WHAT ARE AQUA DRAGONS?

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1 WHAT ARE AQUA DRAGONS? Aqua Dragons is a brand name for some amazing real live aquatic creatures that you can hatch and grow at home. Their scientific name is Artemia salina and they have been living in seas and salty lakes for millions of years; right back to when dinosaurs roamed the earth! Their very efficient way of living and reproducing has enabled them to survive to the present day almost exactly as they were 100 million years ago. Aqua Dragons are live aquatic beings, from the crustacean family; they look a little like a sea horse with a curly tail, and their eggs have an amazing capacity called cryptobiosis which means they can be dried and stay alive only to hatch many years later. Tests have found that eggs kept in air sealed containers for up to 20 years still hatched when they were returned to water. So the Aqua Dragons are real little time travellers which you can hatch and grow at home, waking them up from their hibernation in an exciting Aqua Dragons tank. Each Aqua Dragon has three eyes and a set of 11 legs, which work like gills to breathe, eat and guide their swimming in the water. The males have a mane on their heads which they use to hold the female when mating. The females are longer and are often seen with a bulb on their backs which is actually an egg sack; they are pregnant and carrying their babies with them. Aqua Dragons are peaceful creatures...they never fight or bite! All they ask of us is to maintain their water at the right temperature, keep the water oxygenated, give them a bit of light, keep dirt out of the tank, including dirty fingers, and that we feed them. If we do this they can live peacefully and play in the water while we observe their life cycle, their anatomy and enjoy their company! Each Aqua Dragons tank comes with full instructions, but here it is in a nutshell: 1. Empty the full contents of the eggs sachet into the tank and add bottled spring water. Do not use tap water. If you are using one of our Aqua Dragon tanks then you will see there is a fill level indicator. 2. If you are not using an Aqua Dragon tank then make sure that you use a completely clean container and use 380ml of bottled spring water. 3. The ideal water temperature range for hatching is 21 to 27ºC. It is important that the water is at this temperature in order for your Aqua Dragons to hatch and during the first delicate week of life. You could put the tank under a lamp to warm the water if you are concerned about the temperature. Ask an adult to help you with this. After a week the Aqua Dragons become stronger and the water temperature can be between 17 and 30ºC. 4. Your Aqua Dragons are starting to hatch already but they are microscopic so you can t see them yet. Wait two to three days. 5. By the third day you should see some tiny white dots swimming, if you stir the water they will try to swim against the current. 6. Once a couple of days have passed since you saw the first hatchlings, you can feed them with a tiny level spoonful of food. Use the spoon included.

2 General advice: 1. Always maintain your habitat at a stable temperature above 17ºC inside your house. Cold isn t good, likewise strong and direct sunlight can overheat the tank. 2. Aqua Dragons need light to hatch and thrive, so try and make sure your Aqua Dragons get as much natural daylight as possible or keep in a well-lit area that is not in direct sunlight. 3. If the water level in the tank falls, normally due to some evaporation, add more water. Make sure you use bottled spring water that is at room temperature. 4. Feed every 2-5 days according to the amount of Aqua Dragons you have hatched and no dirty fingers in the water please! The number one reason for Aqua Dragon death is overfeeding. The contents of the food sachet should last for the life of your Aqua Dragons. 5. Care for these aquatic animals, they are living their one and only life and deserve your respect. In return you can observe their fascinating life cycle up close.

3 6. Oxygenate the water using the pipette. Squeeze and release the pipette to let air into the chamber. Put the pipette tip in the water and then squeeze again to blow the stored air into the water. Repeat this for 30 seconds each day. Please note for those Aqua Dragons lines that do not include the pipette please see below. To oxygenate, every day tip the water and live Aqua Dragons out of the egg tank into a jug. You can wash out any any sediment from the bottom of the tank, then carefully and slowly use the jug to pour the water and live Aqua Dragons back into the egg tank.

4 AQUA DRAGONS FAQ Are they really alive? Yes, the Artemia salina (which is the scientific name for what we call Aqua Dragons) are live organisms and they need you to care for them. We have another resource called WHAT ARE AQUA DRAGONS? BASIC INSTRUCTIONS. You can use this resource to find out more about the creatures and learn how to take care of them. What temperature should the water be? The ideal water temperature range for hatching is 21 to 27ºC. It is important that the water is at this temperature in order for your Aqua Dragons to hatch and during the first delicate week of life. You could put the tank under a lamp to warm the water if you are concerned about the temperature. Ask an adult to help you with this. After a week the Aqua Dragons become stronger and the water temperature can be between 17 and 30ºC. How many Aqua Dragons should hatch? A difficult question; it depends on the water, the temperature, the number of microscopic eggs that were in the packet, so could be between 10 and 50. Do I have to change the water? No, the water has a special ph and salinity level that is established by the contents of the eggs sachet. So don t change the water! However the water does evaporate so you can fill up, slowly using room temperature bottled spring water in small quantities each time. Do not use tap water. How do I oxygenate the water? We recommend that you shake the water before adding the eggs so that it is oxygenated well from the start then begin using the pipette to oxygenate the water. Squeeze and release the pipette to let air into the chamber. Put the pipette tip in the water and then squeeze again to blow the stored air into the water. Repeat this for 30 seconds every few days. How often should I feed my Aqua Dragons? The amount you feed should correspond to the number of Aqua Dragons you hatch. If you have only a few Aqua Dragons, feed every 4-5 days. If you have a large hatch of 20+ Aqua Dragons feed every other day. Do Aqua Dragons like sunlight? Yes they love it, just make sure you don t leave them in the direct sun where the water would overheat! Do Aqua Dragons bite? No... actually they don t have a mouth; they eat through their wings which work like gills. How long do Aqua Dragons live? Each Aqua Dragon can reached adult hood at one month and can live for up to 90 days, however if you care for them well you may see that they reproduce so you could have life in the tank for much longer. How big do Aqua Dragons grow? Up to 20mm but this may take up to two months.

5 What do I do if one of the dragons dies? When an Aqua Dragon dies it will float down to the bottom of your habitat and slowly biodegrade. In effect they become part of the habitat so it is not necessary to remove them. I see a dead Aqua Dragon at the base of the tank, what do I do? It could be an Aqua Dragons exo-skeleton which they shed at various stages in their life cycle. Alternatively, sadly, it could be that one of your Aqua Dragons has died..the life cycle includes death. Initially I had lots of hatchlings but now I am left with just a few adults? Not all the Aqua Dragons that hatch will survive into adulthood, otherwise we d be overrun! It s normal and natural for many to hatch and for only some to make it through to adulthood. Some of my Aqua Dragons seem to have a very long tail; why? Actually just like with fish, this is the excrement that sometimes forms a string. What is that black line across my Aqua Dragons body? It is a digestive tube full of food. Everything is alright. I can see two Aqua Dragons swimming together, what s happening? They are mating; you will notice the male is below and grasps the female with some antenna that sprout from his head. They may stay like that for a few days. The water is dirty, what do I do? This is normally due to over-feeding. Stop feeding until the Aqua Dragons have had time to process all the food in the tank. It could take a week or so for the water to become clear again but the water won t become bad, because it is salty. Can Aqua Dragons live in my regular fish aquarium? As they are small, regular fish will eat them, so do not introduce them into your home aquarium. I have lost the instruction book, what should I do? us for a digital copy using the following address... customerservices@brainstormltd.co.uk Or you can download another resource called WHAT ARE AQUA DRAGONS? BASIC INSTRUCTIONS. Can I buy more Aqua Dragons eggs and food? Yes, us at customerservices@brainstormltd.co.uk for more information.