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OUR TRIOPS
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OUR
TRIOPS
On April 9th we put a gallon of
distilled water in our small fish tank and
added a package of triops eggs. In about three
days there were tiny shrimp like creatures swimming
in the tank. Soon they started to grow very
quickly. At first they were like
small transparent fish that liked to swim
upside-down. Then two changed into creatures
that looked like tiny horseshoe crabs. We still had
about eight of the shrimp like creatures.
They are constantly eating and moving. They
like to do tricks and they can swim upside-down and
eat at the same time. By April 22 we only had
one of the shrimp like animals left plus the two
that looked like tiny horseshoe crabs.
Pictures were taken on
April 18 with our digital camera.
    Click on pictures to see larger images. Click here to see a movie of one of our triops on April 18. Pictures were taken April 19  
  
Click on pictures to see a larger image. Pictures were taken April 22 
    Click on the pictures to see a larger image. Click here to see a movie of our triops on April 22. Pictures were taken on April 25    
Click on the pictures to see a larger image. Click here to see a movie of our triops taken on April 25. |
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Because Triops have remained
unchanged ever since the Triassic period, they have
earned the nick names the "living dinosaur" and
"Dinosaur shrimp". Triops grow in many parts of
the world, including: Japan, Russia, western North
America, Africa, Australia, and, more infrequently, in
Central and South America, the West Indies, Hawaii,
New Caledonia, the Galapagos Islands and India. They
are crustaceans that look like miniature horseshoe
crabs. They are called Triops because they have
three eyes. They have a relatively short
lifespan of 20 to 90 days and grow quickly to their
adult length of one to three inches. Their growth
depends on the amount of light and food they receive.
After hatching, they often double in size daily until
they reach their adult size. They are
hermaphrodite and will lay eggs in a tank.
Triops are predatory and carnivorous. They will
eat anything in the tank including each other.
Triops inhabit temporary bodies of water which are subject to drying up. Eggs will hatch within 24 hours of being added to water. The bright colors of the Triops are due to hemoglobin in the blood and a dark blue-green pigment in the connective tissue. They are called branchiopods (gill foot) because they obtain oxygen from the water through their feet. The young quickly move through several larval stages, shedding (molting) their exoskeletons each time. Triops are usually in constant motion and can do many acrobatics and swim upside-down. While swimming on its back, the Triops is able to sweep food into its mouth by using its many legs. |
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