5 posts tagged with triops
Normally I detest Internet phenomenas - I still don't know what that 'all your bases' nonsense was about. So I apologise in advanced for having stooped so low as to contribute to the current internet fad. For your viewing pleasure, here are the first two 'loltriops'.
The triops are just over 2 weeks old now, and as cute as a button. Tragically one hatchling died a few days ago, but the 7 that are remaining are doing well. Have a look at the photos.
(not actual size)
The Triops have started on solid food. They seemed un-interested in the food at first, but once the pellets swelled up with water the little darlings had a nibble. The instruction booklet says that after a week you can feed them tiny pieces of carrots and fish. I had some Australian Snapper fillets in the fridge for my dinner, so I snipped of a little piece and chopped it in to Triop sized morsels. Ive never tried snapper before, but it must be delicious - judging by the macabre feeding frenzy that ensued. Mental note: be careful about getting fingers in the water when they get a little bigger. Triops don't want to be fed, they want to hunt. Can't just suppress 65 million years of gut instinct!
Update: The snapper was indeed delicious.
My triops hatched today. I am now the proud father of four tiny crustaceans, and there are more on the way. They are barely visible - just little white specs, but I can make out a pair of swimmerets.
Apparently they double in size every day. They are about a millimeter in length at the moment, so by this time tomorrow they will be 2 millimeters long. They live about 60 days, so eventualy they will be 2 to the power of 60 millitmeters in length. Let's see... thats 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 millimeters, 1,152,921,504,606,846 meters or 1,152,921,504,606 kilometers (*). Oh. My. God. We're gonna need a bigger boat.
* For Americans, that's 716,392,209,599 miles
sea monkeys. If you are not familiar with sea monkeys - they are a kind of brine shrimp that has been marketed as a kids toy. They come as a little sachet of eggs with a plastic tank. You add water and they hatch within hours. It's the most marvelous, stress-busting executive toy you can buy. I loved my sea monkeys so much, it inspired me to write an artificial life demo (for PC). continue reading…