Triops.

[lobsternoob]

Anyone ever kept triops, also known as tadpole shrimp? I tried when I was younger, but they almost never hatched, and the ones that did never got big, thinking about trying it again, theyre not large, but seem pretty cool, heres a vid i saw that got my interest sparked again. [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Afk4Jfk]

i dont know but now i want some

[lobsternoob]

Actually, I never realized, but the larvae are nauplius, I've heard of them being used as feeders more than once, gonna find a place to order some of these anyway and see how big i can get a few.

[bluebluecow]

I havent got them, but my son has a nice colony of sea monkeys on the kitchen window sill. He put the eggs in in june and we are on about 4th or 5th generation, evry so often new babies appear

Liz

[Kaz]

I kinow I read a bunch about them on a link from another forum, here let me fish it up for you.

Here it is:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

There is a bunch of info there.

[Lilium]

I had them.
I even tried to raise a second generation, but that didn't work out because the container they were in was dirty from the first, and kept getting scum on it. (Couldn't clean it without getting rid of the eggs).

They get about an inch or slightly longer, and maybe 3/4th inch wide?
(I don't remember things very well).

They're fairly simple to care for.

The larvae are very similar to baby brine shrimp.

And generally you don't get very many, since they start eating each other (usually do to lack of room).

They have to start in a small container though, with infusoria for food usually from pieces of wood debris that they usually come with. The small container is so they can find the food. After a while they start to grow, and then you need to change the water some, and eventually move them to a bigger container, else they'll start eating each other, then you go from about 5 triops to 2.

The one I got was from hobby lobby in some little kit.
They usually only give enough eggs to get about 3 until 8 probably at most.
I think you can probably buy some online.
It might be possible to find them in the wild in a vernal pool, though don't know if collecting them would be okay or not.

[lobsternoob]

thanks for that link Kaz, much more informative than the pages I was looking at. Found a place to order some eggs, so I did that for the heck of it, With all the money I spend on aquarium stuff what's 10 bucks to try something interesting? Also found a few people said they had kept them for generations in a fishtank succesfully, so that would be really cool, but I will have to wait and see how realistic that is, im doubting it.

[Nobodynotime]

Wow...those things look like if they were 1000 time bigger they would come out of the sea and destroy japan. SHRIMPZILLA

[DrNic]

All I can say is OMG!! How is this the first time I've seen these guys?!?! They're awesome!! I totally have to try to get my hands on some of these.

[Jacko]

I've tried them, didnt do so hot with them, got a kit for xmas, followed the directions to the word (aside from swapping out the chinky little pink castle for a small fake plant), they hatched and lived for about 10 days, never getting bigger than maybe 2 mm before they all died... still have half a packet of eggs I might try again.

They were fun while they lasted, though I think I'll pass on them and just get scuds next time lol

[Anomaly]

Yeah, triops are pretty cool, but as said earlier, they do tend to eat one another. Once our last triop got large enough, I tried to add it to our fish tank, but he died soon after. :-(

[kaybee]

I had them in the past. I remember that they grew very fast and were highly cannibalistic.

[Sarkazmo]

Actually, Triops are what got me back into aquariums! It started with a 1 gallon plastic tank for the Triops and sorta went from there, heh. I found it to be a very rewarding experiment raising them. It's stunning how fast they grow! You'll see cast of "skins", like you do with shrimp/crabs, virtually every day. I've got some videos on my YouTube page... [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Sark

[DrNic]

Actually, Triops are what got me back into aquariums! It started with a 1 gallon plastic tank for the Triops and sorta went from there, heh. I found it to be a very rewarding experiment raising them. It's stunning how fast they grow! You'll see cast of "skins", like you do with shrimp/crabs, virtually every day. I've got some videos on my YouTube page... [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Sark
I just checked out the videos. In a few weeks they got that big from eggs?!? WOW! How long did they live after that?

[Sarkazmo]

The last one died at the age of about five weeks. They're not terribly long lived as they've evolved to hatch, grow quickly to maturity, and breed. Their eggs can lay dormant in the soil, where temporary pools form, for a decade or more. When the rains return the pools fill with water and the cycle begins again. These creatures have not changed in millions of years because their life cycle fits their environment so perfectly. When you look at these creatures you're looking at an animal that has survived longer, unchanged, than any other creature on this planet. You are looking back in our worlds history years beyond reckoning. You will feel it too.

Sark

[jaysee]

They're life cycle is about a month, and there are two sexes - male and hermaphrodite....

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

[Lilium]

I think you need at least 1 female to get a new generation.
I also think you have to have the water dry, and let the eggs dry for about a week when all the water is gone for them to hatch.

Also, having a substrate would be good, something like sand.
They like to dig, and if they lay eggs, they can bury them, instead of have them settle on the bottom where the other triops will eat them.

There may be some eggs regardless of substrate if they don't find them though.

[Anomaly]

Actually, Triops are what got me back into aquariums! It started with a 1 gallon plastic tank for the Triops and sorta went from there, heh. I found it to be a very rewarding experiment raising them. It's stunning how fast they grow! You'll see cast of "skins", like you do with shrimp/crabs, virtually every day. I've got some videos on my YouTube page... [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Sark

Wow, that's the exact same story for my wife and I. I kept many aquariums for years when I was a kid, but stopped after moving out on my own. After I met my wife and we got a house, I picked up a triops kit and a 1 gallon kit tank. That led to a 10 gallon, then another 10 gallon, then a 36 gallon, and then a 20 gallon. LOL Too funny!

[mb8297]

Bought some triops cancriformis (the big ones) online yesterday, getting excited and working up a plan to breed more generations. I'll let you know what works.