Can I just geek out here for a bit?
Because I want to squeal somewhere about my upcoming adventure: Raising Dino-Bug-Fish babies!
... Well, sort of. They're Triops!
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They share a relation to both the horseshoe crabs and the extinct Trilobytes, and certain species of Triops have remained largely unchanged for over 180 million years, though the genus itself has been around for 300 million years. There's a reason they're referred to as "living fossils"! This is because they've developed this sort of suspended animation mechanism which allows the eggs to remain viable for pretty well forever if they dry out, so they can hatch again once they're back in the proper conditions. So a Triops could lay its eggs, and the temporary pool the eggs were in could end up drying out and staying dry for years and years, and then once it rains again and the pool fills-- ta-daa! Magic instant babies!
They get their name for the three eyes they have-- two normal eyes which locate food, and a smaller third eye on the forehead that detects light and tells them which way is up.
They're a little creepy-looking to most people, but honestly, I find them really charming! They're very acrobatic in the water, they don't nip or bite and are actually pretty playful little critters! I used to raise these little buggers all the time when I was a kid, and it was seriously one of the coolest experiences for me; I was always buying the starter kits and hatching eggs, and move the adults into a 2-gallon tank by my bed so I can watch them swimming around at night.
A little while ago I was in a Skype conversation with a few friends who are really into fish care, and the subject of Triops came up. I ended up doing some poking around, and it turns out there's this whole online community of breeders and the eggs are super affordable! I got really excited and spent the last couple of weeks poking around and doing some research on them, and then yesterday I took to Ebay and ordered some eggs from three different Triops species: Longicaudatus (One of the most common species-- these are the ones most commonly found in storebought starter kits), Cancriformis (Another common species also found in some starter kits, and also one of the largest species. Dat speckled carapace! <3) and the auction for the Australiensis eggs (a bit rarer than the other two, originating from Australia) ends in about eight hours. I'm watching this one like a hawk!
The Longis and Cancris are on their way (Cancris were shipped last night, Longis shipped today), so I should have those in a couple of weeks!
Seriously, I'm not really much good when it comes to caring for fish. But these guys? I love the hell out of these guys. There will always be a super special place in my heart for these goofballs.
I'm pretty sure if Triops could grow to be the size of a large dog (they don't, the largest ones tend to be around 5 inches long), my mersona Starfrit would have one as her best friend/pet in a heartbeat. ...even though they're technically freshwater critters but whatever let me live my fantasy damnit!
I'm pretty excited about it, and if anyone here's interested I could post updates here about my adventures in Triop-raising, from tank setup to hatching the eggs and everything with it!
... Or are they too creepy-looking for most people? XD
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