Hello from Alaska

Joined
May 7, 2004
Messages
9
Hello from Alaska! I'm a marine biologist working as an aquarium curator and educator at the visitor center at the Macaulay Salmon Hatchery, a non-profit facility in Juneau, Alaska. The aquariums provide visitors with a representative collection of local marine invertebrates and fish that I collect nearby. As such, having an octopus or two always attracts attention, but my husbandry experience (and marine biology experience, for that matter since I was trained in fisheries biology) has been basically on-the-job. I have one Giant Pacific Octopus (GPO) that I collected tidepooling last July that is currently laying eggs and I just collected another juvenile GPO about 4 cm total length. So one's coming and one's going.

I needed help to learn how to raise up the new juvenile and discovered your great site while looking for info on feeding little ones. Thanks to you I got some hopefully good ideas. I've collected an assortment of tiny to small clams and some amphipods to give to it. I welcome any advice you might have regarding their feeding and care. I have it housed in a small display aquarium with some artificial substrate and have introduced the clams and amphipods to it a few days ago. So far it doesn't look like it has taken anything. Any suggestions to introducing a new specimen to its food?

I look forward to getting acquainted with fellow cephalopod enthusiasts
 
Hi and welcome to TONMO.com!

I have a question for you - when you say your little GPO is 4cm total length, do you mean mantle length, or length from armtip to armtip? I'm trying to get a feel for just how big the little guy is.

Thanks,

Nancy
 
Thanks for the warm welcome

Hi all,
Thanks for the warm welcome. This is the first web group I've ever joined, so am a complete novice about how you go about this stuff. For instance, I don't have a clue on how to use the little boxes above this message box. I would love to post some pics, but other than knowing how to take a basical digital photo, I'm lost on making a photo file and getting it posted for you. Any advice or places to go to learn about it?

The baby GPO when lying on its side has a mantle only length of about 1 1/2 - 2 cm and then the tentacles add on another 2 cm. I haven't estimated its tip to tip length yet.

Are there many professional aquarists or marine biologists associated with TONMO? I hardly even explored any of the forums and topics yet, but you look like a diverse and enthusiastic group. I mentioned this site to my friend AKOctopus and already he's shared some of our experiences - fun! Will keep you posted on our octopus developments and adventures.
 
Hi again,

Yes, we are a diverse group, with professional aquarists and marine biologists as well as people from all walks of life who are keeping cephs in their homes. We are very glad that you joined us because we have people from all over the world participating, but I believe Alaska is under-represented!

How wonderful to be able to go out and find your own little GPO in a tidepool!

As for posting photos, click on the Add An Attachment button below the reply box. A box will come up that enables you to browse through your photos and click on the one you want.

I should be able to get you more information on feeding baby GPOs.

Again, a warm welcome!

Nancy
 
Sad news

After such an enthusiastic welcome, I came back to work after the weekend and found the lid off my little display tank and my baby GPO white and stiff. I had actually kept the little tank (7 liter observation container from Acorn Naturalists) within the 70 gal. aquarium where I have my large GPO, which is currently laying and brooding her eggs. It appeared that she had lifted off the lid, but there was no sign of foul play. Hard to say what actually happened. I thought that I had provided the little one with plenty to eat - a variety of small clams 3 to 10 mm in length, a few similar sized crabs, a few small amphipods, and a general soup of plankton. Any other thoughts on what may have happened?

"He's dead, Jim" - Huckleberry Finn
 

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