Triops Longicaudatus starter kit (eggs in sand & food)

1st Class Royal Mail always.

All items posted on same day of purchase or next working day without fail 

- Check feedback for confidence!

The photos you can see are of my adult triops so you can see the eggs are genuine and where they're coming from!

YOUTUBE:

I now also have a youtube account where I will be uploading videos of my triops- my youtube account is also TRIOPSMAN please feel free to check it out!

Here is a link to my youtube channel: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/Triopsman/videos

www.thetriopsforum.com

What you will receive:

        Triops Longicaudatus eggs in aquarium sand containing detritus guaranteed to contain eggs. 

    you will receive a packet containing 20-40 eggs (Approximately 10 hatchlings per first hydration)

    Starter food (fish food appropriate for feeding triops) includes both crushed food for when they first hatch and larger pellets for adults.

        Full rearing instructions sent via email (I will send it to your paypal email address as default, let me know if you'd like it sent to another, or if you'd prefer I can print you a copy) 

PLEASE VISIT www.thetriopsforum.com FOR ANY EXTRA HELP YOU MAY NEED! I will do my best to answer any questions you may have, but for general enquiries and basic information about triops this is the best place to ask as there are many experienced triops owners who will be able to help you more than I can alone. 

For basic reading on triops information please visit www.mytriops.com.

What you will need:

• Triops eggs in sand.
• Triops food (http://www.interplaydirect.co.uk/triop-food-57-p.asp) Note* Triops eat anything! Earthworms are a big favourite! 
• A small tank of some kind big enough to hold at least 1 litre of water.
• A household 40-60W bendable lamp. 
• One litre of mineral water or rain water I have used Evian in the past, but Tesco's clearview bottled water is excellent and only 25p per 2Litre bottle! Personally I prefer rain water as it seems to give better results, it’s more natural and it’s cheaper, just make sure it’s warmed up before you use it, I recommend boiling any water you use bottled or rainwater and letting it cool to around 50-60 degrees celsius before adding the eggs, this will help to kill any bacteria in the sand or water which may exist, without being so hot it will damage the eggs, as triops eggs are recorded to be able to survive temperatures of up to 97 degrees celsius (I have tried and tested this method at 50-60 degrees celsius and it works very well.
• A small thermometer. 
• Stirring rod (not essential but can help to mix eggs in water).

Background info:

Triops, sometimes called tadpole, dinosaur or shield shrimp, are a small group of crustaceans that are found in temporary bodies of fresh or brackish water. This truly ancient creature has survived virtually unchanged for roughly three hundred million years. The oldest triops fossils date back to the Carboniferous Palaeozoic and the world's oldest known living animal species is the European triops, Triops canciformis. Today, triops are found on every continent except Antarctica and there are at least 15 known species.

They live relatively short life cycles up to 3 months and so grow incredibly quickly (some species double in size every 24 hours) until they reach maturity where they lay eggs in the ground which will hatch into the next generation after the temporary pool has dried up and been rehydrated. Their eggs have evolved to survive long periods of drought, only to hatch once there has been sufficient rainfall. Eggs have been shown to survive over 25 years as well as freezing and extremely high temperatures! This rare characteristic has enabled them to be so successful and is the reason they have been around for millions of years and never become extinct. This characteristic also allows us to safely store them until a time that is convenient to care for them. 

Their relatively simple care, fascinating properties and life cycle, energetic behaviour, reasonable size and short life-span, lends them excellent educational value whilst being fun, curious pets too. 

Set up:

Take the water and pour a little into the tank leaving an air gap in the bottle. Re-seal the bottle and violently shake the bottle for at least five minutes. This ensures there is oxygen dissolved in the water. 

Pour enough water into your tank to ensure there is around 5cm of water depth. No more.
Triops don't need a lot of water to start life off in. 0.5 litre is fine. *Remember to boil the water and sterilise the tank/container with boiling water before use to eliminate the chances of a bacterial contamination*

Place thermometer into the water so you can read it from the outside of the tank. 

Position the lamp so that it shines down from above onto the surface of the water. But keep the bulb at least 15cm away from the surface. 

Switch on the lamp and allow the water to heat to 18-25C. If it goes over 28C then you'll risk killing the Triops. 

Open your Triops eggs and pour them into the tank slowly and evenly across the surface of the water.

Take your stirring stick and ensure that the sand doesn't stick to the sides of the tank and is well mixed. Look carefully to see if any Triops eggs are sticking to the sides. These are tiny pink spheres. Ensure they get into the water. 

Leave the lamp on for 24 hours for at least the first three or four days. 

Ensure that you leave the top of the tank with access to the air. Oxygen needs to get into the water. 

Within 48+ hours or you'll see tiny creatures swimming in the water. 

Identifying life:

To aid you in identifying your creatures, take the piece of black card and put it around the outside back of the tank. Larvae Triops are very small and white (sometimes pink) in colour. They tend to perform a repeating action of swim upwards for a few seconds, then resting. 

First Feed:

On no account feed your Triops before 3 days after hatching. When they first hatch they will feed of microscopic organisms contained in the aquarium sand provided with the eggs. Then use only the smallest amount, baby Triops are very small and need even less food to fill their stomachs! Feed the crushed food provided for the first week or until you feel your triops are large enough for the pellet food (please note the food will swell and enlarge once in the water so feed very sparingly). After 1 week or whenever you feel your triops are large enough move on to the pellet food. Note- you will need to break down the pellets provided to an appropriate size to feed your triops, feeding larger pieces as they grow.

