Orange County Register

The Ocean Institute in Dana Point is now displaying 20 two-spot octopus that are only five weeks old and smaller than a dime.

Aquarist Julianne Steers sent us some great photos of the babies (see gallery below), which hatched out of a most unexpected nursery: a Mountain Dew can.

Steers, who has a scientific collecting permit from the Department of Fish and Game, was scuba diving off of Newport Beach in October in search of new specimens for the institute display tanks. She found the mother octopus living in that Mountain Dew can.

Click images below to enlarge:

(All photos courtesy of the Ocean Institute)

Octopus hide in nooks and caves on the seabed to rest during the day. Being boneless, octopus are expert contortionists and can squeeze their bodies into any opening larger than their hardest body part: their beak-like mouth. If you arranged the mother’s 8 arms in a circle, she would measure 15 inches from arm tip to arm tip. But, she easily squeezed past the narrow mouth of this most unnatural of hiding spots.

Steers, who checks on her animals daily, was surprised to see egg masses crowded inside the can with the mother back in late May. Unfortunately, this also means the imminent death of the mother. Female octopus stop eating once they lay eggs, marking the end of their short, two-year lifespans. They patiently protect and keep their eggs oxygenated until the babies hatch.

The mother of these babies is still hanging on, but she is very pale and will die soon. (UPDATE: We’ve just learned that sadly, the mother has passed away.)

Steers is also taking great care to keep the baby octopus alive, which have already have a low survival rate in the wild. But just like human children, playing helps keep the babies happy.

“Octopus are very intelligent creatures,” says Steers. “Daily enrichment tools help keep them living longer.” Steers has already built an “octo condo” out of cut-up acrylic tubing, where the babies can play and tuck themselves in to hide. The babies also have a multi-colored puzzle ball where they can explore inside and out.

Two species of two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides and Octopus bimaculatus) are native to California waters.

Marine life on display at Ocean Institute all come from Orange County waters. Call (949) 496-2274 for visitor information.

Story by Ben Young Landis

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