Hey guys... I'm new here... made a few posts, and then realized that there is a special place just for introducing yourself, so here goes...
I'm a 24 year old guy, and a biology student at Indiana University. I just officially got into the whole aquarium hobby, though I have been keeping triops (don't laugh...) for about a year, and have a couple tanks (1g and 5g) I use for eggs/larvae, and adults. These guys are pretty fun, especially for bio students, since you can breed them quickly and observe an entire life-cycle (complete, with the possibility of cannibalism) in less than 2 months. They are also cool because if you get tired of them, you can just let them complete their life cycles, and then break down the tanks and dry and store the substrate (containing eggs) for use in making instant triops months, years, or even decades later! I'd like to try breeding for certain qualities in the future (longer tails, larger bodies, etc) just as a fun experiment, but this will require a lot more tanks.
I also just started a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium (the largest my apartment contract will allow) that is currently cycling with a few "Rosy Red" minnows. I plan on keeping a lone Blue Crayfish in here (which is currently being kept by a friend with a much larger aquarium). Using minnows was a decision I now regret because I haven't since heard anyone suggest them as good cyclers, but I intended any survivors to possibly become food for the cray (if he could catch them), and they were cheap, and "hardy," so I figured "What the heck?". Hopefully it all turns out well...
And as I've mentioned in other posts and my bio, many of the triops will hopefully be used as feeders for the crayfish. But, this is pending further investigation into the dangers of using triops in this way.
I'm a 24 year old guy, and a biology student at Indiana University. I just officially got into the whole aquarium hobby, though I have been keeping triops (don't laugh...) for about a year, and have a couple tanks (1g and 5g) I use for eggs/larvae, and adults. These guys are pretty fun, especially for bio students, since you can breed them quickly and observe an entire life-cycle (complete, with the possibility of cannibalism) in less than 2 months. They are also cool because if you get tired of them, you can just let them complete their life cycles, and then break down the tanks and dry and store the substrate (containing eggs) for use in making instant triops months, years, or even decades later! I'd like to try breeding for certain qualities in the future (longer tails, larger bodies, etc) just as a fun experiment, but this will require a lot more tanks.
I also just started a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium (the largest my apartment contract will allow) that is currently cycling with a few "Rosy Red" minnows. I plan on keeping a lone Blue Crayfish in here (which is currently being kept by a friend with a much larger aquarium). Using minnows was a decision I now regret because I haven't since heard anyone suggest them as good cyclers, but I intended any survivors to possibly become food for the cray (if he could catch them), and they were cheap, and "hardy," so I figured "What the heck?". Hopefully it all turns out well...
And as I've mentioned in other posts and my bio, many of the triops will hopefully be used as feeders for the crayfish. But, this is pending further investigation into the dangers of using triops in this way.