Yet another short-lived batch - this one perishing within 20 days in the small UG-filter tank.
My suspicions are mounting - 3 "bad" batches in a row? Could the bottled water I'm using have changed in some way? Is 2 days alone (saturday and sunday) enough to kill healthy triops? Is there an elf with a very tiny fishing pole cavorting in the office?
On the bright side, I've heard a lot of great stories (part of which is summarized in the last entry's comments) about some really long-lived triops. For all of us here, it's a learning process. I for one am glad to have the chance to get all the good and bad info together. I almost have this "god" thing down.
I was thinking of packing up my triops junk for the year, but I thought, hey, I'm gonna be home a lot next month, and it's my birthday soon - why not take the little kit home and spring the 4 bucks for a new batch? Being home will allow me to care for the canniballistic critters more closely.
If I can manage to bond with the new batch in a deeper, more meaningful way, maybe they'll realize that eating eatch other isn't making the world a better place. I have also been working on a tiny morse code tapper, so I know exactly what's wrong when they're feeling like dying on me, in case it isn't obvious.
Sample conversation
Triops A: S O S
Me: copy that A. pls elaborate
Triops A: feeling wonky. pls assist
Me: define wonky
Triops A: tail disappearing. not sure cause. mayday mayday
Me: Triops B, instruction to stop eating A's tail at once
Triops B: yummy
34 comments:
Ishmael, my surprise Triops, already appears to have egg sacs!!!!
-ZTrooper
Jeez!! You better keep the lid on that tank or he'll evolve himself right out of the tank.
Perhaps the lack of stress (in that he doesn't have any real competition for food) sped along his reproductive cycle. Or did you drop some kryptonite?
Are you missing any daphnia?
~M
Visible reduction in algae in the tank, and visible reduction in daphnia population... I still don't know how Ishmael is catching the daphnia... I don't think he had a mini laser or anything...
-Z
Okay. the spammer comments suck...
As far as the critters.. I've been giving it some thought.. perhaps if you had your tank "pre-seeded" with some algae for them to munch on, the days you're home over the weekends won't be so lethal? (Assuming it's a food issue). Ishmael went 5 days without human intervention and is doing fine...
-Z
LOL! Another triops in Ishmael's tank! I didn't add or change anything, yet, there he is! Lil nauplius flitting around in the water. I may have to name him Adam for his spontaneous appearance on the 7th day...
-Z
beep... beep....beeep...beeeeeeeeeeeeeee
anyone here still?
-Z
Whew! I finally got rid of all those stupid spam comments. From now on I have a mandatory "word verification" for each comment, to avoid spam bots. Sorry for the inconvenience.
I spent too much time this month partying and caring for sick fish to start any new triops farms. Furthermore, our office is moving to an adjoining building later this month or early February, so I am going to wait yet another month.
How is everyone else faring? Z, did you dive into any new breeds?
Eager to hear stories. ^_^
-M
If I could ever get my freakin tank to actually stop having baby triops, I'd like to try some cancriformis.... but I keep getting new triops!
lol!
but... more or less, things are going ok. 8)
Well, Ishmael II is doing ok, I think there might be a second naupilis, and there's also a fairy shrimp of respectible size in the tank. Still got that hazy thing going... not sure if it's bacteria or algae. There appears to be a whitish scum on top of the water now....
-Z
Hey there... been quiet lately... What's going on in the world of meechity?
-Z
Ishmael II is doing fine, dropping eggs all over the place. Ishmael III died young, unknown cause. The beavertail fairy shrimp lost the orange in it's tail, but is happily swimming around.
The tank of perpetual triops lives on!
-Z
Ishmael II passed away. Down to that fairy shrimp now...
might be time to start a new batch...
just have to save the water so the shrimp has something to putter around in. 8)
-Z
Well... I *thought* it was just the fairy shrimp in there.. I was wrong... we found for little triops munching on algae on Sunday evening. I haven't even changed the water!!! Ye gods. they're unstoppable!
You should start claiming this tank as a dependent on your tax forms. (^_^)
And it's time you named your fairy shrimp I think. How about Fatty?
