Some pictures of baby octos + stuff and maybe a cuttle or two...

[OctoMonkey]

Okay stinky badger!
Some of the pics of the recently hatched babies. To get an idea of scale I took a few shots of the babies with a finger sized finger in shot :)

[OctoMonkey]

and a newly hatched one...............

[OctoMonkey]

With finger...

[OctoMonkey]

look at these feeding tentacles.........

[LisaP]

Hey Octomonkey,

What greeeeeeaaaattttt pics, really! :smokin:

How many hatched? What are you feeding the babies on? Were the eggs laid in your tank? That is just sooooo cool!

More pics if you've got them..... please :)

Regards

Lisa

[LisaP]

Uh oh, hold on...... I've just read your other thread. Questions already answered :D I just followed the thread you posted in the photography forum without reading the other posts :rolleyes:

I'd still like to see more piccies though :D

Regards

Lisa

[OctoMonkey]

No prob Lisa,
I just didnt want to do them all at the same time... there will be more to follow........
C

[schmunkel98]

Sweet pictures Colin! How did the cuttle snagging your finger feel? I'm still trying to get some my way. I may end up going the octopus route soon just out of frustration. Keep the pictures coming!

[amcarrig]

Very nice pictures Colin....those babies look great Congrats!

[cephalopoder]

Looking good Colin!
Your food source looks looks a isopod similar to ideotea baltica I catch here in the east coast.
I am actully hopeing to find a way to breed these isopods because they are very hardy. I had some bimac eggs comming but the shipment fell though so my rearing will have to wait. I do have a source for verified female bimaculoides. Now If I could only get a male I will be set. I still got the mimic and seems to be going strong at 6 months. Are you keeping the rearing chambers sealed for your young ones? Also have you tried putting any in fish net breeders to see if thy would crawl out? You said you were going to batch rear some. How is that going?
chris

[OctoMonkey]

Well Chris, i was expecting to get some problems and i am running into them now......
1) The female looks as if shes at the end now. she is doing that dying-octopus-thing. she got her arms curling up and she is sitting out in the open.
2) A lot of the eggs/babies have disapeared that were still in beside her. she was being very rough with them a day or two ago. I think she may have been eating them or accidently destroying them. Remember i mentioned that a festoon or two had been coming off? I think that was her.
3) I have had a few of the babies getting to 2 days old then dying. I cant think what the descrepancy is. They have the same water as their mothers tank. they were removed very gently, they have lots of food available in their individual chambers, they look perfect when they are in their containers. Then an hour or so later they are dead.

I kinda expected to have something like this happen but i thought i had all the bases covered. I cant think what may be causing a problem with just some of them????? Well, i'll be happy if i manage to keep 6 - 10 going from what i have.

Any ideas???????????

Colin

[cephalopoder]

Hmmm is there any chance temp could be spiking or a sudden waste load or oxygen loss? Is there flow in the chambers? Did you test you water? With out a pic I can't see your rearing set up to take further guesses. You could ask James, he might have some ideas on briareus young.
Sounds like moma is going fast. She probably destroyed any eggs near her. I'd get her out of the tank or isolate her if any eggs are left.
chris

[OctoMonkey]

Hi chris

I have attached a pic of the chambers thing before the young went in minus lid so chambers can be seen. The unit sits on my main tank and is shielded from the bright lights.
It is 30 inches long and water flows through the chambers and back into the big tank. water flow is steady and well aereated before going in. Each chamber is 6"x3"x6" approx as my sizes wernt perfect! lol

The female has left me with only about 3 or4 eggs left. Shes been isolated now and isnt looking too good.

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
pH 8.3
Salinity 1.025
temp 74 - 75 degF

some of them are eating like pigs, others right next door are not even trying?????? mysterious???? I cant think what would be different from one chamber to the next??????

In total the system has about 150 or so gallons (UK) running through it, it should be fairly stable.

