The next task to select which investment is most appropriate for you. An important first step is to understand the different types of investments available. You can buy shares of specific companies. Buying shares of an individual company means that you are an owner of that company. As a result, your return will be like the owner of any other business. If the company sees increases in its sales, profits, and market share, the value of the company will normally increase. This is especially true over a long term. In the short term, the market price of the company depends on how people feel about the future of the company. Emotions, rumors, and perceptions will drive changes in value. The prices at which you buy and sell will determine whether you will make a profit. You can also invest in mutual funds. Mutual funds allow many people to invest together in many different stocks. The result is lower risk, but also lower return, especially in the short run. In recent years, Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have become popular. Many people call these "index funds". These are like mutual funds. They are portfolios of stocks that typically aren't overseen by a manager. Most seek to copy the price movement of an index, such as the S&P 500, Vanguard Total Stock Market, or the iShares Russell 2000. Like individual stocks, ETFs are traded on the market. The value of an ETF can change over the course of a single day. Some ETFs track specific industries, commodities, bonds, or currencies. One advantage of index funds is that they are diverse investments. They reflect the various holdings that make up the index. Some index funds are also available for little or no commission. This makes them an affordable way to invest. Many people rely on financial news to understand the performance of different stocks or the market in general. To get the most out of these information sources, its important to understand several key terms. Earnings per share: the part of a company's profits that is paid out to stockholders. If you're hoping to earn dividends on your investment, this is important! Market capitalization ("market cap"): the total value of all a company's shares. It represents a company's overall value. Return on equity: the amount of income a company generates, relative to the amount invested by stockholders. This is useful for comparing firms in the same industry to determine which are most profitable. Beta: A measure of a stock's volatility, relative to the market as a whole. A useful measure for assessing risk. As a rule of thumb, beta numbers below 1 represent fairly low volatility. Numbers above 1 suggest higher volatility. Moving average: The average price per share of some company over a specific period of time. This can be useful in determining whether the current price of a stock is a good deal. Analyzing a stock can be time-consuming and confusing, especially for first-timers. As such, you may want to use research from stock analysts. Usually, an analyst watches specific companies closely to assess its performance. There are free, reputable websites that provide synopses of analysts' opinions on companies. Analysts often provide advice, in the form one or two word recommendations, for each specific stock. Some of these are quite obvious, such as "buy," "sell," or "hold." Others, such as "sector underperformer" are less intuitive. Different analysis firms use different words to make their recommendations. Financial websites often provide guides that explain the terms used by each firm. Once you've gathered your information, it's time to think about your investment strategy. Different investors have different approaches, and there are several factors to consider. Diversity of investments. Diversification is the degree to which you spread your dollars over different investments. Investing all your money in a small number of companies can lead to a big payoff if those companies perform well. But, this approach also exposes you to a lot more risk. The more diverse your investments, the lower the risk. The more diverse your investments, the lower the risk. Compounding. This is the result of consistent re-investment of any earnings you receive. If you reinvest your earnings, you will then generate more earnings on those original dividends. Some companies have programs that allow you to do this automatically. Investing versus trading. Investing is a long-term strategy that aims at earning money based on long-term growth rates. Prices rise and fall, but hopefully rise in the long run. Trading is a more active process. It involves trying to pick stocks that will rise in price over the short term, and then quickly selling them. This "buy low, sell high" approach can result in big returns, but requires constant attention ad higher risk. Traders try to gauge people's emotions about a company by interpreting historical price movements. Their goal is to buy while the stock price is rising and selling before the price begins to fall. Trading over short periods is high-risk and not for novice investors.

Summary: Understand different types of investments. Understand key terms. Pay attention to analysts. Determine your investing strategy.

Wait 2 days after the Triops hatch to start feeding them. Crush 3-5 pieces of Triops food using a spoon and sprinkle it into the tank. If your kit didn't come with Triops food, you can use green algae powder instead. For the 2nd feeding, crush 8 to 10 pellets and sprinkle them into the tank. Do this only once throughout the day. Be careful not to overfeed the Triops. Wait until all of the food from the 1st feeding is gone before you add more. Measure the amount of food using the spoon provided in the kit or with a teaspoon. On day 4, for example, crush enough food to fill 1 spoon if you have 5 or less Triops or 2 spoons if you have more than 5 Triops. For days 5 and 6, feed 1 spoonful twice a day for 5 Triops or less and 2 spoonfuls once a day for more than 5. On day 7, feed 2 spoonfuls twice a day for 5 or less and 4 spoonfuls once a day for more than 5. Once the Triops are fully grown after day 7, give them uncrushed food 2 times a day. Space out the feedings so that all of the food from the 1st feeding is consumed before you give them more. If your Triops only eats 1 pellet a day instead of 2, that's okay. Just avoid giving them more than they can eat or the uneaten food will mold in the tank. To grow larger Triops, give them 1 teaspoon (6 g) of protein in the form of insect larvae, brine shrimp, or fish. Feed this to the Triops no more than 2 times a week. Make sure you cut up the food into the smallest pieces possible so it's easy for the Triops to digest them.
Summary: Feed the Triops once a day starting on the 2nd day after they hatch. Increase the amount of food to 8 to 10 pieces on the 3rd day. Continue gradually increasing the amount of crushed food. Feed each Triops about 1 pellet twice a day starting on the 8th day. Supplement your Triops' diet with protein if you want them to get bigger.