Keeping Triops together: These housemates can be kept in the Triops tank

Many breeders would like to have other fish, shrimps or primeval crabs in the aquarium – together with the Triops. Accordingly, the question is often asked whether it is possible to keep Triops and other aquatic inhabitants in an aquarium. Especially as a beginner in breeding, one is not yet sure whether such a socialisation of Triops makes sense. After all, you don’t want to risk the little ones being eaten by larger creatures like fish. Can I socialise Triops? The good news is: Yes, in principle it is possible. However, not all fish, prehistoric crustaceans or shrimps can be kept together with Triops. Some important points must be observed to ensure that all aquarium inhabitants feel comfortable and that no creature ends up as food for the larger and stronger species. In this article I explain how to socialise Triops and create optimal conditions in the aquarium.

Socialising Triops: The basic requirements

Here is the first point to pay attention to before starting to socialise Triops. Care must be taken that Triops are not saltwater animals.

Triops are freshwater animals and keeping them with other species can only be done if all other creatures are also freshwater animals.

The second point is the temperature range for the survival of the aquatic inhabitants. When socialising, it is essential to ensure that the same living conditions exist for all aquarium inhabitants. Whether you socialise Triops with shrimps or fish, only aquatic animals that can survive under the same water temperature can be kept together.

Socialisation of Triops: Triops and fish

The socialisation of Triops and fish is possible in principle. However, before you can socialise Triops, extreme caution is required. Only a few candidates come into question, as either small fish are eaten or nibbled by the Triops or the Triops serve as food for larger fish. Consistent attention must therefore be paid to the difference in size of aquatic animals. The Triops should not be put at risk of being kept in the aquarium with fish over ten centimetres in size. It is almost guaranteed that the Triops will lose out in this case and end up as fish food. But which fish are suitable for keeping with Triops?

The following species can be kept together with the Triops:

• Antenna catfish
• Spiny dogfish
• Guppies
• Loricarius catfish
• Marbled catfish
• Metal lance catfish
• Neons
• otocinclus.

Some guides advise against keeping fish with guppies, but numerous breeders have reported to me and documented on video that guppies and triops get along well and that no species is eaten by the other. As a rule, fish and Triops stay out of each other’s way. Most fish do not stay on the bottom. Triops, on the other hand, mostly stay on the bottom, where they are looking for food and are busy digging and laying eggs.

Triops and shrimps

Keeping Triops together with shrimps is almost impossible and not recommended. The voracious Triops attack the shrimps so that, even though they are agile and often escape, they are constantly chased and are constantly on the run. This means that the shrimps have to live in constant fear. Not a good and species-appropriate way to keep them. It would be better to consider fish and socialise the Triops.

Other Triops species

Triops can in principle be kept together with other Triops species to bring more variety and contrast into the aquarium. However, if you want to keep Triops together with Triops, you should also consider some important points here. As with keeping Triops and fish together, the temperature range must always be taken into account. The species Triops australiensis feels comfortable in a range of 27 to 31 °C and the species Triops cancriformis with a temperature of 20 to 24 °C. Due to the temperature difference, it would not be optimal to keep these two species together. A good combination would be the species Triops longicaudatus together with the albino species T. longicaudatus Red.

Another problem is the different rates of growth of the Triops. The faster growing species will displace the slower growing ones. For this reason, it is recommended to raise the Triops separately until adulthood.

Last but not least, in mixed husbandry, the sand is enriched with eggs of these species and in the end you get mixed mixtures. As it is almost impossible to separate the eggs of the different Triops species, problems could arise with eggs of the differently growing species later in a new breeding.

Snails in the aquarium

The best way to keep Triops together is still with snails. Snails are very useful in aquaristics because they clean the glass panes and reliably remove food remains, detritus and dead material. Thus they contribute to the biological maintenance of the ecosystem in the aquarium. Some of them have very beautiful colours and enhance the appearance of the aquarium. Almost any snail species that is suitable for freshwater can be kept together with Triops.

The following snail species are particularly popular:

• Apple snails
• Racing snails
• Spring bubble snails.

Nevertheless, caution is also required with the snails. Like Triops, snails lay a lot of eggs, which hatch without a drying phase. This means that snails can quickly become a nuisance.

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Sladjan Lazic

Sladjan ist Triops-Züchter und Gründer von Triops Galaxy. Im Jahr 2020 hat er seine Leidenschaft für Urzeitkrebse entdeckt und züchtet seitdem diese faszinierenden Urzeitwesen in heimischer Zucht.

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