These instructions are for both species available commercially, Triops cancriformis and Triops longicaudatus. Their requirements in captivity are close enough to be the same for all intents and purposes. There is one major difference between them you need to keep in mind: T. In a little over a week T. Any clean glass or plastic container that is designed to hold food or liquids and let in light can do. It is important that the container not have any soap residue, as it is toxic to triops.

Fish tanks are the most flexible, but you can use an old pickle jar as well! You may want to take a look at our containers page that people have used!

The length and width dimensions of the container are far more important than depth. The container should be at least four litre one gallon in size if at all possible. Each adult triops needs between two to four liters of water for optimal population density.

The triops will be smaller than they might be otherwise, and the number of eggs laid per individual will be reduced, but they will still be healthy. In spite of their reputation, triops rarely harm other triops of similar size when other food is available.

Studies of population density effects have been done on both Triops longicaudatus and T. These studies also suggest that, within reason, high density does not directly affect survivability, that the same percentage in any given population will survive a given length of time.

It is often hard to determine whether effects seen in scientific studies are representative of the general situation or a result of the artificial constraints imposed by the study. In this case, my gut says the owners are right. For hatching, distilled often called deionised water is the safest. There is no chance of the chemical or mineral content of the water affecting hatching and it is the least likely to promote bacterial spikes, which are a leading cause of death with hatchlings.

Afterwards, spring, distilled, or tap water treated with a water conditioner that removes Chlorine are all fine. Other water conditioners may work with tap water as well but AmQuel is the only one that has been used in any of the laboratory studies read.

If you try another brand of water conditioner, be certain it removes chlorine, chloramines, and ammonia. Triops are pH sensitive although the specifics vary from species to species. Some triops are only found in highly alkaline waters while others live in peat bogs.

Triops longicaudatus can be killed by pH below 6. Based upon laboratory studies and conditions they are found in the wild, the optimal pH range for T. Water pH can be adjusted with chemicals used for aquariums without known problems.

Baking soda sodium bicarbonate is one commonly available chemical that can be safely used to raise pH. It should not be necessary to lower pH with triops unless you have health issues with your water supply.

Triops will live and grow in an empty container. You can, however, use any sort of substrate that is safe with freshwater fish. Soil will simulate the natural sediment that occurs in the pools they inhabit most closely, but sand or gravel work equally well without the huge amount of silt in the water from their incessant digging. It also allows them to engage in their natural behavior of digging through the bottom of the pool looking for food.

As with any aquarium application, wash all gravel and sand thoroughly with plain tap water before using it. Coral sand available from any Aquarium shop is a good substrate to use, its small particles allow the triops to dig but stops the water getting cloudy if you were to use normal sand. It also raises the pH to around 7. Not necessarily. Larval triops are free swimming filter feeders.

They feed on microscopic algae, protozoans, suspended organic particles, etc. Scientists noticed that juvenile triops survived better when they were hatched out with soil from the pond the eggs were collected versus being hatched out in an empty container from isolated eggs. In addition to the triops eggs, such soil contains organic debris and the cysts of algae, diatoms, and protozoans cysts hatch out upon wetting much like triops eggs. Native soil also probably helps to buffer the pH to a more triops friendly level.

Commercial packets of eggs come with dried pond detritus that contains similar material. Homemade dried gravel or sand with eggs will contain the same as well. The correlation of larval survival with soil led to a generally repeated instruction from some sources that you should use soil in the water, or at least water that had been mixed with soil first. Enough studies have been done subsequently without soil and no difference in survivability once past the juvenile stage was seen.

When care is taken to provide the larvae with a properly conditioned environment and some sort of food infusion, survival is not impacted. One study, after hatching, raised triops in empty containers of distilled water with only aeration and food. There was no filtration, no water changes, and additional water was only added at the very end of the study when it became necessary to keep the containers from drying completely by evaporation.

In these less than optimal conditions, many triops lived nearly 50 days. It appears the addition of red lava stone to my tank caused chemical changes to the water that made moulting much more difficult. Out of a group of 9, 8 died from moulting complications within two weeks of adding some decorative lava stone. Definitely, plants will add to the oxygen levels, break down triops wastes, make the tank look more interesting, etc.

They also make a keen hour salad bar. Triops will eat anything organic that they can fit in their mouths and aquarium plants are no exception. On the one hand, this is a good thing because you can provide them with a source of food they can eat any time they are hungry with no danger of the negative effects from overfeeding.

On the other hand, stick to something like a cheap bunch of elodea versus an expensive Amazon Sword plant. I generally recommend a couple Marimo moss balls, they are very practical and act as a buffer for nutrients. Keeping in mind that triops will potentially eat any of these, you can also raise fairy shrimp and daphnia with your triops.

These two species also produce desiccant resistant eggs and hatch out under the same conditions as triops. Daphnia, unfortunately, are too bite sized to resist and eventually are wiped in most cases. Another candidate for tankmates are aquatic snails. Although not generally natural cohabitants of triops, they do well together and the snails can help to control algae in the container.

The safest filter is an undergravel filter. After they reach this size, the filter can be used with no problems. It would not work very well with soil, though. You may also use an internal corner filter. In the case of these types of filters, you must wait until the triops are at least 1 centimeter long or they may be pulled into the filter and killed.

The currents generated by external filters can be very strong, and triops naturally inhabit very still, very quiet pools. Triops are sensitive to oxygen levels, just not in the way you might expect:. It would be very hard to kill triops from lack of oxygen.

