Day Four

Last Friday we received, in the mail from American Science & Surplus, a kit to grow some Triops. Triops?, you say. Yes, Triops.

So we set up the tank and poured in the tiny, tiny eggs and waited for our little shrimp-like friends to hatch. By the next day when it was time to feed them for the first time, they had finally hatched and we could just barely see them swimming around like crazy, drunken mermaids.

They are supposed to grow very fast, often doubling size in a days time. That seems to be the pace ours are sticking to, but it is hard to tell right now, as they are so small. Tomorrow, day five, we can feed them several times in the day, so growth should accelerate from now on out. The best thing about these "pets" is that they only live for 20-90 days, changing all the while, to keep it interesting. I don't know if you remember my luck with fish and tadpoles, but I am not so good with the water dwelling creatures. Keeping them alive, that is.

Anyway, the girls are enjoying checking on their triops each day and watching them grow. We read that they will sometimes eat each other when resources are scarce. Could be exciting around here in a few days or weeks!

All that and we had a great discussion about greek and latin root words the other day, all from the Triops being named for their three eyes. I love unschooling!