Hello Everyone,

having raised Triops for almost more than 1 month now, I would like to share this exciting and fun experience with all of you.

How I Started Out?

Well, one day, when baby and I were heading to NeX to catch a movie, we passed by the Pet Lovers Centre to check out what new pets they had and lo and behold, we stumbled upon this UANTriops kit and I got really excited about it. Seeing the kiddish smile on my face, Baby bought the kit for me to experiment and explore despite me insisting that I should pay for it. I bet you must be having many questions right now and I shall attempt to be very detailed as I can in this blog entry.

What does the UANTriops kit comes with?

• A clear plastic container to raise your Triops in
• Triops Eggs for you to hatch Triops
• Triops Food to feed your Triops
• Thermometer Strip to measure the temperature of the water
• Feeding Spoon to feed the Triops food to your Triops
• Plastic Vacuum Tube to vacuum out all the unconsumed food  to prevent any waste and toxic buildup
• Rectangular Plastic Microscope to view your baby Triops which I find not very useful
• Instruction Sheet to guide you on setting up the container, how much to feed, and what to look out for

Day 1 (16 July 2011)

Alright, being a newbie at this whole new experience with no background at all, I followed every instructions on the box and modified some of it on my own.

This is how my setup actually look like.

Note: I decided to add some beach sand to my tank setup because I wanted to breed more Triops. For your information, Triops enjoy digging sand to lay their eggs in.

Precaution: Please do not use tap water for the tank setup as tap water contains chlorine. You should only use tap water if you have added anti-chlorine chemical into the water. For me, I used Evian Mineral Water. I am not entirely sure if distilled water is actually a good idea because the water is too pure and too clean.

General Advise: Do not be disheartened if you do not see the eggs hatched within 24 hours. Mine actually took longer than that. So don’t go do anything to it and don’t be too anxious. Just be patient and wait!

Day 3 (19 July 2011)

In a span of 3 days, this is how much my Triops have grown!

Note: Out of the supposedly 10 eggs, 3 actually hatched. One died while still a tiny baby and the other died when it was unable to shed its shell for some reason.

Day 5 (21 July 2011)

My Triops has reached maturity and is shedding its own shell. At this point in time, it enjoys digging the sand for some reason. Probably to lay eggs?

Day 28 (13 August 2011)

Today, I saw my Triops acting pretty weirdly. It wriggled on its back and was no longer as active as it was the day before. Sensing that it must be dying soon, I prepared for the worst and true enough, it died that day. I asked myself if I should get another kit to entertain myself but I decided against it as I have three other Betta fishes to take care off. However, just as I was about to dispose the entire kit, I saw about 5 small organisms in the water wriggling about. Looking closer, I realised that they were the offsprings of the Triops which died!

Feeling rejuvenated and excited once again, I crossed my fingers and dropped a little spoonful of Triops food around the tank.

Day 30 (15 August 2011)

I am proud to say that I am now the owner of 6 young Triops and they are now swimming as happily as they can be! If the conditions are right, I suppose I might be able to breed more Triops in the very near future! Stay tuned for more updates along the way. Should you have any queries about Triops and breeding them, feel free to drop me an email.

Some Frequently Asked Questions, extracted from UANTriops Distributor Website 

Reasons why you should keep Triops!

1) Triops are easy to care for and maintain, plus they only require a minimum of equipment, space and cost. Best of all, everything is in the UANTriops package!

2) Triops are truly instant-pets! They hatch within 24 hrs.

3) A great “beginner’s guide” to keeping an aquarium! Triops offer an easy-to-start aquarium experience, educating owners with the fundamental approach to caring for an aquarium.

4) Re-live History! It educates the young generation on the valuable life cycle. Many schools over the whole have used this package as an educational tool to educate kids.

5) Counter Mosquito! In some countries, Triops are a biological vector of mosquito control. The similar environment that both their young ones live in enables both to spawn but Triops grow much faster and thus, able to feed on the larves of Mosquito.

6) Triops are kinda like Sea-Monkeys but much bigger and a whole lot COOLER!