only one alive in the group net and the other two singles passed as well.....last night when the lights were off shined a light in there and i saw about 5 that were out quickly scamper back to the rocks

 

[CaptFish]

Oh darn.

 

[DWhatley]

Nancy had one that survived without her knowing for four months so keep feeding the tank even when you don't see any. Wiley (mercatoris hatchling) would disappear for weeks, I would post his suspected demise and then he would show up again. Ultimately, I was sure he was gone and cut back on food. He finaly showed up at the front of the tank and let me catch him so that he could be relocated to a smaller tank and fed more satisfactorily.

 

[sulley]

well the last one in the net has passed.....havent seen anymore in the tank either for two nights....the dead ones i found in there were probaly 20 so there were alot more babies than that...i have been feeding the tank cyclopeeze for any survivors