The new season at Macduff Marine Aquarium is all about the octopus, with the opening of a new octopus exhibit on Good Friday.
These bone-less, yet sophisticated, eight-legged creatures of the deep have inspired tales of huge krakens and other fantastic sea monsters over history and hold a special fascination for us. At Macduff, the resident lesser octopus (a smallish species that is common in the Moray Firth) is moving home into a smart new open plan watery apartment.
Octopuses have been very popular exhibits at the aquarium for many years but they are slippery customers and very good at escaping out of tanks, their squishy bodies are able to get through the tiniest of cracks. The tank they had been in at the aquarium was modified for keeping octopuses, but it was not perfect and the displays team have wanted for a while to upgrade to a ‘Houdini–proof’ custom-built tank. This has at last been made possible thanks to additional funding from Aberdeenshire Council and support from the Friends of Macduff Marine Aquarium.
The specially designed tank is cylindrical, with hiding places and pipes for the octopus to crawl through and explore, but visitors will be able to view the octopus wherever it is within the display – which had been another problem with the old tank, as octopuses frequently hid in rocky crevices out of sight. The new tank also has a close-fitting lid!
Octopuses are very intelligent and the aquarium displays team give the octopus little challenges to keep her amused each day, such as puzzles with food rewards inside or even toys to play with. Aquarist Lauren Smith says, “I’m really excited to see the octopus in her new home – I’ve been working with her in the holding tank behind the scenes since she arrived with us in December and she has proved to have a feisty personality. I hope she enjoys exploring her space and that the new display helps people better understand these amazing creatures”
Claire Matthews, the aquarium’s manager, said, “We’re really grateful for the extra funds from Aberdeenshire Council and the contribution our Friends of Macduff Marine Aquarium group have made to allow us to install this new tank and better meet our octopus’s needs – and it’s great to start off the new season with something different for our visitors to look at.”
The aquarium will be celebrating the new display with an Octo Easter trail and talks about the octopus throughout the weekend.
