So long story short, after reading Selena's and Shamu's Triops thread, I bought a Billabong Bugs kit (without the container) and set out to raise my own Triops australiensis which is very similar to US' Triops longicaudatus, but cooler hehehe.

I followed the hatching suggestion from Mytriops.com that says use a smaller container for the first week and then move them young Triops to a larger tank, which makes sense to me. So I set up this little 600 ml guppy tank and then waited anxiously for any signs of young Triops.

0-24 hours: After around 24 hours time, I noticed a few very very miniscule specks that darted around looking very much like a baby brine shrimp, so I dismissed them as fairy shrimp larvae and continued to wait for the Triops larvae.

24-48 hours: To my surprise, after 2 days, the miniscule specks have grown in size and the caudal part of them started elongating, so I concluded that they are indeed Triops larvae, not fairy shrimp.

48-60 hours: It's been about 60 hours now since I poured the content of the egg sachet into the small guppy tank, and the miniscule specks are still....well, quite miniscule but has more than doubled in size. I don't have to squint anymore to see them clearly and I'm very excited to see their growth in the next few days. Better get that big tank ready then

More updates and photos (if they're big enough to take a picture of) will follow.

that is really cool Riz i was looking at them on the net i thought they looked kinda cool

105 hours: He he they're really forming up now. There are at least 4 in there and biggest one is only barely 2 mm long, but they are growing at a fast pace and I'm about to give them their first feed.

This is very exciting!!!! Cant wait to see the pics. I'm going to be getting some at x-mas, but I wasn't sure if I had to use a light as they suggested or just a tank heater. Are you using anything to keep the water warm?

my biggest triop grew to about 1 inch, then they all died of some mysterious disease Just a warning to all u triop owners- if they turn red and bloody and/or start swimmimg upside down, theres really nothing u can do to save them and they'll most likely die within a few hours, just watch out for that, thats what happened with all my triops.

So a little more than a week has elapsed since I saw signs of life in the Triops tank. Now I got 4 Triops, each about 0.5 cm long, flitting around the tiny tank. I have a suspicion that they should be bigger than 0.5 cm at this stage but I'll just wait a few more days and see.

What's the difference in between your triops and American triops? I had triops once, I honestly don't know what kind...I do know they looked like little horseshoe crabs though!

As far as I know they are exactly the same. Apparently triops have been here for millions of years and existed when all the countires on earth were one big country, which is why you will find that triops are everywhere around the world, it's just that different countries call them different names - for marketing purposes I assume