How many Triops can you see? (And how many Triops will there be?)

I counted at least ten metanauplii this time (red Triops longicaudatus). For this, my fourth, try I have only filled the hatching tank halfway and have removed the air pump, based on advice I have received here. The large aquarium is ready to receive them, but most posts I have seen recommend waiting until they reach 1 cm.

I am hoping the bit of hornwort and fernwort also help keep the water oxygenated, and reduce cannibalism, since I have been advised to stick to a much stricter feeding schedule. I plan to wait four days from today to feed them, and then only give them a toothpick tip of crushed pellets once every two days. We will see if any live long enough to be the first to meet the snails living in the larger aquarium.

This absolute monster hatched on sunday and managed growing a ridiculous amount as well as eating all the other triops and fairy shrimp within !!5 days!! only.

This is not my first time keeping triops, but it is definitely my first time experiencing a triops THAT greedy.

Amazon kinda sucks but idk where else to go and most of them are quite expensive.

I have to admit, I’m more of an enjoyer than a keeper of triops. Found these fellows in a rice field last summer. Just posting some nice pictures of these happy little guys.💕

From what I know you need an okay sized tank, sand substrate, a filtration system and heating with additional java moss or driftwood but I'm not sure on that.

One thing I'm really unsure about is how can I make them last for generations? As I know they need to be dry for a certain amount of time as cysts, say for example I am having a permanently filled tank how do I get them to have babies? Do I scoop some sand out and repeat the original colonies birth in a small container?

Hello! So I got the Kosmos prehistoric life triops kit, first I tried just doing as the box instructed after a week nothing hatched and the water went all murky so I'm letting it dry out and have set up a hatchery in the tank I was planning to move them to. To keep the temperature in the hatchery stable I've floated it in the main tub which is always at 23-24c° the main tank has been up for around 2-3 weeks it has guppy grass anubias and java Fern, both the main tank and hatchery was filled with pure distilled water, I did add around 5ml treated tap water into the hatchery just to add in some minerals, there's coral in the main tank which has made the water hardness correct for keeping triops, it's been 5 days with this method and I have yet to see any hatching, should I wait more or let it dry out and try again? Also should I try a mix of 50/50 tap water and distilled? The lights in the main tank have been on 24/7, should I switch to a 12 hour cycle? Any help would be greatly appreciated, sorry for the long chunk of text!

Hello how are you, Reddit as the title says this is Andrea is a triops of about 1 month is the survivor of 4 siblings (I am a beginner) Andrea likes for some reason to use the current of water to dig a hole and if I know it has been him/her because the current does not have enough strength to do something like this I think he does it as retaliation for the death of his brothers/sisters Andrea I think he has laid a lot of eggs Andrea will have offspring and I hope to have more

Hi I want to get started in growing them. What’s the best value beginner kit? Do I need a light pointed at them all the time? If so, where can I buy it? Can someone give me links to check out?

Also, they only live like 2-3 months right? After that they die and I have to buy new eggs? It’s not sustainable to raise them long term? I am thinking of just being a casual user.

I recently tried moving two 12 day old triops to my main cycled 10g tank (equipped with sponge filter, heater, hornwort, amazon sword, sand substrate, half a boiled Indian almond leaf and a small piece of cuttlebond) that has a handful of scud and a fair amount of bladder and ramshorn snails, 50/50 distilled:spring water. Ammonia was 0ppm, nitrate 0ppm, nitrate around 5-10pm, pH 7.6. I drip siphoned main tank water into the hatchery for three and a half hours until the water over doubled. The triops seemed perfectly fine at this stage so I carefully put them into the main tank.
Within five minutes, one began scrambling and seizing, and within ten it was virtually unmoving, laying upside down with its legs kicking. The second one also began acting strange so I scooped both up and put them back into the hatchery with fresh distilled water. I was certain they’d die but both managed to survive, the affected one slowly regained movement and turned over over the span of an hour or two, and twelve hours later is swimming relatively normally and eating although it had a slight arch in its back but it seems to be straightening out.
What went wrong? Was this osmotic shock? How badly did this harm them long term? I thought drip acclimation over three hours would be enough. I’m concerned to attempt again and I don’t plan on trying again soon, but ammonia was accumulating in the hatchery (0.5ppm) so I’d really like to move them over. Any advice or suggestions for future acclimation attempts are appreciated!

I went to feed my seven-day-old Triops metanauplii (are they still metanauplii at that age?) this afternoon, and give their nursery apparently bereft of life, save the snail I had in there to keep the water clean. This is my fourth failure. The air pump (see the photograph) got me past four days, and the test strip indicates almost stellar water quality (carbonate around 110 mg/L, pH around 7.2 or maybe 7.6, hardness below 50 mg/L, chlorine at 0 mg/L, nitrate below 10 mg/L, and nitrite less than 1 mg/L). You can see the nursery tank in the photo, as well as the aquarium I had planned to move the adults into. I had at least 14 metanauplii hatch this time, and saw at least three Triops measuring around 5 mm yesterday. Although I started with the Smithsonian kit, I am using Green Waters red Triops longicaudatus eggs. The heater has kept the water temperature within one degree of 26 degrees Celsius, and I was putting a pinch of crushed feed pellets in once per day after day three. There is also a small cutting of Ceratophyllum demersum in the nursery to help supply oxygen and serve as a food supplement. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I did wrong this time?

Today he's 60 days old! He lost a lot of his caudal rami in the last few weeks but he's still navigating fine. He loves to drag around the frogbite. He's also alone in his tank because he ate all his siblings. I hope he will become even older than he's now.

I hate making a post like this but the link and eBay seller in the FAQ are unavailable.

