Sticking your nose in a mass of algae may not make you especially popular when trying to impress your paramour, but for the male Giant kelpfish, this move coupled with systematic body vibrations, are signals used to attract the female of the species. If this strikes you as a curious habit, you are sure to be amazed by the peculiar and unexpected mating and breeding behaviors of many of our amorous residents.
Octopuses have one of the stranger and more poignant mating and breeding sagas.
A female octopus can carry a sperm packet delivered by the male in her body for almost two years. Just a week after being collected, our Two-spot octopus laid a clutch of eggs. After about three months of constant protection by this very careful mom, these eggs hatched into approximately 200 tiny baby octopuses. The female octopus normally does not eat while she is guarding her eggs. Stingray mating has a less distressing conclusion, but also has some epic moments of its own.