Came across something interesting recently on the internet. Vernal (or ephemeral) pool 'shrimp' (really branchiopods) are short-term aquatic pets. Here in the UK, the wild-type variant of Triops longicaudatus, the longtail tadpole shrimp, is the only species sold, but other species are more widely available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, Poland, Japan and several other countries. Vernal pool crustaceans include tadpole shrimp (Triops), clam shrimp and fairy shrimp (larger, freshwater relatives of brine shrimp). Recently, selectively bred variants of tadpole shrimp have also become available, including a very cool looking red variant of Triops cancriformis. Another particularly interesting type of vernal pool shrimp is the giant fairy shrimp, Branchinecta gigas, which can reportedly grow up 7 inches long, although 3 inches seems to be more typical, and feeds on other species of fairy shrimp.
Vernal pool crustaceans are usually bought as eggs, similar to annual killifish, and typically live somewhere between two weeks and four months, depending on the species. Before dying, they lay eggs in the substrate. You then have to leave the substrate to dry out fully. When the eggs come into contact with water again, they hatch out again. This is because in nature, they live in shallow temporary pools that dry out on a seasonal basis.
Here are some stores that sell a good variety of species - both sites also have YouTube channels where you can watch videos of some of them:
http://www.arizonafairyshrimp.com/
http://www.triops-germany.de/index.php?cPath=8_14
https://www.triopsking.de/
http://www.aquaristika.de/Urzeitkrebse- ... -Zubehoer/
Here are some other good resources:
http://mytriops.com/
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/shrimp/shrimp2.htm
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreshVerne ... d=0&view=0 (this person seems to keep both vernal pool life and opae ula)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvCQzd ... U6Q/videos
These forums are pretty much dead, but there's a lot of good information in them:
http://www.primeval-shrimps.com/en/forum (German language)
http://thetriopsforum.com/index/
This fish food manufacturer sells a dedicated tadpole shrimp food:
http://www.tropical.pl/en/products/terr ... ds/triops/
Has anyone on here tried keeping vernal pool shrimp?
Vernal pool crustaceans are usually bought as eggs, similar to annual killifish, and typically live somewhere between two weeks and four months, depending on the species. Before dying, they lay eggs in the substrate. You then have to leave the substrate to dry out fully. When the eggs come into contact with water again, they hatch out again. This is because in nature, they live in shallow temporary pools that dry out on a seasonal basis.
Here are some stores that sell a good variety of species - both sites also have YouTube channels where you can watch videos of some of them:
http://www.arizonafairyshrimp.com/
http://www.triops-germany.de/index.php?cPath=8_14
https://www.triopsking.de/
http://www.aquaristika.de/Urzeitkrebse- ... -Zubehoer/
Here are some other good resources:
http://mytriops.com/
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/shrimp/shrimp2.htm
https://www.youtube.com/user/FreshVerne ... d=0&view=0 (this person seems to keep both vernal pool life and opae ula)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvCQzd ... U6Q/videos
These forums are pretty much dead, but there's a lot of good information in them:
http://www.primeval-shrimps.com/en/forum (German language)
http://thetriopsforum.com/index/
This fish food manufacturer sells a dedicated tadpole shrimp food:
http://www.tropical.pl/en/products/terr ... ds/triops/
Has anyone on here tried keeping vernal pool shrimp?
Last edited by Halocaridina on 22 Jun 2016 18:46, edited 1 time in total.
I have seen these guys on ebay for sale and thought they looked awesome: 
