Chessington Zoo Octopus

[Devi]

Chessington Sea Lifes octopus has eggs! If anyone is going soon pictures would be lurvely!

 

[johnstoni]

Octopus frequently produce eggs in captivity, females then almost always die. Wild caught, the females often arrive and then produce eggs. I'm assuming this is a common octopus and therefore there has been no attempted mixing with a male? Lessers can sometimes be kept with more than one in a tank.

They (the aquarium) may make much of the fry if they hatch, but I am not yet aware of any octopus hatched in captivity ever being raised to adulthood, as it is difficult to cultivate plankton small enough for the fry to be able to eat at all, let alone in sufficient numbers to support their growth. Things may have moved on in the last few years, so correct me if I'm out of date.

 

[Devi]

Octopus frequently produce eggs in captivity, females then almost always die. Wild caught, the females often arrive and then produce eggs. I'm assuming this is a common octopus and therefore there has been no attempted mixing with a male? Lessers can sometimes be kept with more than one in a tank.

They (the aquarium) may make much of the fry if they hatch, but I am not yet aware of any octopus hatched in captivity ever being raised to adulthood, as it is difficult to cultivate plankton small enough for the fry to be able to eat at all, let alone in sufficient numbers to support their growth. Things may have moved on in the last few years, so correct me if I'm out of date.

I'm afraid you are quite out of date. Quite a few private pet owners have raised octopus to maturity, I know of one case where they have raised 2 generations, survival rates, as with any fish, are low, in the wild as well as in captivity, with many hatching and a few reaching adulthood. Chessington are apparently attempting to raise them. I won't go into the details of it too much, but as a wild caught female it's possible she was mated in the wild, that's how it usually goes anyway.
Females do die after raising their eggs, it's part of their life cycle, octopus are short lived animals and only live a year or so roughly with egg laying at the end of their lives.
Not sure what octo species lesser and common refer to, but this one is O.Bimaculoides, common name is Two Spot Octopus, which has been raised before.
I'm crossing my fingers for fertility and I wish I could go see her tending her eggs.