Californian Fishroom Breeding of Rare Octopus

In the spare bedroom of a Californian home lies one of the rarest species of octopus just waiting to be reared. Richard Ross, a well known biologist from the Californian Academy of Sciences, is attempting to breed a species of octopus so rare it doesn’t even have a scientific name applied to it yet. In a barebottom 100 gallon acrylic aquarium Richard houses two females and three males. You might be wondering, with the cannibalistic nature of cephalopod mating behaviors, why Richard is keeping this large a group in one aquarium. That is because this particular species has been observed to be a communal and can “cohabitate in pairs, the females can lay clutches of eggs again and again, and they sometimes share the same den, while groups of them are reported to live in colonies of 40 or more individuals” said UC Berkeley Dr. Roy Caldwell one of Richards’ colleagues on the project. 

  The temporary name given is the Larger Pacific Striped Octopus, however, the species tends to stay relatively small in comparison to other larger octopuses. These golfball sized octopuses have proved to be a bit of a mystery for Richard and his team over the past couple years as they have yet to successfully find a feeding preference for the hatchlings. Read more here!