Caring for adult triops

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My triops are a week old now, and that makes them adults. They're from one half-inch to an inch long, and they're doing just fine. If you got yours to this point, congratulations, and yes, it's incredible how quickly they grow. The goal now is to keep them alive, at least for a little while.

Week-old triop, approximately an inch long from nose (do they have noses?) to tip of tail.

Don't be surprised if your trips die after only a couple of weeks, that's just what they've been doing since the Triassic, about 200 millions years ago. They're born, they grow up in a week or so, they lay eggs, and then they die. The eggs are the tough part of them, and once those are dry they can last through extreme temperatures for years and years. Then when the conditions are right, there's a bit of water in a puddle, and the temperature is right, they start their cycle all over again. It's a living, I guess! They watched the dinosaurs come and go, so they must be doing something right.

The last time I raised triops I was surprised at how quickly they grew, and the little tank that I had just wasn't big enough for me to keep the water even reasonably clean. Unlike regular aquarium fish, triops require distilled water, and you can't use a filter. So you have to scoop out some water on a regular basis. And their water gets dirty fast, not only from, well you know, but also because they shed their skeletons, and those are just waste. So today I've been scooping up the exoskeletons while I replenish some of their water. I keep an old drinking cup handy for that.

I started them in a small tank (about a liter) and then moved them as they got bigger into a tank that's just a little over a gallon. They seem to have plenty of room, even if they grow a bit more (which they might). I'll let you know!

When the triops got to be about an inch long, I decided to get brave and try a small filter, which is working great.



2 week-old triops

2 week-old triops

Triops at a little over two weeks

Triop means "three eyes". The third one is very tiny, but it's there

Three-week old triops, about an inch long - note the dime for scale


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