h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

hi Skanky

I know you don't have much time - but I wondered how your triops experiment was going?

I got #1 Gruesome some Saltwatershrimp things for christmas, and now she's hooked and fascinated. Currently they are about 2mm accross but apparently grow to about 1cm at which point I'll offer them to a friend as fish food.

After she's used to these, however, she wants to try the triops thing, and I found this

http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/images/B0001ZWG7E/ref=dp_otherviews_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys&img=1

is that anything like yours?

I quite like the idea of combining it with an ant farm, but I think that will have to wait until they wake up in the garden.



Anyway, thanks for posting about this, because #1 has wanted something like this for ages, but it was only you writing about it that finally convinced me to try it

Sorry, I know that message was for Skanky, but that's the triops aquarium I've got, and I'd dearly love to get rid of the bloody thing! I think there are still eggs with it. So if anyone wants it, please let me know. I'd have to check about the eggs.

It all worked, I just didn't like it because it needed a light on it, and we didn't really have anywhere to keep it. I hadn't spotted that it needed a light or I wouldn't have bought it. If all the eggs are gone, I think you can buy more.

oh it needs a light?
that's not a problem for me but thanks for the heads up. I'd buy yours off you but with the postage and so on, it would be easier to get mine here.

But... what do you do with the things once they are alive? I mean, our shrimp-things will live in what amounts to a plain beaker of water until they become fish food. That's worrying #1 who thinks they should have plants and an aquarium - although I have explained that the plants would die.

Mine is a bit like that, Sho, but it's got a lagoon which the ant farm stands behind. Same principle, though! As far my instructions go, you only need a lamp for the first couple of weeks; after that they're tough enough to survive. I haven't had another go at hatching them yet, as I keep planning some time away (it keeps getting put back), so I'm not an expert on the things. Yet

I didn't see that bit about not needing the light all the time, but we only got one that lived to get big.

They're like fish, you don't do anything with them other than watch them enjoying their prehistoric lives in our modern times.

Or something.

And I can't believe you use your Sea Monkeys as fish food.

well, we might, because the Gruesomes don't like the idea of watching them die!

but we'll see - it depends how many of them survive to get "big" (they only grow to 1cm)

I've had sea monkeys in the past (ideal office pet), but it would be like breeding mice to feed the pet snake. Ok, ok, so perhaps not that bad...

I'm having trouble cleaning the water. The instructions said to darken the container then shine a pinpoint of light on one part, they'd all gather there and you could suck them up to put them in clean water
little pests. And at 1mm and see through, and about a bazillion of them, it was, well, challenging. I'm sure we've lost about 1/4 of them.

The instructions on ,mine say to clean the water with a pipette, though that would be extremely tricky while they are that size...

it would have been easier, but we needed to get rid of the egg remains etc

anyway, we still have a gazillion of the little blighters
each and every one of them is called Wriggler, apparently