Suggestions needed for triops breeding tank

[mb8297]

I am planning on establishing a tank to breed and keep constantly stocked with Triops cancriformis (the big ones). I would like to lay a thick bed of sand for egg laying and include a couple of rocks and live plants for appearance. I'm posting this to find suggestions from experienced breeders or triops owners so this tank will be successful.

A) I have a 10gal and 20gal tank available. I'd prefer to go with the smaller tank, would this be acceptable or should I use the 20 gallon?
B) What kind of sand, plants, rocks, et cetera would you suggest to make a good habitat for the triops?
C) Do I need a filter? If so, what kind would work best and not suck up the hatchlings?
D) To keep the tank constantly stocked I plan on removing sand and deposited eggs, drying them, then introducing them to a hanging breeders box until they are large enough to add them to the tank. Is this feasible?

Anything else I should know?

Triops Cancriformis Wiki:
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Triops Cancriformis Video:
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(I am also looking for opinions on how to plant the tank here ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]))

Thanks and please be kind, this is my second post. I look forward to your suggestions.

- Matt

[lobsternoob]

hehe, just noticed you posted in my triops thread from a while back, and then saw this thread. Well, I had 2 successful generations. First was from the eggs I bought, got a whole bunch of them hatched, they grew really fast, and there was also a bit of cannibalism. The second generation, after all the triops had either died off or been put into more visible tanks, I just drained most of the water from the original tank, and kept a light on it (incandescent not flourescent for the heat) to have it totally dry out, about a month after it was so dry the mud substrate was cracking at the top, I poured in some bottled water and boom they started hatching fast! not instantly, but... As for the next (possible) generation, I have all the substrate bagged hopefully with plenty of eggs in it.

On to some of your questions.
A) even the 10g may be too big for hatching them, they may have trouble finding the food at first and will quickly resort to cannibalization if that is the case, I would buy a small small tank, I used a 1.5g and still noticed they would eat some of their brethren.

B) If there are any seasonal ponds, pools, or even large puddles in your area, the muddy substrate from those would be what I recommend for hatching them, they like mud and silt from my knowledge. Once they get a little larger you could remove them from the hatch tank to a "show" tank (the 10 or 20) so you can watch them, leaving a few in the hatch tank so you hopefully get lots of eggs. They really aren't picky about their habitat, I wouldn't recommend planting or decorating the hatch tank as this will just make it more difficult for you to keep propogating them, they do need some amount of dry period to hatch from what I know. And you aren't going to want to try and remove all the plants every 4-5 weeks, also I don't believe triops like the amount of light a planted tank requires, at least not when young.

C) No filter on the hatch tank, small WC's done carefully if the water gets too scummy, I would prefer an open topped tank allowing evaporation and small top ups, they don't need a lot of depth or swimming space really.

D) Feasible certainly, not the way I would go about it though. My suggestion is as I said before to buy a small tank, even a bowl or something to hatch them, remove most of the larger ones to another tank after a while, they reach sexual maturity very fast i believe, and breed crazier than convicts, or even ghost shrimp LOL. This way you could have a nice 10 or 20g planted tank, with some very small fish, and an almost constant rotation of triops without having to rip the tank apart every month. They are really cool, but not that long lived and when they first hatch they are probably small enough to get through even a breeder box, and will be quickly eaten by any adults or fish in the tank. Triops are voracious eaters.

So, those are my ideas and suggestions, I could as always be totally off base, but thats pretty much how I've done it, and it seems to have worked ok. I'll find out for sure when I try and hatch the next batch! You could also try not hatching all the eggs you get at once, I assure you they will keep for a long while. Welcome to the AC! I guarantee you people will be kind here, this is a great and friendly forum, always helpful. Good luck with your triops, any more questions I can answer I'll be happy too, and don't forget to get some pictures, I forgot, but there is always next time!