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Triops Instructions

You are about to embark on a biological adventure that will take you back to the Age of the Dinosaurs and give you weeks of enjoyment as you grow your very own "living dinosaurs!"

What You'll Need

Small Clean Plastic or Glass Tank (1/4 - 1/2 gallon or 1-2 liters)
1 Gallon Distilled Water

Hatching & Growing Your TRIOPS:

STEP 1. GETTING READY.

You must grow Triops in a small 1/4 - 1/2 gal or 1 - 2 liter tank (clean glass or plastic).
Rinse tank with water prior to use (NO SOAP)
Fill tank with DISTILLED WATER (Spring water ONLY if distilled is not available)
No Tap Water (Even if it has aged or been dechlorinated - Triops will not hatch!)
Drop in your water conditioner (Looks like tea bag) do not open it...
Place tank in bright light (Preferably both artificial & natural light)
Monitor & maintain a temperature between 73-85F (22-29C)

Please Note: your Triops will not hatch/grow if:

Your tank is larger than 1/2 gallon or 2 liters
Any foreign objects are added to the tank
Water temperature is below 73 degrees

COLD WEATHER:
Place a 60 to 100 watt incandescent lamp about 4-10 inches from the tank. Leave the light on 24 hours a day. This helps warm the tank as well as provide enough light. Give your Triops a shady resting area at night by covering a small part of your tank with aluminum foil. The foil will block out light while permitting heat penetration to maintain ideal conditions.

HOT WEATHER:
To avoid overheating the tank, use a cooler fluorescent light above the tank or keep the tank in indirect sunlight. Leave light on at least 12 hours a day.

STEP 2.
Do not add your eggs until the conditioning bag has been in the water for at least 6 hours with a water temperature of 73-85F. Open your dish of Pure Triops Eggs over a clean, white paper plate. This is very important, because the eggs are very tiny and may spill upon opening. The eggs are brown and tan specs. We recommend that you pour a few eggs onto the plate and reseal the rest (use about 15 for first hatching). Save the remaining eggs in case you have trouble hatching the first batch. The eggs will begin to hatch in 18 - 30 hours depending on the temperature. They will die if the temperature falls under 71F or 21C. Make sure the eggs are floating in the water, not on top of the nutrient pack. Do not shake or disturb your tank before the eggs are hatched. Add more distilled water to your tank on days 2 & 3. This will wash down any unhatched eggs that are stuck to the sides.

STEP 3. CONDITIONING YOUR WATER.
Leave your conditioning bag in the water for 8 days, this provides necessary nutrients for your baby Triops. You should remove your conditioning bag on the 8th day. Since it is unsanitary, it is best to use a plastic (disposable) spoon to remove it and place in a plastic bag for disposal.

STEP 4. FEEDING YOUR HATCHED BABY TRIOPS

Day 1 - Do not feed your Triops for the first 24 hours of life.
Day 2 - Crush 1 brown & 1 green pellet between two spoons. Add 1/2 to your tank.
Day 3 - No need to feed.

Day 4 - Crush 1 brown & 1 green pellet between two spoons. Add 1/2 to your tank.
Days 5&6 - If Triops are consuming all their food, feed them daily. Do not add any food unless they have eaten all previous pellets; this will foul the water.
Days 7,8&9 - Feed 1 uncrushed pellet for each Triops daily. If they eat the pellet in a few hours, feed another pellet. Alternate between green and brown pellets.
Day 10 - Increase feeding while insuring all food is being consumed the same day.

STEP 5. REPLACING YOUR TANK WATER.
After removing the nutrient pack on the 8th day, (see step 3) begin 1/3 water changes 1-2 times weekly. ~ Open a new gallon of spring water and place it near your tank until it is the same temperature as your tank water (12-24 hours). ~ Pour 1/3 of your tank water into the toilet and slowly add fresh spring water. ~ Repeat this process every 10 minutes until the water is clear. ~ You can change the water as often as required to keep the water clear. ~ If your nutrient pack has leaked, this water change procedure will clear the tank.

WARNING: Wash hands after handling dirty tank water or nutrient pack. Avoid splashing dirty tank water into the eyes.

HELPFUL HINTS

Triops do best if placed in a combination of natural and artificial light for 12 - 16 hours per day.
To grow large Triops, supplement their diet (2X weekly) with VERY small amounts (pellet size) of freeze dried worms or brine shrimp. This may also be done with raw carrots or fish.
When performing a water change, use distilled water only.
Avoid using insecticides, room sprays or cleaning fluids in the same room housing your Triops. Your tank water may absorb some of these harmful vapors and possibly poison your aquatic pets.
Do not use flake fish food. Use a high quality pellet fish food if you should run out.
Do not add water conditioners, dechlorinators, colored gravel or toys to your tank, these may be toxic to your Triops.
Do not over feed. If food accumulates, reduce feedings, change water more frequently & remove excess food with a disposable eye dropper.

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