My Triops Log @triopsy-blog - Tumblr Blog

Tank 2, Day 24.

I missed a couple weeks of posting, but honestly not a lot has changed. I did move them into a new “tank”, really a large 2.5 gallon rubbermaid container, and they’re closer to being the same size now.

Here they are in their new tank, day 11.

#triops

Tank 2, Day 10

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Tank 2, Day 8

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Tank 2, Day 7

These guys are getting a bit filthy...

#triops

Food list

A list of food I’m using for the triops, prices, and links to where I got them:

Hikari First Bites* ($2.29): https://amzn.com/B001D6Y3K8

Hikari Freeze Dried Bloodworms ($8.88): https://amzn.com/B00025K1GQ, these are fine for fish but I just realised they don’t sink (maybe they do after a long wait)

Spirulina powder ($3.95): http://www.ebay.com/itm/191547852672

Shrimp grower’s pellets ($5.99): http://r.ebay.com/JHMV9q

Blackworm/Earthworm pellets* ($6.95): http://r.ebay.com/dCPcYZ

Microworm culture ($3.45): http://r.ebay.com/eNcJHW

*starred items I haven’t used enough to determine if they work well or not

#triops #triopsfood

Tank 2, Day 7

Nomming on a pellet.

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Tank 2, Day 7

Smaller ones on the airstone. Have yet to figure out if these are just triop runts, a different species, or younger triops. I don’t think they are younger because their anatomy looks similar to the larger ones, just on a smaller scale.

#triops #airstone

Tank 2, Day 6

Triops were still acting weird today... some backstroking but generally just hanging out around the surface as much as possible. Then earlier this evening I decided to put an airstone in and they changed completely... now they are hanging out on the floor, mostly digging through the detritus that’s left, and not swimming up to the top anymore. They must have felt really sensitive to the oxygen levels and hopefully this fixes it.

#triops #airstone

Backstroking

This morning I discovered them all backstroking. At first I thought it was because I sucked up all the food I can find the night before, but when I put some food in and they didn’t respond to it (just kept backstroking and going nowhere near the bottom of the container) I realised that maybe the water conditions were becoming poor. Up until now I’ve been topping up the water 25% (not replacing the water) and using water from my fairy shrimp tank (which now has an airstone, and seems much cleaner than the triop water). After a couple hours of them still back stroking I decided to start topping up with conditioned tap water. Now they are acting normal again and showing interest in the microworms I put at the bottom. I’ll give the bottom a good suck later today and tomorrow I’ll start replacing water (instead of topping up) with the conditioned tap water. I hope this isn’t a sign of overfeeding. I am putting a couple of food options at a time but cleaning up a few hours later.

#triops #waterchange

Tank 2, Day 5

Size-wise, there is one larger one, 2 medium ones, and 1 that is so tiny that I wonder if it’s even a triops (as I recall there is another species which is like a triops but much smaller, but I forgot what the name of it was).

#triops

Live food for the triops: microworms. Only gave them an itty bit tonight, but they were ALL OVER IT.

#triops #triopsfood #microworms

Tank 2, Day 4

Today is the first day I’m allowed to feed my triops. At first I tried a drop of Hikari first bites (powder food), then I sucked that up after a couple hours and just dropped an algae flake (Tetra Veggie). They were definitely interested in the flake, but not sure if their mouths are big enough to do real damage on it. So for now I’ll make sure they have at least one small flake in there at all times (changing it twice a day). I also put a couple drops of diluted spirulina... it’s so diluted that I can’t really see any of it when it hits the floor, so can’t really monitor how well that’s going, or if they even notice it. It’s kind of scary putting food in a container with lots of detritus in the bottom, so I used some long tweezers and the baster to move most of it to one side. That way when I drop tiny bits of food on the clean side, I can see it and clear it up easier. Overall, I’m happy that they look healthy... I think 2-4 days is the worrying period when you don’t know if they’ll be around when you wake up the next morning.

#triops

Took apart Tank 1, looks like I lost all the triops in my first attempt. Tank 2 (above) also shrinking in numbers... I think there are 2 4 triops (2.5 days old?). At least 2 of the triops look much happier and active than the ones I had before. Starting a 3rd tank (read: jar) as insurance.

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24 hours after start of second hatching attempt. Life!

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New hatch attempt on the right. Smaller base area + bark from trees outside as extra detritus.

#triops

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