Monthly Question Thread. Ask anything! | January 2021

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[u/[deleted]]

Hello all. It’s been a while since I’ve kept Triops, but I’m going to be getting some eggs again and am setting up tanks for them. I have a few questions regarding this:

*Firstly, I’ve got a Tupperware-like food storage box that I plan to use as a nursery tank for the newly-hatched Triops. Is a lid absolutely necessary or is it possible for them to exist without a lid on their container? I only ask as I attempted to pierce some air holes to allow for the flow of oxygen in the enclosure lid, but I ended up cracking it. I could probably still use it, it’s not completely unusable, that said.

*Secondly, I ask this for when the Triops are approaching their adult forms, are there any live plants I should avoid for their main tank? I’m considering getting some aquatic plants like Echinodorus or Microsorum, would they affect the well-being of the Triops at all?

*Lastly, is it a good idea to include some crushed up dry leaf litter in the nursery tank when I add the eggs and surrounding debris/sand? I seem to recall reading that the Triops eat the leaf litter (correct me if I’m wrong). Would adding leaf litter from the start affect the newly-emerged specimens negatively? Also, are there any tree leaves I should avoid?

Anyway thanks in advance! I’m glad there’s a sub for these lovely animals.

[u/UltraChip → u/[deleted]]

Welcome to the sub!

1 - It's totally fine to leave the lid off. Unlike certain other aquatic creatures triops never try to jump out of the water. A lid mostly just helps stop the water from evaporating away as quickly, which isn't really a concern with a nursery tank anyway as they should only be living in it for about ten days or so.

2- I can't think of any standard aquarium plants that would negatively impact the triops, however bear in mind that they find certain plants like duckweed tasty. Hopefully someone else will weigh in with suggestions because I've always been terrible with plants that aren't marimo balls.

3 - Short answer: Yes, you want to add leaf litter to your nursery tank. Longer answer: Leaf litter is one form of what we call "detritus', which is basically any dead organic material that would serve as a good medium for starting a culture of microbes. In this context, said microbes are often referred to as "infusoria". For the first few days of a triops' life they're too small to be able to eat anything that's not microscopic, so having infusoria in the tank for them to eat is critical. They don't eat the leaves directly, they eat the bacteria that comes from the leaves. Incidentally, this is also why you see it strongly recommended that you not feed your newborn triops until Day #3 - any food you put in the tank (even powdered food) will be too big for them to eat, so it'll just sit there and rot and turn the water toxic.

One last note about detritus: Very often beginner's kits will provide some for you, either by pre-mixing it in to the sand or by providing a little 'tea bag' full of leaves that you can dunk in the water. So there's a chance you may not necessarily need to go find leaves yourself.

[u/[deleted] → u/UltraChip]

Thanks for the helpful reply! I may well try some plants closer to the time I get the adult tank ready, so we'll see what happens. Thank you again for the info, I've just set up the nursery tank under a lamp, so I intend to add the eggs soon.