~M
Well, he's not really fat, but he is good sized. 8)
I just wish I knew what this magic formula is that is causing new triops to hatch literally days after the last one in the tank dies.. I'm afraid to empty the water out any more after the tank *looks* empty, for fear of killing off the next generation. . .
Though, if you can get a tank with consistent water temp, a good wispy algae of some kind will certainly tide them over foodwise through the weekend, if/when you're ready to start your tank up again.
-Z
Hi Meechity and Z trooper,
A little late, but here is a link to Scary:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/98868153@N00/120402182/
He was a very big boy. Still have his sand and eggs (I use the terms he/his and boy very loosely here) Am thinking of getting some spring water and starting the circle of life again.....
Kitkat
Funfunfun..
In the middle of yet another spontaneous batch. 6 of them this time, flitting around the tank. I have turned the filter back on, and it's done wonders for cleaning up the algae on the bottom of the tank, and clearing the water up.
the kit food is long gone, so I'm feeding betta fish food, and frozen bloodworms, and they're munching on the algae that's on the tank glass.. I can probably find the algae chips I had as well.
-ZTrooper
I just felt like throwing this out there. My triops are about 2 weeks old now. The only problems I am having with them is that I have too many. I have nine in a gallon container, its way too small for them so they get oxygen deprived easily. Im sorta afraid of putting in a filtration system, substrate, or aerator seeing as all three come with issues. I started with glass marbles on the bottom to give them something to hide from eachother, that kept cannibalism away until they grew too big. Now I can tell when i need to feed them simply by glancing over-they get cranky and start trying to eat eachother. :P...its too bad that they are genetically so similar. I may try to selectively breed them for spontaneous hatching and size, though its unlikely this will do much...Come to think of it I shouldnt be proud of selectively breeding/pollenating flowers in my garden being a big tough guy n all.
How about a hanging filter with some pantyhose rubber-banded around the intake tube?
Then again... if you're very concerned about your tough-guy image, maybe buying pantyhose isn't the best idea! ;)
~M
Triops rock! You have some great pics! My 2nd batch here on da Facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4736253018
I have enjoyed reading your bloggs on triops. I am only a triops inspired mother of two boys who deserately have been trying to grow trips. Third time is the charm I think. We have three healthy ones in the kit tank that we got at the store. My question to you pros out there is how do I go about changing the water in the tank and can I go to a bigger tank? Do I handle the water change kinda like a fish tank water cleaning and corral the triops in a smaller container while I change the water? We have really enjoyed the process of life here in Keller, TX. My boys are learning alot and so am I!
Yep, kinda just like a fish tank! Gently scoop them in a clean glass container (or plastic that has never had detergent or soap in it) while you clean their container. I would recommend pouring them back in with a bit of their OLD water (same temperature), to avoid shocking them.
As for tank size, you can go as big as you want as they grow, but while they are smaller they need more shallow water so they don't have to swim very far to the surface of the water (where the food usually floats). ZTrooper has (had?) a wonderful setup in a 10 gallon aquarium.
If you're going to filter a larger tank, tie a piece of fine netting, (or nylon pantyhose) around the intake tube of the filter when you turn it on, or smaller triops might get sucked in.
That's all I can think of right now, I hope that helps. Good luck, I would love to hear if your third attempt is successful! I'm so glad you and your sons are enjoying your Triops adventures; I think they're such beautiful and fascinating creatures.
~M
Well, my Triops are thriving. 60% into their first day of life. Several are laying at the bottom, dead I presume. Around 7 are fluttering about on the side closet to the light. I think me being in the chilly mountains makes a BIG difference. But hey, at least some are alive. I even put some algae into the bowl for them to feed on. Yummy.
i new to the triops,and the kit came with some gravel, which contained plant conditioners, that look like tiny pieces of wood. They are floting on the top of the water, which means i can barely see in, and the baby triops area constantly at the top of the water,so I can barley see them. Is this supposed to happen and if not, what should i do?
@Hannah -
The 'plant conditioners' I think are just detritus - tiny pieces of wood (plant matter) that has dried up eggs and algae bits on it. These hatch into paramecium and other microbes that the baby triops need to eat.
