Might anyone be interested in trying out a couple freshwater vernal pool dwelling tadpole shrimps for their aquarium? I've got three species here, t. longicaudatus, t. cancriformis and t. australiensis , which are the common, European, and Austalian triops, respectively. Attached is a photo of some of my European guys, which are darker and blotchier pigmented than the other species.
Here's the deal on the critters for those of you who don't know- they have a life cycle of about 4-8 weeks, hatch in distilled water, eat infusoria or detrius at birth, and then fish food as they grow. They reproduce hermaphroditically (or something close to it) and lay eggs in the substrate constantly. They are great, insanely hardy scavengers and will eat absolutely anything. At 1-2 inch full grown, they make great community tank inhabitants, or do fine on their own in a simple bowl of water. And in order for the eggs to hatch, they must be dessicated and then re-added to water. Quite fascinating creatures.
The prices are;
T. longicaudatus: $3 a teaspoon (plus actual postage)
T. cancriformis: $5 a teaspoon
T. australiensis: $10 a teaspoon
Again, these triops shrimp have been hand bred by me personally and would be sold by the teaspoon of egg-laden substrate (which might yield 5-10 hatchlings per). The austalians are expensive because the only retailer for them is in Austalia, and they cannot be shipped to USA (I know someone who knows someone, see?). If you have any questions anout the guys, like the diff. betwen the species for example, I'll be happy to answer, since I have quite a bit of experience with the little critters. Anyone interested?
Here's the deal on the critters for those of you who don't know- they have a life cycle of about 4-8 weeks, hatch in distilled water, eat infusoria or detrius at birth, and then fish food as they grow. They reproduce hermaphroditically (or something close to it) and lay eggs in the substrate constantly. They are great, insanely hardy scavengers and will eat absolutely anything. At 1-2 inch full grown, they make great community tank inhabitants, or do fine on their own in a simple bowl of water. And in order for the eggs to hatch, they must be dessicated and then re-added to water. Quite fascinating creatures.
The prices are;
T. longicaudatus: $3 a teaspoon (plus actual postage)
T. cancriformis: $5 a teaspoon
T. australiensis: $10 a teaspoon
Again, these triops shrimp have been hand bred by me personally and would be sold by the teaspoon of egg-laden substrate (which might yield 5-10 hatchlings per). The austalians are expensive because the only retailer for them is in Austalia, and they cannot be shipped to USA (I know someone who knows someone, see?). If you have any questions anout the guys, like the diff. betwen the species for example, I'll be happy to answer, since I have quite a bit of experience with the little critters. Anyone interested?
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