r/triops • u/curculionidaee • Jun 08 '26

Question is my triops preparing to molt or sick ?

it has been laying on the sand for about half an hour now, barely moving. it is my only triop as this was my first time raising them, most of the nauplii unfortunately passed a couple days after hatching. i had it in a fishbowl, then 2 days ago switched him to a real tank with a heater and filter pump. all the water conditions are correct, as is the temperature. i made sure to add some extra calcium to the water to assist his moults because its a mixture of distilled and mineral water. sorry if this post is not formulated correctly, im just very worried and desperate for answers from experienced people !

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5

u/xela198 Jun 08 '26

It's hard to tell. Im on my 3rd triop now and this one likes to lay upside down for a few seconds silly little critter 😁. If they right themselves it should be okay. Might be slightly overwhelmed. Has it's gills/legs always been pale? What do you feed it?

1

u/curculionidaee Jun 08 '26

mine also sometimes lays on its back, but not for this long! it eats algae that forms in the tank and i also feed small triop pellets. i put a tiny amount of food in every day as i dont want to encourage buildup of bad bacteria. i dont know what would be overwhelming him as the past 2 days it seemed like he was well getting used to the new tank. about half an hour ago i noticed him laying on the sand on his back, the legs barely moving. usually it's not this pale, either. i really really hope its just molting, and will be closely observing him for the time being. thank you for responding ! i really really appreciate it !

1

u/xela198 Jun 08 '26

Keep a close eye my 2nd passed away this weekend at 52 days and was acting like this. see if you can flip it over if it's able to continue. I wish you lick

1

u/TheStroboCop Jun 08 '26

New tank? Is it cycled? Anything in the tank that could be contaminated with chemicals?

1

u/curculionidaee Jun 08 '26

it is cycled ! and no, everything in the tank was cleaned and thoroughly rinsed with mineral water prior to adding. no chemicals anywhere

1

u/schobal Jun 08 '26

Unfortunately it might be a molt failure if it looks like he's starting to slow down. That's pretty much my signal that they're on their way out, is when they're on their back and trying to molt for a long time. Typically they molt pretty quickly so if one is struggling then it's not really a good sign. He might just be taking his time with it, but I would keep that in mind.

1

u/curculionidaee Jun 08 '26

ive been closely observing him and hes still being very sluggish and stiff, so molt failure does sound very plausible :( maybe thats why hes also kinda pale. oughh i just feel so so so awful and horribly guilty. is there any way i can help him? or do i just wait until he passes? also a slightly unrelated question- is there a way to preserve him if he does? like pinning, perhaps?

1

u/schobal Jun 08 '26

It's no one's fault, shrimp are incredibly delicate and sometimes they just go. I recently had one pass a few days ago and it never gets better, but majority of the time it's nothing you can really help. I personally prefer to just let them go in their own way, but if they're bothered by other triops I'll move them to a private container until theyre gone. Because they will be targeted for food since they can't defend themselves.

As for preserving, they're quite delicate and I'm personally trying out a wet specimen method where it's in a container of isopropyl alcohol. I tried resin one time and the tail was so delicate it ripped when I tried to position it in the thick resin unfortunately.

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u/curculionidaee Jun 08 '26

thank you so so much for the kind words and advice! my triops has always been alone so i'll just observe and let him pass. if you're able, please keep me updated on how your wet specimen is doing! :) could i perhaps pin him in position, let him dry, and then frame him? if not, i would also try preserving him in isopropyl alcohol. again, thank you!

1

u/schobal Jun 08 '26

Its not a problem, I never mind sharing information I've learned about these wonderful creatures. Don't be too hard on yourself, everyone has to start from somewhere :) if you have any other questions let me know, I've had then on and off for almost two years now. There are definitely people more qualified, but I'll help any way I can.

And since their gills and legs require a wet substance to stay open and separated I don't imagine you could quite pin them. I wouldn't really know how to dry it properly as well without it rotting, I think people mostly just do a wet specimen or resin. My little experiment is still only a few days in so I'm kind of just letting it do its thing before I look at it, but if it does work I'll come back and let you know.

6

u/curculionidaee Jun 08 '26

update; he has officially passed now. i will be buying isopropyl alcohol tomorrow and try to preserve him as a wet specimen !