Unidentified Octopus with egg clutch

niki

Pygmy Octopus
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Joined
Jan 9, 2008
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7
Hi guys...

here is an octopus i have recieved from the philliphines. she layed eggs inside her cup and i have isolated the eggs from her and have them aereating. my question(s) are : what is she? and more importantly, will i be able to save the babies? thanks octo-gurus and have a g'day...Niki


unknownoctopi.jpg
 
Im not sure about the ID of the octopus, might be A. Aculeatus if it came from the Philippines but it doesnt look too much like one. How big are the eggs? They seem like large eggs, if so then you should be able to raise them.
 
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She doesn't look like she is going to make it much longer. :sad: I was thinking the eggs looked really small, but it is hard to tell from the photos. The eggs are indeed fertile, I can see the little embryos. Better stock up on plankton and some Cyclopeeze if you are going to try and raise them.
 
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Senescing octopuses lose the ability to produce body patterns. If you look closely you can see remnants of the star pattern around the eye and the dorsal mantle white spots. Combine this with shorter dorsal arms, small eggs, and small size and you have A. aculeatus...just a very old one. The eggs will be better off with the female, although there is no hope of raising them past hatching.
 
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Hi, Welcome to TONMO.com

Looks exactly like my last octopus did before it died, that was aculeatus, or at least a very closely related species.

Sorry the eggs are very hard to rear unless you have a supply of zooplankton?

Colin
 
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Oh well thanks everybody :smile: I appreciate it. Nice forum you have here. I"m learning tons.

I'm sure the octopus, Franki, will die soon. She doesn't move much, and she isn't interested in food. We shall see.

As for the eggs, at any given time I have freshly hatched artemia, adult artemia, copepods, arthropods(hufa enriched) any and all frozen foods you can imagine... including ova.

i'm at a wholesale facility in los angeles with a very dedicated, ethical owner and boss who encourages these types of projects. i have never studied cephies too much, being a coral junkie but we do recieve several (cuttles, myriad different kinds of octos, nautliis etc.)

so i guess if you guys can help me, or point me in the right direction, i will do everything within my power to rear the clutch. any articles or sites that i can use? and it would really help if we could get an accurate ID. i'll post as many pictures as I can on other sites to find out. I will also photo document the entire process. Do you guys know of anyone who has raised these octos?

thanks, niki
 
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I know dwhatley has experience raising octopus mercatoris, so she might be able to help. Just wondering, since you mentioned that your wholesaler regularly gets cuttlefish and octopuses, is there any way that we could buy from them, or if not a store that your wholesaler supplies? Thanks.
 
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niki;107795 said:
Oh well thanks everybody :smile: I appreciate it. Nice forum you have here. I"m learning tons.

I'm sure the octopus, Franki, will die soon. She doesn't move much, and she isn't interested in food. We shall see.

As for the eggs, at any given time I have freshly hatched artemia, adult artemia, copepods, arthropods(hufa enriched) any and all frozen foods you can imagine... including ova.

i'm at a wholesale facility in los angeles with a very dedicated, ethical owner and boss who encourages these types of projects. i have never studied cephies too much, being a coral junkie but we do recieve several (cuttles, myriad different kinds of octos, nautliis etc.)

so i guess if you guys can help me, or point me in the right direction, i will do everything within my power to rear the clutch. any articles or sites that i can use? and it would really help if we could get an accurate ID. i'll post as many pictures as I can on other sites to find out. I will also photo document the entire process. Do you guys know of anyone who has raised these octos?

thanks, niki

Hello there, great pics of the eggs by the way, I may be willing to purchase the eggs if it is possible for them to survive a shipping trip? (any advice from the Octo gods???) lol also what wholesaler do you work for? i own Aqua tech exotic design and be a customer, lol email me the wholesale contact if you can [email protected] i have plenty of plankton, artemia, copepods, arthropods and much much more to feed them. either way i wish you luck at rasing them if thats what you decide to do, thanks for sharing the pics.


Mark,
 
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hey mark i'll email you from work tommorow :smile:

simple, i would be more than happy to hook you up with stores in your surrounding area that we sell to. i personally will pick out the animals they order for you and also work with you on what animals you would like :smile: and, i'm not a salesperson, i'm in husbandry. i just enjoy helping animals find good homes. i get real attached to the little buggers! pm me your info, location, fav stores, and genus/species you are interested in.
 
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mucktopus;107763 said:
Senescing octopuses lose the ability to produce body patterns. If you look closely you can see remnants of the star pattern around the eye and the dorsal mantle white spots. Combine this with shorter dorsal arms, small eggs, and small size and you have A. aculeatus...just a very old one. The eggs will be better off with the female, although there is no hope of raising them past hatching.

:sad: That is the saddest looking A. Aculeatus I have ever seen. At least this was her natural time to go.

Mucktopus says that there is no hope of raising them past hatchling because they are a small-egged species. The larval octopuses are going to be planktonic, and will need appropriate sized food, zero predators, and a home where they will not be sucked up by equipment or constantly run into things. I don't doubt that the eggs will survive shipping, it would be after shipping that would make them near-impossible to keep. Large-egged species (Bimacs, mercs) are benthic when hatched, therefore making them large enough to raise in a captive environment. Although O. Mercatoris is a dwarf octopus, the large eggs make them a candidate for captive raised stock.

I would think your best chance at raising any of these young would be to get a rubbermaid tub with a few air pumps and airline tubing and try to culture phytoplankton, rotifers, and other small organisms that the little octos would be able to eat until they reach a reasonable size- that's what I would do if the opportunity arose. I would not waste money having them shipped just to have them die shortly after birth.
 
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I agree! but for a small fee may be worth the time, seeing I have all that and more available to raise such a species, besides no one said they were sale or willing to ship i just thought i would ask, I can only learn by trying. but who knows i am willing to spend a small fee to try and learn be it the hard way or the easy way, lol I think no matter what i would still jump at the chance just top try it and say i tried it, lol but i totally agree with what your saying, if i didnt have the facility I have I would NEVER attempt it.

mark,
 
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