• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

Question about bimac babies

tywtly

GPO
Registered
Joined
Dec 12, 2006
Messages
156
Are bimac babies planktonic or benthic? I got to thinking a minute ago, and if my bimacs breed when I get thgem, then I at least need to know what to look for in the way of babies. Thanks in advance everybody.
 
tywtly;95985 said:
Are bimac babies planktonic or benthic? I got to thinking a minute ago, and if my bimacs breed when I get thgem, then I at least need to know what to look for in the way of babies. Thanks in advance everybody.

The only major difference between the two bimac species is that one is large-egged and benthic, the other is small-egged and planktonic. I always get them mixed up, though... :read: Octopus bimaculoides is the one with large eggs, which is most frequently bred for tank-bred animals. Octopus bimaculatus is the small-egged species. They're very hard to tell apart, so if you catch your own in California, you could get either one; it's hard to be sure unless you're getting one raised from a large egg in a tank (although experts can look closely at the eyespots and tell the difference).
 
I suspect that they aren't found in exactly the same place. I was told by a supplier some years ago that they don't find bimaculatus when looking for bimaculoides becuase they aren't found at the same depth and they like different habitats. And in fact, they always provided O. bimaculoides.

According to Mark Norman's book, Cephalopods of the World, O. bimaculatus is found "on rocky reefs to depths of 50m". Bimaculoides "typically occurs on mud and sand habitats, as well as on rocky reefs to depths of at least 20m

Of course, they're closely related and probably overlap in some areas. I wish we could get a more exact idea about where along the California coast each species is found.

Nancy
 
ok, thanks. I'm planning on getting captive born, if not for better health, then at least to discourage capture of wild animals. Thanks for your help!
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top