new octopus with eggs. how do i hatch?

[Phyto]

Hey, I got an octopus today. I took it out of the bag for acclimation. I looked in the pvc tube it was shipped in. There is about 15 eggs. They are about 1 inch. They have a base that appears to be slightly colored. The eggs are scattered about. They are not laid in an orderly fashion.
The head of the adult is about 2-3 inches. The legs are about 5-6 inches. There is no apparent color. It may have a blue hue to the body. It was collected in the Carribean. I just discovered this and I am looking for info. on hatching the eggs. I am also trying to post some pictures for an ID. Any help is welcome. Thanks

 

[gholland]

Phyto,
Your best bet is to just let the female take care of them herself. Give her a dimly lit tank with nothing that would threaten the eggs. She probably won't eat at this stage, but you can try small quantities of cyclopeez or small, freshly killed shore shrimp. Just make sure to keep the water quality good.

You can find a lot of info on hatching eggs and raising octopuses in the "Raising Octopus From Eggs" forum on TONMO: http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14962

Pics yet?

 

[Phyto]

Thanks for the help. I will hit the library Friday. Would very small blue leg hermits be fine? I have some pictures for you, hold on

 

[Phyto]

 

[Phyto]

The eggs are about 0.5 inches. There is 0.5 inch eggcrate in background for size comparison. They are currently in a reef tank, inside a critter keeper.

 

[Phyto]

What do you guys suggest for feeding larvae. Would rotifers be too small? How about amphipods or copepods? Is Artemia as crappy for octopus as it is for cuttlefish? I want to get cultures going ASAP. Also, any guess on days untill hatching?

 

[gholland]

Looks like it's probably O. mercatoris. Is it Atlantic or Pacific in origin?

You might want to start your reading with the journals for Dwhatley's "Trapper" and our "Varys" and then continue with the journals for their babies and their grandbabies.
http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8349
http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12170

I don't see embryos inside the eggs in your pics, so they are still relatively young or else they aren't fertile. With Varys, we were able to identify embryos at about 2 weeks. Total time to hatch was about 40 days with a water temp of 75F.

Getting to work on the food reseves as soon as you see embryos is a good idea. Amphipods and copepods would be great food if you have enough. Babies are voracious! Rotifers are too small. Artemia are certain death. I've had good success starting out with Tigger pods (from my LFS) and mysid shrimp (from aquaculturestore.com). My current batch of merc babies is almost 2 months old and happily eating cyclopeez and frozen PE mysis.

Cheers!

 

[Phyto]

I was told by the wholesaler it was collected in the gulf. I am not certain if mercatoris is found there. If this is false information, I would say Atlantic. Alot of their stuff comes from Florida, so maybe Atlantic origin. Thanks for the encouraging news gholland. I am glad to see someone has had success with this species. The good thing about this is I have been in school for 5 years studying Marine Bio. I start grad school in August (as soon as I get back from Florida vacation : ) My speciality is marine invertebrates. I should have a good shot at this. I'll keep you guys posted

 

[gholland]

If it's from the Gulf or Atlantic regions then it's most certainly O. mercatoris. O. joubini looks similar and is from the same region, but produces small eggs. O. digueti would have been most likely if it was West-coast. Mercs seem to be common at the moment... we have several keepers and brooders right now on TONMO. Sounds like you have a good handle on things... look forward to updates!

Good luck!
Greg

 

[Phyto]

I want to document the embryology of the eggs. Does anyone see any issues with pulling out her critter keeper for daily pictures and observation. I am wondering if this would be undue stress.

 

[gholland]

Would probably depend on your method. Stress can result in premature hatching.

 

[Phyto]

Hey guys.

Eggs:
It's day five of when I think she laid. The inner yolk initially appeared translucent. I can't see anything that screams fertility, like spots or lines. They appear to be losing the clear color. I think they are a little cloudy. Having said that, I know she was in isolation (wholesaler tank) for a very short time. I am assuming she mated in the wild.

Female:
Last night was the first time I caught her out of her PVC den. She was at the other side of her critter keeper. This was after I put a piece of mini krill in the tank. There has been a small blue leg hermmit with her the whole time. Tonight I found the crab shell entangled in her arms. I also saw some poo that looked a little big (length and width) for the hermit. It is almost certain to be hers. The mini krill is still in the keeper. I assume she has eaten the crab. She was probably out hunting last night. I am going to drill a new 10 gallon and plumb her into a reef. I am working on a system for the young.

 

[Phyto]

Day eight

Eggs: They are no longer translucent. The inner sac is definately a cloudy yellowish color. There is no sign of eye spots or body outline. I assume they are developing. The egg sac is still translucent and show no sign of fungus.

 

[Reefin'247]

Wow cool score!

On a sad note , they die after laying eggs

 

[Phyto]

Guess what guys I have viable embryos!! Ther are some eggs missing though. I did have a blueleg in with her. Maybe he got some. Maybe momma got them.

 

[Goalie66]

Tagging along for this one. Good Luck!

 

[NeveSSL]

Any updates?

Brandon

 

[seventhz]

That is very exciting, I've read that it's rather difficult to raise octo's, that not many people are successful at it... I hope that it works out for the best though, that would be so cool. Hope to hear an update.