385
20 Octopus maya
required to satiate 400-g octopuses deprived of food for 1–4 days. Afterwards, Van
Heukelem (1976, 1977) transported several egg strings from Campeche Bay to the
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, where the eggs were artificially incubated. In
that laboratory, five generations of O� maya were maintained to study if O� maya
could be used as a model for neurobiology, behaviour, immunology, endocrinology
and ageing studies. During his studies, Van Heukelem defined some maintenance
conditions that were the base for the later studies on O� maya culture and pointed
several knowledge gaps in the biological aspects of rearing octopuses in captivity.
Van Heukelem found that O� maya eggs can be artificially incubated with a 100 %
success rate for fertilized eggs developing into hatchlings with incubation periods
of about 45 days at 25 °C. To incubate the eggs, Van Heukelem (1977) used a glass
funnel with filtered seawater supplied to the stems. In that funnel, seawater flow was
adjusted “so that the eggs strings tumbled slowly and rubbed against one another,
keeping the surface of the eggs clean, free of fungus, and well aerated”. Van Heukelem also reported that air bubbles in the incubation system were harmful to embryos
interfering with yolk epithelium development. Cannibalism was recognized as the
major source of death of juveniles when animals where underfed or fed with dried
foods. Frozen crab and shrimp produced good growth. A detailed study using 27 isolated O� maya juveniles showed that, from hatching (at a weight of 0.1 g) to 90 days
old, animals grew exponentially, doubling their weight every 11–12 days at 25 °C,
reaching 3,231 g after 8.5 months of culture. During that study, this author reported
that one of the bottlenecks of the O� maya culture was the lack of a dried and/or storable food for massive maintenance of octopus in laboratory conditions.
Other studies reported during the 1980s were mainly dedicated to laboratory
rearing conditions, pathology, mineral deficiencies and nutrition of several cephalopods species, including O� maya (Hanlon 1987; Hanlon et al. 1989; Hanlon and
Forsythe 1985; Hanlon and Forsythe 1990; Hanlon et al. 1984; Lee 1994; Lee et al.
1991). From those studies, infection by Vibrio carcharie was identified to affect O�
maya, and treatment with intramuscular injections of chloramphenicol was recommended. However, nitrofurazone and furazolidone bath applications were used as a
first protocol at the Marine Biomedical Institute of University of Texas at Galveston when Vibrio spp. infections were presented (Forsythe et al. 1990). A review of
cephalopod mariculture was published by Hanlon (1987), showing that at that time
there were 20 species cultured, only six being from the Octopodidae family. Among
those, O� maya and O� bimaculoides were considered to be the best candidates for
aquaculture (Hanlon 1987).
20.1.3 O. maya Culture at Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México
The first assays to cultivate O� maya at the facilities of Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México (UNAM) started in 2004 when some wild juveniles were
placed in 5-m-diameter ponds to determine the growth rate and survival of animals
fed heads of fish and frozen crabs. Three trials were conducted between 23 and
20 Octopus maya
required to satiate 400-g octopuses deprived of food for 1–4 days. Afterwards, Van
Heukelem (1976, 1977) transported several egg strings from Campeche Bay to the
Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, where the eggs were artificially incubated. In
that laboratory, five generations of O� maya were maintained to study if O� maya
could be used as a model for neurobiology, behaviour, immunology, endocrinology
and ageing studies. During his studies, Van Heukelem defined some maintenance
conditions that were the base for the later studies on O� maya culture and pointed
several knowledge gaps in the biological aspects of rearing octopuses in captivity.
Van Heukelem found that O� maya eggs can be artificially incubated with a 100 %
success rate for fertilized eggs developing into hatchlings with incubation periods
of about 45 days at 25 °C. To incubate the eggs, Van Heukelem (1977) used a glass
funnel with filtered seawater supplied to the stems. In that funnel, seawater flow was
adjusted “so that the eggs strings tumbled slowly and rubbed against one another,
keeping the surface of the eggs clean, free of fungus, and well aerated”. Van Heukelem also reported that air bubbles in the incubation system were harmful to embryos
interfering with yolk epithelium development. Cannibalism was recognized as the
major source of death of juveniles when animals where underfed or fed with dried
foods. Frozen crab and shrimp produced good growth. A detailed study using 27 isolated O� maya juveniles showed that, from hatching (at a weight of 0.1 g) to 90 days
old, animals grew exponentially, doubling their weight every 11–12 days at 25 °C,
reaching 3,231 g after 8.5 months of culture. During that study, this author reported
that one of the bottlenecks of the O� maya culture was the lack of a dried and/or storable food for massive maintenance of octopus in laboratory conditions.
Other studies reported during the 1980s were mainly dedicated to laboratory
rearing conditions, pathology, mineral deficiencies and nutrition of several cephalopods species, including O� maya (Hanlon 1987; Hanlon et al. 1989; Hanlon and
Forsythe 1985; Hanlon and Forsythe 1990; Hanlon et al. 1984; Lee 1994; Lee et al.
1991). From those studies, infection by Vibrio carcharie was identified to affect O�
maya, and treatment with intramuscular injections of chloramphenicol was recommended. However, nitrofurazone and furazolidone bath applications were used as a
first protocol at the Marine Biomedical Institute of University of Texas at Galveston when Vibrio spp. infections were presented (Forsythe et al. 1990). A review of
cephalopod mariculture was published by Hanlon (1987), showing that at that time
there were 20 species cultured, only six being from the Octopodidae family. Among
those, O� maya and O� bimaculoides were considered to be the best candidates for
aquaculture (Hanlon 1987).
20.1.3 O. maya Culture at Universidad Nacional Autónoma
de México
The first assays to cultivate O� maya at the facilities of Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México (UNAM) started in 2004 when some wild juveniles were
placed in 5-m-diameter ponds to determine the growth rate and survival of animals
fed heads of fish and frozen crabs. Three trials were conducted between 23 and