▷ Triops in the Aquarium | All information about keeping and breeding

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triops longicauditus come from America and are 5 to 6 centimeters tall. The European Triops cancriformis can up to grow to 11 centimetersbut usually remain 5 to 7 centimeters tall.

Triops longicauditus have a slightly longer tail than Triops cancriformis. Triops cancriformis have a higher dorsal shield.

Triops are kept in a small plastic or glass aquarium. There should be sand in the aquarium so that they can dig there and lay their eggs. Some keepers do without the substrate because the water quickly becomes cloudy as a result of digging. A filter is not necessary. Ventilation is at least not necessary all the time, but it can be useful if the water is very cloudy.

Triops husbandry / husbandry conditions

The temperature should not fall below 22° for the American species. In the European species, the temperature can drop to as low as 15°. It even seems to extend its lifespan.

The animals are best in osmosis water, distilled water or rainwater held out of a rain barrel. The water from the barrel can also be a bit cloudy. living in nature Triops in puddlescaused by rainwater and in flood plains.

Triops do not tolerate fresh tap water very well. However, old water from an aquarium can be used.

The osmotic pressure is higher in desalinated water than in unsalinated water. Thus, more water goes into the cyst and the triops get a signal to hatch.
There are probably other hatching signals, because Triops can hatch even in hard lime water with a high chloride content, i.e. with a high conductivity.

Breeding and keeping triops

For a new approach, the aquarium is included filled with distilled water and added the eggs. Alternatively, an aquarium filter can be washed out in fresh tap water and the eggs placed on top with this broth.

Supposedly, leaving the sand in a freezer overnight will increase the hatch rate.

Triops grow very quickly. They hatch 1 to 2 days after the infusion. At 25° to 28°, Triops can hatch after about 8 hours.

2 days after hatching they are approx. 3 millimetres, after a week sometimes already 1 centimeter and after another 2 to 3 days 2 centimeters, without a tail. After 2 weeks they are about 3.5 centimeters tall and the egg sacs are visible.

Adult triops produce a lot of mulm. They are true eating machines. A large food tablet per animal per day is eaten in addition to the abundant algae. The mud is then green.

No more than 3 to 4 triops should be kept in a 20 liter aquarium. Depending on the stock and the cloudiness of the water, about 50% of the water is changed every few days.

Single females also get egg sacs through virgin birth.

Most often they live for 30 to 40 days, sometimes up to 90 days. When all the crabs have died, the vessel is allowed to dry out. After that, the aquarium remains dry for about 2 months. Then distilled water is filled in again and new triops hatch from the eggs.

Food for triops

In the first two weeks, filter sludge from an established aquarium filter can be fed. The nauplii can also be raised with yeast if no floating algae have formed yet. There are Triops granules for the first few days, which probably consist of spirulina balls about 1 millimeter in size.

Adult triops eat basically everything, including their own kind. Puddle animals can’t be picky.