Oxygen levels must drop well below 1 part per million ppm to threaten the life of triops, and even a hot, stagnant desert pool generally contains at least 2 ppm oxygen. Even at very low oxygen levels, triops can survive for extended periods by swimming upside down at the water surface where oxygen levels are highest they do this looking for food as well, the behavior is not necessarily indicative of low oxygen levels.

However, during the first five or so days of life, triops metabolize at the maximum possible rate based upon oxygen levels, temperature, and available food. This means that unlike most animals that have their skeletons inside their bodies, these creatures have their skeletons outside that allow them to move and that also serves as their protection. It is very rare to see your pets grow right before your very eyes. Most of us purchase pets already in their grown forms and only very few of us see them during their births.

This is certainly not the case for Triops. First is that you purchase Triops eggs and not the Triops themselves. Upon purchasing the eggs, you follow the directions on how to make them hatch and watch them grow right in front of you.

Their eggs develop a protective shell that allows this to happen — which is also considered to be one of the reasons why they were able to survive way beyond the dinosaurs. This is called asexual reproduction. On the other hand, other species have to engage in sexual or reproductive activity to be able to lay eggs. Some people worry that the Triops eggs they purchase are taken from the wild.

Triops eggs are raised and cared for by humans in laboratories for the purpose of making them pets at home. As a matter of fact, you can even hatch the eggs that your pet Triops lay.

Remember that certain species of Triops are endangered in some countries and taking them from the wild is both wrong and illegal. So make sure you buy your Triops eggs from a reputable toy or pet store and, of course, it should be from a good brand.

You can purchase a packet of Triops eggs and be the one to set up the rest of the tank. You can also buy Triops kits to save you the hassle of finding the other materials needed in the setup. The kits from Toyops either come with a hatching dish or a tank, with both options having food for your baby prehistoric pets.

Unlike other pets, the lifespan of Triops is relatively short. On average, Triops live for eight weeks two months long but can last for as long as fourteen weeks three and a half months. This is called Diapause which is the delay in development to allow species like these prehistoric pets to multiply despite harsh environmental situations. Though they do not live long as other pets do, you should understand that it is the experience that counts.

This is how they evolved. Plus, you can easily hatch out the eggs that your pet Triops lay. So you will have a limitless supply of eggs if you take care of them properly. You will be amazed at how these creatures maximize their short life span. The Triops Cancriformis species, which grows the biggest at up to four inches and lives the longest at up to fourteen weeks, is found throughout Europe.

On the other hand, the Triops longicaudatus from America grows up to two inches, lives up to eight weeks long and is commonly sold in stores. Before you even start buying the materials you need to hatch your Triops, remember that caring for them in this stage takes responsibility.

Some eggs that you buy are contained in packets or envelopes that contain about more or less eighty eggs. Another option you have is to buy the all-in-one packets. This type contains sand, eggs and leafy things that serve as food for the newly hatched eggs for the first few days. Your baby Triops will live here for about eight days after they hatch before transferring them to a larger tank.

This can be any regular-sized plastic or glass container that usually hold your food or liquid people have used clear bowls and wide-rimmed jars for this. Make sure that your containers can also handle the light that will be over the surface of the water. Now, this can be a bit tricky because you have to make sure that your lamp has the right bulb.

Make sure that your bulb is the traditional incandescent kind that is 60 Watts. Lastly, it would be best if you use a bendable desk lamp to allow you to adjust the distance of the light source from the hatching dish.

If your desk lamp is not bendable, you can easily bring your hatching dish closer to the bulb by placing stacks of paper or notebooks underneath it. Just make sure that the hatching dish is on a very stable base. This is necessary for maintaining the temperature of your water since extreme temperatures will kill your Triops.

Some kits come with strip thermometers that are placed on the sides of your hatching dish or tanks. We realized that these thermometers may have measured either the temperature of the container or the light source and not the water.

Understand that not just any kind of bottled water can be used for your Triops while they are still eggs and babies. Moreover, you cannot use tap water at this stage but you can use tap water later on which will be discussed in a bit. Make sure that you do not confuse distilled water with just purified water or mineral water. Distilled water, also called de-ionized, is a very common form of purified water and can easily be found in supermarkets.

You will need this to stir the water when you place the eggs in it. Make sure that your stick is as clean as your container to ensure that your pets hatch out. Using a clean drinking straw is also an option for this. You see, within the first few days of the life of your Triops, your pets can barely be seen. You have to place a cardboard on the side of your hatching dish to be able to see those small white specks that move around in the water.

Now that you have your materials ready, take a closer look on how to hatch out your eggs in a simple step-by-step process. This is very important. Soap and whatever form of residue can kill your Triops so the container being clean is very important. Some Triops owners recommend sterilizing the containers before using them. Though this is an option, we actually see that running your cleaned container and stick through hot water is enough to clean it.

Make sure that your containers are dry when you use it. Pour a little water off the bottle to leave an air gap. Shake the bottle a couple of times to ensure that there is oxygen in the water. Fill your hatching dish a little over half-full with the water. The temperature should be at this level to ensure that your Triops hatch out. Now how do you maintain this temperature?

Your eggs will hatch between 24 and 96 hours after placing them into the natural spring water. With the right water and enough light, triops hatch fast! Check the tank every so often and within 2 days you should see tiny creatures swimming about.

The triops might be difficult to see at first, but they grow bigger quickly. Keep in mind that very few of these eggs will hatch without drying first, and even if some do hatch, as long as adults are around, the hatchlings will become snacks. This is usually due to the following reason. You may have used too much water. The more water you have in the tank, the more the infusoria is diluted and so the tiny Triops have difficulty finding enough to eat in the crucial first 72 hours.