Triops ( triops cancriformis ) sometimes called tadpole shrimp are the only native triop species in the uk and are very rare in the wild with only a couple of wild populations ,triops are an ancient species and have existed for over 200 million years ,they inhabit temporary pools and water bodies and there eggs require drying out (diapause) for 2 weeks or more before they will hatch once submerged again ,triops are scavengers but will also prey on smaller organisms like daphnia and worms , triops have quite a short life span only living up to around 4 months depending on water temperature and food availability and can breed and lay eggs within a couple of weeks of hatching and grow quickly reaching a max size of around 12 cm ,triops are very sensitive to any chemicals in the water and there eggs require clean rain water or destilled bottled water to to hatch successfully ,larger triops are more resilliant and can be kept in a wider range of water conditions ,triops can be kept with other species including other ,crustaceans ,aquatic insects ,snails , shrimp and small non aggresive / predatory fish.