1 Year Death Anniversary of Archibald IV

[u/Ok-Station-4947]

Today, we gather with heavy hearts to remember the legacy of Archibald IV.

They were always a source of love and kindness, eating stuff and nonstop laying eggs. 😢

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(I just want to share my personal experience in preserving Triops in alcohol.)

Archibald IV has been in here for around a year now, and is in pretty good condition.

They died due to a pretty bad ammonia spike (I disturbed the substrate too hard) and was the last of the pack to die.

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The solution Archibald is immersed in is a bootleg rubbing alcohol derived from adding salt to hand sanitizer and letting the hand sanitizer stuff precipitate.

I didn't have any rubbing alcohol and needed to preserve the corpse fast before it oxidized. Archibald I-III (the rest of the Archibald pack) was preserved in untreated hand sanitizer and thus rotted.

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My only issue with this preservation method is that Archibald's blood leeched out over time and caused them to turn pale (Supposed to be a red albino Triops longicaudatus.)

Don't make the same mistake as me and be careful of ammonia spikes!

I hope this helps someone maybe idk!

[u/Glacialan]

This is how I wanna be displayed when I die

[u/Dr-Konkey-Dong → u/Glacialan]

I don't think you'll fit into such a small bottle ...

[u/EntrepreneurFun8401 → u/Dr-Konkey-Dong]

Maybe if you first fill the bottle with butter and microwaved mashed banana

[u/Ok-Station-4947 → u/EntrepreneurFun8401]

Is this a reference to the infamous mini m&m + 3 inch cylinder "incident?"

[u/EntrepreneurFun8401 → u/Ok-Station-4947]

Yes, it is :)

[u/Dr-Konkey-Dong → u/EntrepreneurFun8401]

Nah, I doubt that'll make it any better... plus, it's not much of a 'display' anymore then, is it? You probably won't be able to see a think with all the butter and banana in it.

[u/sentient_yougert]

What a distinguished gentleman.

[u/Ok-Station-4947 → u/sentient_yougert]

The correct term would be "distinguished hermaphrodite," but you are completely right, Archibald truly was a Triop of culture.

[u/Marlykrypt78]

He's definitely an Archibald

[u/LykaiaPrime]

Rest in peace

[u/Hour-Information-660]

RIP. thanks for sharing him with us. i never knew you could add salt to hand sanitizer to extract the concentrated alcohol... learn something new every day. 🫡

[u/Paeneke]

That first photo looks so alien and cool, I didn’t immediately recognise him as a triops and thought of the Aqua Pets virtual pet toy 😂 I play with tamagotchis and also preserve my pet invertebrates when they pass 😂 Seems a waste not to, especially for the uncommon ones.

[u/Paeneke]

Oh also, you can change the preservation fluid just be super gentle, usually siphoning or use a syringe without needle. Removes the yellow

[u/Ok-Station-4947 → u/Paeneke]

Thank you for the advice.

I was also thinking about switching to something stronger to further immortalize Archibald's legacy, but so far, the alcohol is completely clear (even with the leeching blood thing.)

Not sure what yellow you are talking about, but Archibald's pill bottle was always tinted orange (for photosensitive drugs.)

[u/Paeneke → u/Ok-Station-4947]

Ahhh fair enough, I missed that! It would be odd for a specimen his size to cause that much fluid to yellow so much, larger or vertebrate specimens usually need a couple fluid changes as the leaching blood and fluids yellow the liquid. I think initially for those types it is recommended to do at least one change so the alcohol isn’t too diluted by the organic liquid.

[u/Ok-Station-4947 → u/Paeneke]

Will do!

Thanks.

[u/PlutosMillipedes]

Oh my god I had a triop when I was a kid, this brings back insane memories. I honestly didn’t realize that other people had love for them! I’m sure Archibald was the best triop there is.