Usually the instructions don't call for adding all of it, if thats what happened. It shouldn't hurt them though if you added too much. I would just wait until the triops are big enough to avoid - and then carefully scoop the detritus off the surface.
Wow, I need to look at dates more.
Hi everyone. Rest assured I still get all of your comments, and lots of people come and read them! Keep posting. :)
Vonda, some of your Triops may die if the temperature is too hot or too cold. Even if you're in a cold area, direct sunlight may make the water too hot, but in the same manner a little sunlight won't warm up too-cold water. :) And... they might just enjoy the sunlight, don't you think? :)
Hannah, yes the little sticks and dirt are supposed to be there for a while, providing the mini triops microscopic gunk to eat. As they grow they will not need the "scum" so much anymore as you will be providing them food, and you can carefully and gradually scoop small bits of it out at a time. Don't scoop up your triops though. And... actually... I just noticed that Spreggo (below) responded to your post quite excellently. :)
Spreggo, I assume you're talking about the date of the post... yes it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything! (^_^) But you can still come back here to share your experiences - a lot of people still reference the posts, and I don't think I've ever missed a comment since I get them delivered directly to my email account, though I may not respond right away. Thanks for responding to her question!
Thanks everyone, I love that this site is still semi popular for those people interested in these wonderful tiny creatures. Remember you can also send photos and videos to me, and I will post them on the site (I haven't gotten any yet)... (^_^)
~M
I had recently transferred Flash to a 10 gallon tank with an undergravel filter. When i poured him in gently, he fell to the bottom and was kind of pointed down and swimming ferociously, but getting nowhere. I used a stirring stick I got and gently nudged him free, only to see him stick to another rock... and then another... and another...
...all the while I'm thinking theres too much water, and the pressure might be getting to him. So I'm using my baster to suck out water, squirting it into two 1 liter empty bottles and then turning down the filter...up, down, up until i reached a quiet, bubbling surface. He also squirted out a HUGE number 2.
Is he ok, or should i be worried? When i last checked, he was swimming around, checking out the two aquatic plants i have in there, but still...
Kevin - There's a good chance he is not okay. If the water in the aquarium was significantly different from the the water he grew up in, he probably went into shock.
I killed a a whole aquarium of my triops when I added just a little tap water once. They died in less than a few hours.
Make sure you always start the aquariums and hatching dishes with distilled water. After that, slowly mix the two containers water so that the triops become acclimated to the new water before they get dumped into it. Another thing to to be sure the temperatures of the water are the same, within a few degrees F of each other.
Spreggo, thank you very much for the tip. what I did before i transferred him was slowly poured him into a plastic bowl, then i removed 3/4 of the water. I filled it back up over the course of an hour and a half with the new tank water, to prevent osmotic pressure from getting to Flash (FLASH! AHHH AHH... KIng of the IMpossible!)
Its the next day, and I just got home from work, dreading that I may find him lifeless. Hes still going strong, swimming around, but sometimes he falls to the bottom on his back and takes a couple of huffs before going off again.
Is my UGF causing too harsh of a current?
I really appreciate your input, my friend! Thank you very much for getting back to my ASAP. I hope to return the favor somehow, someway in the future!
http://shadowmurasama.deviantart.com/
I can draw, i guess... ( not well though ) so if you got any projects, drop me a line. I'd be happy to do whatever you want for free.
Its not fair of a trade off (for you, as helping me with Flash beats out my offer to draw for you by a bazillion points) but hopefully I can do enough projects for you, so I can repay you back for something much more important than a little grease work; knowledge.
Kevin: nice art!
Hi! I am new to triops and I am wondering if this would be appropriate for a 7th grade science project. I have read all of these comments and I would love to hear all the tips you have for taking care of them and everything you know about how to make these little creatures happy!
Thanks :D
M
Hi! I am new to triops and I am wondering if this would be appropriate for a 7th grade science project. I have read all of these comments and I would love to hear all the tips you have for taking care of them and everything you know about how to make these little creatures happy!
Thanks :D
M
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