[Octopus]: Anya, O. briareus

Yesterday evening we did a water change in Anya‘s tank. She seem to appreciate it, but stay put in her den. This morning I came out to find it she had laid eggs the wall of the aquarium! She seems to of knocked a big rock out of the way (accidentally?) and the eggs were completely exposed to view. This was quite serendipitous, as I was being interviewed for a Facebook live feed- so that added to the excitement. She excepted a large chunk of shrimp for the audience, but continued to groom her eggs.

Currently, the eggs are clear and white, they don’t look fertile yet. I’m hoping that it’s just too soon to tell- but I certainly have all my fingers crossed!
 

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Here is a link to the interview I gave this morning. Lara Joseph is an animal behaviorist in Ohio who interviewed me about what it’s like to have an octopus. She said very nice things about TONMO!
 
Yesterday evening we did a water change in Anya‘s tank. She seem to appreciate it, but stay put in her den. This morning I came out to find it she had laid eggs the wall of the aquarium! She seems to of knocked a big rock out of the way (accidentally?) and the eggs were completely exposed to view. This was quite serendipitous, as I was being interviewed for a Facebook live feed- so that added to the excitement. She excepted a large chunk of shrimp for the audience, but continued to groom her eggs.

Currently, the eggs are clear and white, they don’t look fertile yet. I’m hoping that it’s just too soon to tell- but I certainly have all my fingers crossed!
In the last photo you can see that we moved one of the rocks to give her a bit more cover. I’m convinced that she chose that spot for her den because it gives her a direct line of site to the dogs... 🤣
 
Anya is still going strong after a week with her eggs. I hope it’s not just my wishful thinking, but I could swear the eggs have inflated it since she first laid them. I don’t like it that she has laid them right on the wall of the aquarium, it makes me worried that they might be too exposed to light. However, I have to trust that she knows how to raise octopus eggs better than I do!

does anyone have thoughts about lighting on eggs? I can certainly keep the lights down or off if needed! Here is a picture of the eggs on the wall of the tank. I have a loud Coraline LG to cover the side walls because I think it’s more attractive, but at this point I am wishing it was all clear and clean…
 

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All the octopus eggs that I have successfully raised have been laid in dens that were essentially PVC elbows, so they were quite sheltered from the light. I think if you are concerned about it you might be able to cut a piece of PVC foam (you can get it pretty cheap from McMaster (here's a link to one option) and tape that to the wall of the tank in which she has laid her eggs.

I guess I would be more concerned about the light bothering the mother than it negatively effecting the eggs development.
 
All the octopus eggs that I have successfully raised have been laid in dens that were essentially PVC elbows, so they were quite sheltered from the light. I think if you are concerned about it you might be able to cut a piece of PVC foam (you can get it pretty cheap from McMaster (here's a link to one option) and tape that to the wall of the tank in which she has laid her eggs.

I guess I would be more concerned about the light bothering the mother than it negatively effecting the eggs development.
Mine have always laid in the caves in their live rock- there are a lot of large hidden caverns in the pieces I’ve chosen for that reason. Anya is the second octopus to make a brooding den in open view. I keep reminding myself that she chose the spot, so she must like it. She’s a lot more “socially motivated” than many of my previous females, though- so I shouldn’t be surprised that she’s chosen a spot with a good view of the room!
 
Same old news with Anya. Her eggs were laid 15 days ago, but I’m not seeing any signs of being fertile. The temperature is 74.5F, not too warm- and I know cooler temps can mean slower egg growth, so I’m still keeping my fingers crossed...
 

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With the eggs almost 4 weeks old, Anya still still going strong. earlier this week I was able to notice some differentiation taking place in the eggs! I don’t know if this is a good sign or not, but we are noticing a tiny bit of something going on toward the bottom end of the eggs. Nothing like discernible eye spots yet. Still keeping our fingers crossed that this is a sign of life…
 

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With the eggs almost 4 weeks old, Anya still still going strong. earlier this week I was able to notice some differentiation taking place in the eggs! I don’t know if this is a good sign or not, but we are noticing a tiny bit of something going on toward the bottom end of the eggs. Nothing like discernible eye spots yet. Still keeping our fingers crossed that this is a sign of life…
Thats wonderful our babies are growing and doing amazingly well too! So is Hank the Bimac and actually one of our LFS shops wants us to go to Reefapalooza with her. They offered to buy us lunch and give us free coral if we go.
 

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