Initially, the Cliffords thought Terrance was a male. Within a few weeks, they discovered that they were mistaken.
The tank in Cal’s bedroom in Edmund, Oklahoma was packed with dozens of eggs.
Mr Clifford had assumed the eggs were not fertilised, but Terrance had mated before being caught by a diver.
When Mr Clifford picked one up a blob popped out and started swimming around the tank.
“I just screamed my wife’s name,” Mr Clifford, 36, told The Washington Post. “That started the whole stress of it because now we felt this immense responsibility of taking care of these babies.”
Baby number one was named Pearl. Then came Seaoncé, Jay Sea, Swim Shady, Squid Cudi, Bill Nye the Octopi and Champ.
Within a matter of weeks, the Cliffords were caring for 51 of the creatures.
The Cliffords got off lightly. A giant Pacific octopus can produce more than 50,000 eggs, according to biologist Jim Cosgrove.
But caring for Terrance’s massive brood has proved rather expensive.
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