Visitors to Blue Reef Aquarium in Hastings are being invited to come up with a name for their newest arrival.
The Rock-a-Nore Road attraction has welcomed a new Giant Pacific Octopus and staff are hoping the public will be able to think of a new name for the bizarre-looking cephalopod.
The octopus is a one-and-a-half-year-old male who has been described by the team as extremely ‘relaxed’, and has taken a liking to dining on crabs.
Blue Reef has set up a special naming box at the admissions desk and a team of judges from the aquarium will pick a winner at the end of the month.
The person who comes up with the winning name will also win a free family ticket.
Blue Reef’s Leanna Lawson said: “The only stipulation is that it must be a boy’s name, as he is a male, and that it must, if at all possible, reflect his character.
“He’s a very ‘chilled out’ individual, and loves interacting with the aquarists so we’re hoping for something quite dynamic!” she added.
The Giant Pacific octopus is the world’s largest species of octopus and is found from Japan to Southern California. The biggest recorded specimen had an arm span of 10 metres (33ft) and weighed 270kgs (600lbs).
As well as being the largest, the Giant Pacific is also among the cleverest members of the cephalopod family.
There have even been cases of them sneaking out at night to raid nearby fish-filled displays, although the team at Blue Reef have said the public can rest assured that there is no chance of escapism at the aquarium!
Despite its intelligence, the Giant Pacific Octopus has a relatively short life span, going from the size of a rice grain at birth to being fully grown within the space of two years.