Thank you so much, this information is very clear, and I now understand why there is a preference over the other, the triop kit I ordered has no brand name from what I can see. It's the first result for me on amazon here in canada.( https://www.amazon.ca/Grow-Your-Own-Triops-Dinosaur/dp/B000BXHP86/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?keywords=triops&qid=1568781237&s=gateway&sr=8-2 )
I used a mix, 70% distilled and 30% spring water, 7 hatched 3 days ago and are doing well from what I can tell.
I'll start doing the water changes with the water treatment chemicals I use on my aquariums from this point.
Again, thank you for such a clear answer and reasoning for it!
You only got fairy shrimp? Hmm... It's pretty common to get other things with these kits. If you have adult fairy shrimp, any Triops would've probably survived too. I'm not sure how these guys raise out their Triops to get eggs.
What I'd do is take out the fairy shrimp (use a brine shrimp net) and put them in another tank of water. Dry out the sand and stuff in the kit with the tank, and wait for a few weeks. Add water again to start over. Not all Triops eggs hatch on the first hydration.
I'm sorry that you didn't have luck. If you don't have luck after rehydrating them a second time, I'd complain to the company. They might send you more stuff for free!
If you want eggs without any eggs of other species, this basic kit only has eggs of Triops.
I'm sorry you didn't have luck. If you want to keep the fairy shrimp you did get alive, you will need to grind up food pellets and put it into the water. They're filter feeders primarily. They'll get up to like 2" long.
Thanks for the detailed response!
I got the triops eggs from amazon (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000BXHP86/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1), but I have no idea where they sourced it from.
I definitely observe the mating/wrestling behavior from the potential 'male' triops, this occurs even more when the female/hermaphrodite is trying to dig in the gravel to lay eggs.
I'm already drying out some of her eggs, so I'll update you guys if I see more males in the next generation :)