PS The cups and stuff in the chambers was just some different ideas i was playing about with

[cephalopoder]

Colin
Are some of the ones that are dying in a different kind of plastic container than the others? Roy Caldwel has mentioned different plastics from soada bottles and such out gassing or releaseing toxins killing small mantis shrimp in them he has tried to transport no matter how much they were cleaned.
Also if the water flows from one chamber to through another maybe their getting a spike of something and some are just weaker than others? Looks like a interesting system you built.
chris

[wineo]

Wow Colin, looks like you put a lot of time and thought into this endeavor, I hope it works out and if it doesn't, keep going.
Has anyone had success at keeping baby Octo's alive until maturity after hatching? Just curious after watching the 'Giant Squid' show it seems as though it is almost impossible.
-Wineo

[OctoMonkey]

Hi wineo, first off check out a song by frank zappa called wineo man its cool

second i will keep trying, it has been possible for some people to raise certain large egg species (like mine) to adulthood. Mostly done in labs though, unfortunetly there isnt that much info (positive at least) on the web

C

[OctoMonkey]

Chris
I have lost babies in both kinds of set up tubs and chambers. I just dont think they want to feed. And there is plenty food in each tub. Others next door are gourging themselves.

The turnover of the chamber is approx every 10-15mins. I thought that would be fast enough to get rid of toxins?

Another pic of the system.........
Again before i put stuff in the chambers......

[cephalopoder]

Colin
How are the kids doing and your new bimac?
chris

[OctoMonkey]

Well Chris, I am having a crappy ceph week!

One of the cuttles has turned cannibal and muched the smallest of the cuttles. I now have a perfectly shiny cuttlebone for the wall! :( poor guy! I am aranging with Deep Sea World to rehouse a couple of them. They are getting bigger and need some more space so its the right time i suppose. I will leave myself with 4 for a while before i need to skim them down again in a month or two. That will save me some cash for feeding them too. THEY CAN EAT!

The babies are also decreasing in numbers. I have something funny going on which doesnt show up on standard test kits. I only have one discrpancy and that is a very high calcium reading?????? dont understand that one but everything else is okay. They seem to feed for a couple of days then next they are dead. In case it was starvation i made sure each baby had at least 12 or so 'pods beside it but that wasnt it. I gave each one a fine layer of sand and a shell or two but no use. i increased aeration in the chamber. made sure they only had twilight too but something is escaping me???????????

I feel that i did at least try with them so i am not too dissapointed. I think it would have been worse if i hadnt tried or if i had went at it half arsed. It would have been fun and i would have been really proud but what the hell? I tried. I have already spent more on this little project than a couple of bimacs would have cost. I personally think bimac is a nicer looking ceph to a briareus. think that i will just clock up some more experience keeping them rather than trying to rear babies. Unless i accidently get another gravid female! It certainly is a learning experience.

I only have about a dozen left. So there is maybe still some luck?

C

[cephalopoder]

Colin
Sorry to hear about your loss of a cuttle. It sounds like its been a long week for you. I guess if cephalopods were easy every one would be keeping them. Are you going to try and isolate a m/f pair to keep?
The only thing I can think of is maybe sudden waste levels spiking? How old are your test kits? Dose you PH levels change much at night? I know soft drink containers can release toxins, but I don't think you have any in your loop do you? I would try writing James and asking him. He has raied about every large egg species there is. Either way you are giving it one hell of a try and I am sure a few of the really strong ones will make it.
Is the bimac your favorite octo so far? I know its mine even over the mimic.
chris

[OctoMonkey]

hi Chris,

I have upped the feeding of the cuttles in the mean time. I think i maybe know what went wrong now........ I had been feeding them bits of squid from time to time over the last month or two. I guess that during one of their usual squabbles over food one grabbed the other and went, "hey this tastes just like squid!" so i have cut that out of their diet! Just an idea????????

Bimac is really my favourite. I have a pic or two of it now and i have been taking a lot of pics of briareus before she passes away. I'll stick them on a new string........

[LisaP]

Colin,

Sorry to hear about your octo babies (and your cuttlefish) :( How are the remaining dozen getting on?? And how about Mum now? You've got me interested in these little guys now :)

Regards

Lisa

[OctoMonkey]

haha Lisa, that's what happens!

Give me a shout when you want your first octo. I know the best places in the UK....

I have some babies left but not the ones in the rearing chambers. The survivors are buried in live rock and i see arms from time to time. I just make sure i can always see amphipods scuttling about and throw more in if i cant!

Colin