Since you octo keepers haven't been posting many photos recently, I'll share a pic of a baby GPO from the NRCC. I visited there again at the beginning of the month. (It's not totally confirmed that they're baby GPO's - will have to wait until they get a little larger. There are 4 of them.) Thanks to Jonathan for letting me this and other photos.

Nancy

Hi Nancy

How big are they? Were they captured?

Carol

Oh, forgot to tell you how big they are - mantle about the size of a large egg, I'd say.

They came from British Columbia and are about 3 months old in the photo. They've been at the NRCC for some time. They live in PVC pipes!

Nancy

What a beautiful animal! :)

Great picture Nancy! :thumbsup:

Wow, thats one fine octo they've got :) It does look a wee bit GPOish

Lets hope they manage to rear them and breed them :)

wow, its great to see that other species are being kept and studied in captivity. I wasn't aware the NRCC had gpo's at all. I'll have to visit the site more often!

There is so little information about specific species of octopus and cuttlefish! Good to see we are getting somewhere!

ps.

im no expert at all but had a look at some gpo's on the net and it does look good! right eyes, webbing, and reddy colour! I also read they get to 70 kg

are they going to have to be released? or can they support something that large? what kind of arm span do they get?

great picture!

The NRCC has tanks big enough to keep and hopefully breed these guys... a span of something like 8 to 10 feet isnt too much to bet on ;)

But its gonna eat alot of crabs when it gets to 4m armspan. I've no doubt the NRCC will be able to house it til its full grown. Btw- have GPO been captive bred?

Well, the NRCC is fortunate to be in Galveston - that area of the Gulf coast has LOTS of crabs, small and large, so it's not so difficult to provide a GPO with good dinners! They have already previously kept adult GPOs there.

I don't know whether anyone has been successful with breeding GPOs, but this is being attempted now. In fact, there seems to be a general increase in captive bred octos.

Nancy

Did a quick web search -

"In 1982, The Seattle Aquarium received an Edward H. Bean Award from the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) for being the first to successfully breed a giant Pacific octopus in captivity."

sounds like it can be done...but not easy perhaps!!!!!! :(

there is a big difference between 'breeding' and 'captive rearing'... its only a success when you rear the new babies to adulthood... also, breeding in captivity is when the mating happened in captivity, sometimes females come in gravid and can't be called 'bred'

Sorry, just one of my pet hates with animal husbandry terminology :)

There Collin you fussy bugger!!! :roll:

"At the Seattle Aquarium, GPOs have been reared on a varied diet to 97 lbs. GPOs in captivity can live, grow, and reproduce when fed a diet of thawed frozen–uncooked seafood such as herring, smelt, capelin, fishfillets, clam meat, or squid."

lol - sounds promising?!!

(The article is called "enrichment for giant pacific octopus: happy as a clam?")

hehehehe

still doesnt say that eggs can be reared and babies reared to adulthood...


:bugout: :bugout: :bugout:

ARRRGH!!!!! :x

Any of these???

"Giant Pacific octopus has been reared 1–2 times in captivity (Anderson 2001)"

"A single giant octopus was raised from egg to maturity in the Seattle Aquarium."

:?:

that'll do nicely :)

dont get angry :heee:

My life aspirations are fulfilled!!! lol

:lol: