Her Majesty our current octopus has decided to lay eggs on the glass of her tank. As we've only had her a couple of weeks it is possible that the eggs are fertile. I'll try to take pics every so often!

Here's a couple of pics of the eggs and one of the lady herself.

J

Her Majesty our current octopus has decided to lay eggs on the glass of her tank. As we've only had her a couple of weeks it is possible that the eggs are fertile. I'll try to take pics every so often!

Here's a couple of pics of the eggs and one of the lady herself.

J

:glass: congrats to mama octo! She's in your big tank?

What species is it?

She's a Pinnoctopus cordiformis and she currently is residing in a 2000L display tank, with flow through seawater.

J

strange spot to lay the eggs,

strange spot to lay the eggs,

Isn't it though. This has happened once before here back in the 50's or 60's Betty Batham the then director wrote a paper on it.


Batham EJ (1956) Care of Eggs by Octopus maorum Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand Volume 84. I have a pdf if anyone is interested.

J

Jean,
Please post a link to the PDF or PM me where I can find it! Without giving away the ending, did any of the hatchlings survive? Is she brooding them since they are in the open or do you expect her to produce more in a den?

TKS!!!

Try here

http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/search/results.html?author=name000088

if that doesn't work I have the pdf and I can email it to you! In 1956 they did hatch from the glass and the octopus didn't lay anywhere else. We have a den in the tank and this is where any mums have usually laid eggs but time will tell. As I left last night she was back up with the eggs in a very hunched postion......maybe laying more??????? I don't know but I'll keep an eye on them and post updates (with pics) when I can!

J

Jean,
Thanks for the paper, no problems accessing it (it does make you appreaciate today's cameras though). Does Her Majesty lay small eggs too? If not, will you try to raise some of them? How many eggs do you expect?

Sorry for all the questions but I have yet to see an octopus egg and probably won't this time around (if we had a successful mating earlier in the month) either as my Mercs have both chosen a barnacle to brood (the same one no less) and fully block the entrance.

Update time. We removed all other critters from the tank and Her Majesty has laid eggs on some of the rock work, some in the pipe we put in as a den and more on the glass. We are starting to see colour change in some of the eggs and perhaps thickening of the membranes.

J