Moma Briareus and her new babies......

[sharkbait]

Picked up my kids on the way home from work today and as soon as we got home my little girl ran down stairs to look at the tanks and then I heard her scream "daddy".I went down and she was standing in a chair with her face up against the front glass cryin.I new what had happened because the night before she came out and was stuck to the glass all evening watching us and would not budge when I reached in and gave her a nudge.Momma was layin on the bottom of the tank lifeless.It was pretty sad,my daughter cried for atleast 30 minutes as I was tryin to think of the right words to comfort her finally I explained it to her and said that she had left us a gift,all of these little babies to take care of.She looked up at me with a smile and asked me "Am I their mommy now".I smiled and gave her a big hug and whispered yes in her ear and left it at that...................

 

[chrono_war01]

Perhaps she knew her life was almost at the end so she came out and wanted to say 'goodbye'. But at least you took good care of her and her babies.
The loss of a pet, no matter how small or bone-less is still very sad.

 

[corw314]

So sorry to hear. What a beautiful way to explain her death to your daughtor.....

Carol

 

[jasmine]

I am sorry momma octopus died, but what a great thread, i didnt even know that they bred in captivity I cant wait to read the next instalment

 

[oscar]

it is a sad part of the life cycle but it sounds like you are making full use of the present she gave you and giving the babies a great start! good luck

 

[chrono_war01]

oh and I forgot to say goodluck.

 

[sharkbait]

I have not seen any babies since mother is gone.Checked water parameters just to make sure it was a natural death and not from water chemistry.Everything checked out ok.....hopefully everything is all right with them and they will reappear....

 

[Nancy]

They are over a month old now! It's amazing that you saw them for so long. My hatchlings disappeared after a week. You might try looking at night with a flashlight with a red lens, but I found they hid pretty well.

Hope some survive!

Nancy

 

[chrono_war01]

one month seems so long for a baby octo to grow up, but then, 1 week seems too short, you can't reven know if they're there are not!

 

[sharkbait]

Here are a few pics of mama the night she came out to say goodbye........ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/shRkbait/DCP_1345.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/shRkbait/DCP_1343.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v281/shRkbait/DCP_1342.jpg you can see it in her eyes......

 

[Nancy]

Thanks for these wonderful pics!

Looks like she had almost entirely lost her color.

Was she this friendly before she had the babies? And was she always nocturnal, or did she become more day active?

Looks like one of her eyes is cloudy - we had a lot of that with the bimacs, too, when they were near the end.

I'm sure Debbie (dbbga) won't mind if I post a pic of Jetta, her briareus, after the eggs hatched. Briareus are beautiful octopuses.

 

[corw314]

Nice shots...but sad too. Have seen that look in many over the years. One of the ways I have always known the end was near was what I call the curly-que look to their legs. Any sightings lately?

Carol

 

[chrono_war01]

The octo's eye's look real sad in the pics.

 

[oscar]

wow what a beautiful animal! It is a shame it has left us but thankyou for sharing the pictures they are fantastic. It is great to see that she was so confident as to come out like that to say goodbye - all the best for the babies

 

[jasmine]

I just wondered what had happened to all those lovely babies?