My Diary of T. Cancriformis
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This page is dedicated to showing a sort of "journal-entry" of the life of my Triops, from when they first hatched, to when they passed away.
This is not my first batch of Triops, yet it is the first time I raised the European species of Triops, T. cancriformis. For a source of these shrimp, go to this website:
http://triops.cc/ (no longer functional; sorry)
They are relatively easy to care for, and this website will show you how I raised mine (I made journal entries about my Triops), and how you can raise yours. So, I will begin with the first day:
Day 1 11/15/04 Around 3:30 pm. I have put the eggs in the tank and am now just waiting for them to hatch.(By the way, my tank is about 1.5 gallons, or 6 liters.)
Day 3 11/17/04 Around 6:40 am. I have discovered life! I've only seen one Triops so far, but I still see some un-hatched eggs on the surface of the water. 4:15 pm, 11/17/04 Another baby has hatched. But he/she keeps disappearing, so I'm not sure if he/she is still there. They're still only as big as a spec of dust.
Day 4 11/18/04 2:40 pm I now can see 3 baby Triops. They're now acting a bit more like adult Triops; they're swimming in circles and "skimming" around on the sand. They're bigger now, and they seemed to have doubled in size. They also now have recognizable "legs" and they seem to swim close together in "groups". 2:47 pm 11/18/04 I think I may have seen a 4th Triops, but I can't be sure. I'll have to check later. Sometime later.... I am now sure that there are 5 babies. More may hatch soon, although it is getting awfully crowded.
Day 5 11/19/04 6:55 am I can't really tell exactly how many Triops there are in the tank. They're now developing their "shells" and their tails. They seem to be more adventorous, and are exploring more parts of the tank. They've grown slightly larger, and not all of the Triops are hte same size. Some are larger than others. I also saw two Triops digging in the sand, and it seems a little odd and funny to watch because they're still quite small still.
Day 6 11/20/04 7:12 am The Triops are now further developing their tails and shells, and are slightly larger. I think that I also may have seen a newly hatched Triops, which means that he/she may be eaten later... if he/she doesn't grow enough. I can also see the "eyes" on one of the larger Triops. They're about 2 or 3 millimeters long now.
Day 7 Week 1 11/21/04 7:50 am The Triops have definitely grown larger, and they look like miniature versions of the adults. They're "shell" is clearly visible, and so is their tails and many legs. They also seem very determined to dig in the sand, though they're still too small to make any progress.
Day 8 11/22/04 6:45 am The Triops have definitely grown larger, and I can clearly see all of their legs an d eyes. They're now turning and orange-ish color.
Day 9 11/23/04 6:52 am There's not much I can say about what's happening, 'cept that they've grown slightly larger. That's pretty much all that's happened. Though I will probably be able to feed them with the AminaVit Satandard soon. (That's the name of the pellets that I am feeding them. They are made for Triops.) And I guess they have turned a little bit more orange-ish.
Day 10 11/24/04 3:47 pm Not much has happened. I suppose they have grown larger, but not by much. They're a little bigger than half a centimeter, including their tail. I have fed them their first AminaVit Standard pellet, and one of the Triops appears to have a liking for it. 9:37 pm After careful inspection, I can now see one of the Triop's antennae.
Day 12 11/26/04 2:30 pm They've grown larger, and are a centimeter large now. I have fed them another two AminaVit pellets, and they seem to enjoy them. The first pellet I gave them on Day 10 is now long gone. They also seem to be getting more efficient at digging.
Day 13 11/27/04 8:27 I now realize that my Triops have been digging just fine since they were born. I just thought that Triops dig into the sand and bury themselves. But, all that they really do is just kick sand around.
Day 16 11/30/04 They're still alive and kickn'. They're growing bigger everyday. The largest of the Triops is now larger than 1 cm.
Day 18 12/02/04 Triops are still alive and well. They now have a dark brown/black color.
Day 20 12/04/04 They're still all happy and alive, and I am now currently feeding them three pellets everyday. The largest Triops is exactly 2 cm from the tip of its head to the end of its tail. I also noticed that they have an unusual redness on their undersides. Could it be eggs sacs?
Day 21 Week 3 12/05/04 Still alive. Their dark brown/black colored patterns look rather nice.
Day 26 12/10/04 The Triops are still alive, and are growing. I need to give them multiple pellets everyday, since they eat a lot.
Day 28 Week 4 12/12/04 Still alive. They're very messy little beasts and I will have to somehow clean their water.(I forgot to install a filter.) The largest Triops is slightly larger than one inch.
Day 31 Exactly 1 Month 12/15/04 The Triops are still growing a little, and today I have given them a fliter that hangs over the edge. I am just a little worried that the filter might suck the Triops in. But they seem to be doing ok.
Day 32 2/16/04 What I am seeing is amazing: the Triops are laying their eggs! It's an amazing and wonderful sight. Those red spots I saw earlier must have been the egg pouches.
Day 38 12/22/04 The Triops are still laying eggs, and some are starting to die off.(There are like a million small ones that hatched, and they aren't surviving the competition.) I just hope they live longer.
Day 43 12/27/04 Triops are still alive. Now, when I say alive, I mean existing.
Day 49 1/02/05 Triops are still alive and well.
Day 53 1/06/05 Triops are still alive. I am thinking of buying a small filter for their tank.
Day 56 1/09/05 I've added a small filter to their tank today. It's called Smallworld Filter (SWF-1) It seems to be working....
Day 63 2 Months 1/17/05 They have survived two months! The filter is working great, and there are six Triops left.(I'm not even sure of how many there were in the beginning.)
Day 69 1/23/05 Only five of 'em left. How one of them died I do not know. Possibly cannibalism; body parts were scattered all over the tank. Maybe just natural death. They seem to be healthy, though, and they've lived so long. I just hope they die happy.
Day 70 1/24/05 Only 4 left, due to cannibalism. I found a Triops eating another Triops. They were both around the same size, though. Day 70, continued Now, *somehow*, there are only 3 left. I fear this is the end for my Triops. I just hope that they die naturally, and not from cannibalism.
Day 78 2/01/05 The three are still alive and are laying eggs. I'm sure I'll get a good harvest of eggs.
Day 79 2/02/05 Two left. Due to cannibalism.
Day 83 2/06/05 Only one left.....:(
Day 92 Still one left. Seems to be doing fine...maybe a little weak...
Day 94 3 months 2/17/05 The last Triops died.....Either last night, or early this morning.....
After that, I drained the water out of the tank, and let it sit for like a month. Then, I put the sand in a plastic bag for later use. Just remember, though: DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR SAND OR PEBBLES ETC. IF YOU WANT THE EGGS. The dried eggs should be ready to use after about 60 days of drying. Also, check the ingredients of your sand: you don't want any lava rock in the sand because it prevents the Triops from molting correctly, and you also don't want any pine bark. (Also, a mature Triops needs from about 2-4 liters, or .5-1 gallons, of water for it to be healthy. The kits that you buy with the 1 liter tanks aren't suitible for even one Triops, let alone three or four.) Note: Even though I had a Triops living on the 94th day, it does not mean that that single Triops had lived that long. I wasn't keeping track of every single Triops, so I am not sure how long every Triops lived for. One Triops just happened to be alive on the 94th day since I started the batch.
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Name: |
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Ben Merritt |
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bamaud@yahoo.com |
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