I'll start with the nasty part - Triops only have a short lifespan.
They can live anything up to about 3 months (in my experience)

Luckily, in their short life, they will lay eggs so that when they die you will be able to start all over again. I will explain what to do when they die later; first I will give you some tips about how to keep your Triops healthy

Triops need to be fed daily. Each Triop must have one pale green pellet and one dark green pellet each, every day. I know this sounds a lot but even a small packet lasts quite a long time. If you need extra supplies contact The Netfysh if you are in the UK. Unfortunately if you are outside the UK I am not sure where you can get Triop food from. I am looking into being able to supply those people in need of food myself. E-mail me if this would be of help to you. If I get a few people interested then I may be able to do it.

Tell your Triops to leave the room as I am going to talk about a
delicate subject..........Have they gone?.........OK!
As I said before Trios only have a short life. I have had them last about 3 months
but I believe this is rare. On average they will last between 1 and 2 months
if treated well. When they die you must empty the water from the tank
and leave the residue at the bottom to dry for about 60 days.
If the eggs are not dry enough or were dried out too quickly the new batch
of Triop eggs may not hatch. After this time, refill the tank with the same type of water as you used first of all.
Hopefully if your Triops have layed eggs they will hatch. Keep a close eye out for baby Triops.

In case you only have one Triop and are worrying that you will not get any eggs,
if it is a female they can reproduce without a male. If it is a male then I'm afraid
you will not get any new eggs from him.

In order to ensure that eggs are laid successfully, when the Triops are about 3/4 inch long carefully
cover the bottom with about 1/2 inch of sand. Use Silver sand or Play sand,
if it is safe for kids then it should be safe for Triops.
As can be seen in the above picture, Triops are also happy with small pebbles on the bottom
of the tank. I would advise that sand is also provided for them to dig in both for their
own enjoyment and for their egg laying.
The Triops will have great fun digging around in the sand to their hearts content.
Click here to see a diagram of a Triop digging.
copyright © 1995 The Regents of the University of California.
This site goes into great detail about Tadpole Shrimps (as Triops are officially known)
and is very scientific about them. It is mainly a site about how to get rid of Triops
as in certain areas they are pests. How can they want to kill them??!!!

Triops eat plants and small animals. They will eat each other if one is larger
and more dominant than the others. In some packets of eggs that can
be purchased you will find that as well as Triops, fairy shrimp are present in your tank also.
These are there purely as a source of food for the growing Triops.
I am unsure of a secondary food source other than the food that is supplied with the Triop kit.
Packets of this food are available on their own from some places.
If you are really sadistic you could feed them Sea Monkeys or Ocean Aliens
as in the wild these would be a natural source of food.

E-mail me with any queries
I will be pleased to help fellow Triop lovers with any problems they may have.

Contact me also if you have any problems or queries in getting Triop supplies.

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