[somewhatshocked]

Fairy Shrimp or Triops may be better options for a planted setup, as they're freshwater and have longer lifecycles.

All of them will do best in setups with substrate that is removed and dried after each lifecycle. That's what it will take for their eggs to dry and be useful for hatching. I like to use a layer of leaf litter mixed with a tiny bit of peat. Though, I don't ever keep them in fully planted tanks - just tanks with some moss and floating plants.

Once you try Fairy Shrimp and Triops, you'll likely graduate to Neocaridina shrimp because their lifecycles take place entirely in freshwater and they can live 2+ years.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Funny you should recommend triops, because a second look at the kits has corrected my memory-- they're triops! Would it be possible to manually remove eggs without drying the tank, or do triops bury their eggs?

It's hit-or-miss on how they behave, as they do love to burrow, but you'll likely be able to remove the eggs if you check the tank every day. And I mean every day - because they'll also eat eggs. Even if you can't collect the eggs easily, you can just hatch more.

They're really cool little bugs and are way more interesting than brine shrimp. So neat that I can't remember a year that I haven't hatched some out. My bunch has been going and laying eggs since sometime in the 90s.

Note that a lot of people say they eat plants. They do. But not at any rate where you're gonna notice it. So don't let that deter you at all. I like to use a bunch of leaf litter and moss to give them plenty of hiding places. Unlike dwarf freshwater shrimp, they're cannibals and will eat each other if given the opportunity.

Hope you'll consider starting a tank journal to track your progress and share with others.