You can buy a sachet of baby Triops food from the website above if you run out of the starter food provided. If so you'll need to take 2 pellets ( 1 green & 1 brown) and ground them down between 2 spoons and then throw half away (or save for the next feed). Do this each day.
Baby Triops don't need much. If you over feed at this stage you'll kill them within a few days. Note. You can feed triops on any fish food provided it is crushed to an appropriate size! Also triops will eat anything including algae and plants so if there not eating much food it may be because they are eating this! By the fourth or fifth day you see the Triops getting bigger each morning. Once they eat all the food you can increase the amount just be sure not to feed when there is already food left. The best food I have discovered for feeding adult triops is earthworms, they seem to love them!

Congratulations:

If you've got this far and have lots of Triops swimming around your tank! 

You'll need to start feeding them a touch more food as they'll get bigger every day. 

You'll need to start adding some more water. You can't keep using bottled water as it's too pure and continued use will kill the newly hatched Triops. Tap water can be used if there is no Chlorine or Copper in the water. Just ensure that when you add it, that it is at the same temperature as the tank water. Otherwise you'll kill them.
Only add about 25% of the tanks volume a day to get them slowly adjusted to the tap water. 

By the end of the second week you'll need around 1 litre of water for each Triops to live in. 

Maintenance 

To make your Triops at home they need a covering of sand on the tank floor, this is called the 'substrate'. I suggest play sand or bird sand as both are cheap, non toxic, and of the right grain size for triops to dig and lay their eggs in. They love to dig and so providing a covering on the floor of the tank will allow them to do what comes naturally. Just remember to thoroughly wash any sand you use before adding it to the tank/aquarium.

Remember - overfeeding is the number one killer of tank reared Triops. Do not feed more than they can consume in an hour. If there is still food on the substrate, either remove it before it rots or skip feeding until it is eaten. 

IMPORTANT
You will need to start performing water changes once the water seems to cloud and this is where people accidently start killing their Triops. 

Do not under any circumstances perform more than a 25% water change in a day. The stress of doing more than this will kill your Triops in a few hours. 

Ensure the water is of the same type and temperature of the tank water before you add it. Temperature shock can kill. 

I suggest a 3.5 litre container for a single Triops. A cheap 'microwave' type food 3.5 litre container is ideal. Remember the height of your tank isn't important as most Triops don't usually do a lot of swimming upwards. A tank height of 8cm is a minimum though. 

Key points:

        Don’t over feed, this will cause bacterial spikes and algae which will kill your triops

        Maintain a temperature range of 18-28 degrees Celsius

        Maintain at least 8 hours of some source of light a day, never leave triops in direct sunlight as the temperature can soar within minutes and kill your triops!

        Only used bottled water or rainwater for hatching, use tap or aquarium/pond or rain water for adults but ensure it has been de-chlorinated.

        When performing water changes try to use the same temperature water and type and don’t change too much at once.

        1 litre is sufficient water to hatch eggs, increase to whatever amount you like once adult size but keep a minimum of 3.5 litres per adult for healthy triops.

        Tips for achieving maximum growth of healthy triops is to use the largest aquarium possible, use clean water, with as much oxygen as possible i.e. lots of plants and keep the temperature high at around 22-25 degrees Celsius and provide 12 hours of light a day and feed appropriately.

Sand is guaranteed to contain eggs. If you follow the instructions correctly they should hatch. They are not guaranteed to hatch, or survive however this is up to your care, as it is out of my control and there a many environmental factors which You need to ensure are correct. 

Triops eggs:

Most triops eggs should hatch the first time they are exposed to adequate temperatures of water and receive sufficient light, however some eggs will be 'winter eggs' and may only hatch on the 2nd, or 3rd hydration etc, or after a certain time period has passed as a species survival strategy. So it is always a good idea to keep your sand even after the first use, dry it out for 2 weeks, and try again :)

The above should help you to understand why I can't guarantee they will hatch as it is impossible for me to know when they eggs will decide to hatch, as well as the environmental factors which need to be correct, such as light, temperature and water type, but I can always guarantee the sand WILL contain eggs, and you should be able to see the larger eggs which are normally dark red but sometimes pink or white in colour and round.

My customers have been very satisfied check my positive feedback for reassurance

I have been raising triops for over 2 years and I’m proud to of sold triops eggs to over 500 very happy customers!

All eggs come from lab raised triops from my home, none are ever taken from the wild and I originally obtain all my triops species from other sellers online.

Postage: I obtain proof of postage for every package I send. Will post ASAP normally on the day of purchase providing the purchase is not too late in the day so you should always receive your Triops very quickly! Check my feedback for confidence. I offer discount on combined postage so feel free to buy in bulk! (extra 50p per extra item on top of initial postage cost).

PAYMENT:

Please pay ASAP once you have decided to buy to allow prompt postage. I will not post any triops until I receive payment. If you do not pay within 4 days I will open an eBay case against you, not because i'm a nasty person, but because otherwise eBay will take 10% of the sale from me even if you don't pay! If you change your mind and no longer want your triops, that is fine but please LET ME KNOW! 

Thank you

Any questions feel free to ask! I recommend this website as a reference for any information http://www.mytriops.com/  or try www.triopsguys.com , http://www.faszination-triops.de/ (I think the latter is a German website) both of which I recently discovered! 

I have also recently joined a triops forum which is an excellent source of information regarding triops and a great way to share knowledge and advice with other people who keep triops: www.thetriopsforum.com