Just a photo of a couple of longicaudatus triops, I raised. Oh, and an overpopulation of ramshorn snails.

Word of advice: Ramshorn snails, not even once 🙃.

Triops longicaudatus, Streptocephalus sealii
San Marcos, TX

The triops were enjoying the easy meals that the fairy shrimp made as they were drawn to the light. I have footage of that posted on my Instagram: @critters.n.creatures

if you have any info please let me know

i have a group called r/anythingtriops your welcome to post anything there too

Do caudal furcae grow back as a Triops molts? I noticed one of my juvenile cancriformis somehow broke a furca, with about half of its length missing. I'm sure it won't affect the health of the Triops in the long run, but I'm just curious...

Hello everyone, I put my Triops Longicaudatus Eggs into the hatching container about 5 days ago but they haven’t hatched (yet?). So I wanted to ask if I should either continue waiting, just dry them and retry or change something. I don’t know what’s wrong though: The light has been turned on 24/7 for the last days (Would 12 hours per day be better for them to hatch?), the temperature is 26°C (Should I try 24°C?) and the water is a mix of 70% Distilled water and 30% Spring water. I ordered the eggs off of the Triops King website, which come with substrate (Are they good quality?). Thanks in advance!

I’m getting the stuff for them on Christmas😁

just so you know this list may need some working on feel free to comment stuff I may have missed or anything else like that.

Red Triops Eggs (Green Water Farm)

Substrate: Triops need fine sand to dig and lay eggs. Standard fine aquarium silica sand or smooth pool filter sand works best (ensure it has no sharp edges)

Cascade Nano Aquarium Filter & Air Pump Kit

Baby Stage Food: Fine powder foods like pure spirulina powder or specialized first-week growth powders (often found via Planet Triops Food Guide or specialized hobbyist shops).

Adult Pellets & Treats: Bottom-feeder sinking shrimp pellets and freeze-dried bloodworms or brine shrimp cubes to give them the high protein required for fast molting.

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Hatching Phase Lamp Bulb: For the first 7 days, a standard desk lamp using a 6000K–6500K Daylight LED Bulb or a traditional 60W Incandescent/Halogen Bulb works best. Incandescent bulbs provide both strong light and gentle heat.

Reddit

Adult Tank Lighting: For the adult tank, a simple clip-on aquarium LED light ensures they get their 12 hours of light daily without overheating the water.

https://www.petco.com/product/aqueon-submersible-aquarium-heater

Aquarium Thermometer

A basic glass suction-cup thermometer or digital probe thermometer (usually $4–$7) is essential to verify that your hatching dish or tank stays between 72°F and 80°F.

1. Airline Check Valve

   • What it does: If you place your air pump lower than the water level of your tank, water can siphon back down into the pump and ruin it if the power cuts out. A tiny plastic check valve stops water from flowing backward.

   • Cost: ~$2 to $3 at any pet store or online

2. Aquarium Turkey Baster or Pipette

   • What it does: Crucial for spot-cleaning. Triops have massive bioloads for their size, and you will need to suck out leftover food particles and poop from the sand daily without accidentally sucking up a Triops.

3. A Small Separate Container for Hatching

   • What it does: Remember not to hatch them straight in the 3–5 gallon tank, or the tiny babies will starve because they can't find the food. A simple small plastic Tupperware container, a clean glass jar, or a small bowl (holding about 0.5 to 1 quart of distilled/spring water) is needed for days 1 through 7.

Quick Checklist Recap:

•	\[ \] Eggs & Starter Kit (with initial powder food)
wikiHow



•	\[ \] Distilled or Spring Water (No tap water/chlorine)
Triops World



•	\[ \] Small Hatching Container (for the first week)
Rainbow Cabin



•	\[ \] Desk Lamp / Bulb (to provide light and heat for hatching)
Triops Galaxy



•	\[ \] 5-10 Gallon Tank (for when they graduate to adults)
Reddit



•	\[ \] Fine Aquarium Sand (1–2 inches deep for the adult tank)

•	\[ \] Nano Sponge Filter + Air Pump + Check Valve

•	\[ \] Small Submersible Heater & Thermometer (keeping it around 74°F–78°F)

•	\[ \] Water Test Kit (to check ammonia/pH)

•	\[ \] Adult Food (Shrimp pellets, sinking granules, or crushed fish flakes)
Rainbow Cabin

https://www.petsmart.com/fish/starter-kits/top-fin-cube-aquarium-essentials-starter-kit---10-gallon-100213.html

⚠️ Critical Adjustments You Must Make⬆️

If you put triops eggs directly into this fully running setup, they will likely die. Follow these safety adjustments to ensure a successful hatch:

•	Unplug the Filter Initially: The included Silenstream® PF10 filter is far too powerful for newborn nauplii (hatchlings). They will easily get sucked into the intake and blended. Leave the filter completely turned off for the first 7 to 10 days until they grow into visible juveniles. \[1\]

•	Cover the Filter Intake Later: When you finally turn the filter on, you must slip a pre-filter sponge or a clean piece of nylon pantyhose over the intake pipe. This prevents growing triops from getting trapped against the suction grates.

•	Hatch in a Smaller Container First (Recommended): Instead of filling the whole 10-gallon tank, hatch your eggs in a clean, small 1-quart container using distilled or pure spring water placed under the kit's LED light. Once they are 7 to 10 days old, gradually acclimatize them and release them into the main 10-gallon tank.

•	Substrate Choice: Triops love to dig. Avoid large gravel where they can get trapped or struggle to find food. Fill the bottom of the cube with fine aquarium sand so they can express their natural foraging behaviors.

Total Estimated Cost~$65 – $140