Feeding and growth in captivity of the octopus Enteroctopus megalocyathus Gould, 1852

Abstract

The effect of diet on the growth and survival in captivity of the octopus Enteroctopus megalocyathus Gould, 1852 was researched to establish culture potential. This is one of two commercially important octopus species that inhabit the Chilean coast. A positive energy budget, averaging 678 J day−1 g of dry weight (dw), was recorded in specimens maintained in tanks and fed ad libitum on a diet of three species of crustacean decapods. On the other hand, the energy budget of octopus specimens fed on the mussel Mytilus chilensis (Hupé) was negative, averaging −250.90 J day−1 g dw−1. Ingestion rates varied between diets (t=46.45; d.f.=18; P<0.001), but no variations were recorded in energy loss resulting from metabolism (t=0.67; d.f.=16; P>0.05) or ammonia excretion (t=1.39; d.f.=16; P>0.05). An average instantaneous growth rate (IGR) of between 1.96% and 0.49% was recorded in specimens fed on crustaceans, depending on the size of the octopus and the period of time. The IGR in specimens fed on mussels was −0.32±0.05. The IGR of specimens fed on crustaceans and maintained in suspended systems was 1.36±0.9%. The mean mortality with crustacean and mussel diets was 11.07±5.5% and 74±1% respectively. The results indicate that E. megalocyathus can survive and grow in captivity, both in tanks and in suspended systems, when fed on a diet of crustaceans.

Effect of broodstock diet on the fecundity and biochemical composition of eggs of the Patagonian red octopus (Enteroctopus megalocyathus Gould 1852)

“…Los reproductores de esta especie presentan una buena adaptación al cautiverio; no obstante, la alimentación es uno de los aspectos clave que afectan a la supervivencia y crecimiento (Cortez et al 1999, Iglesias et al 2000, Pérez et al 2006, González 2008. Los antecedentes sobre la calidad de huevos asociada a la de la dieta de acondicionamiento de los reproductores de cefalópodos son escasos (Semmens et al 2004).…”

“…Octopus broodstock have adapted well to captivity, with nutrition playing a key role in their survival and growth (Cortez et al 1999, Iglesias et al 2000, Pérez et al 2006, González 2008). Little information is available about the quality of eggs associated with that of the conditioning diet of cephalopod broodstock (Semmens et al 2004).…”

“…The Patagonian or southern red octopus Enteroctopus megalocyathus (Gould 1852) and the octopus Octopus mimus are the two most important commercial octopus species in Chile, with annual landings fluctuating between 2000 and 5000 t (Pérez et al 2006). The Patagonian red octopus is distributed only along the southernmost coasts of South America.…”

“…El pulpo del sur o pulpo rojo patagónico Enteroctopus megalocyathus (Gould 1852) y el pulpo Octopus mimus son las dos especies de pulpo de mayor importancia comercial en Chile, con capturas entre 2000 y 5000 t año -1 (Pérez et al 2006). El pulpo rojo patagónico se distribuye sólo en las costas australes de Sudamérica.…”

Effects of temperature on energetics and the growth pattern of benthic octopuses

“…For both octopus species, we used the general cephalopod A = 90% from Wells et al (1983). The k f for porcelain crabs was sourced from Perez et al (2006) and we estimated k w/d from the wet:dry weight ratio of 30 crab samples from Expt 2. We used the values of k f and k w/d estimated by McKinney et al(2004) for the hermit crab Pagurus longicarpus in lieu of the other hermit crab species (Pagurus spp.…”