Brine Shrimp Hatching

[Rorie]

I have two questions relating to the hatching of brine shrimp

1) It states they should hatch between 24 and 48 hours. How do you know that they have hatched without switching off the air flow etc?

2) 48 hours has now passed, but my new fry have just hatched today. Can i just keep the air pumping in the hatchery even if all the shrimp have hatched? How long can i keep them going for without feeding them to my fish?

 

[Crazycat lady]

I just hatched my first brood this morning. If you turn off the air pump for a second then if they have hatched you can see them all swimming about.

not sure about the air pump being turned off in hatchery, I'd keep it on if i were you, but if ur gonna raise them to adult then you will need a small tank to put them in, 5/10 litre. needs gently airation and about 15 drops of brine shrimp food per day so water is slightly cloudy all the time. they should be full size in around a fortnight x

 

[Rorie]

Ok, the bottled stuff i had was just rubbish! I got some proper stuff and managed to get them to work which is fine.

I just added them to my tank with ram fry, but i have no idea if they are eating it or not! The parents are keeping the fry in close quarters! I can see the brine shrimp swimming about though, so i gather they will get eaten eventually, or just grow?!

 

[Crazycat lady]

Never heard of ram before so just looked them up on the net. Wow they are beautiful!

how did you transfer the brine shrimp to your main tank? i have my brine all ready to be dinner but they are so tiny they swim through a net x and i don't want to just pour the water i coz it's salt water x

 

[Rorie]

Never heard of ram before so just looked them up on the net. Wow they are beautiful!

how did you transfer the brine shrimp to your main tank? i have my brine all ready to be dinner but they are so tiny they swim through a net x and i don't want to just pour the water i coz it's salt water x

I got a special brine shrimp net which has a very fine mesh. I just pore it into there, wash with normal water, then add to the aquarium..... simples

 

[Crazycat lady]

Never heard of ram before so just looked them up on the net. Wow they are beautiful!

how did you transfer the brine shrimp to your main tank? i have my brine all ready to be dinner but they are so tiny they swim through a net x and i don't want to just pour the water i coz it's salt water x

I got a special brine shrimp net which has a very fine mesh. I just pore it into there, wash with normal water, then add to the aquarium..... simples

will it catch the newly hatched ones too?

 

[Rorie]

I use a bottle with an airline tube going into the bottom of it. Make sure you have a one way valve on the tube. When the eggs are ready, switch off the air pump, lift the hose up and keep it above the bottle for 5mins. During this time, all the live hatched ones will go to the bottom of thebottle, all the shells will float to the top. I then take off the one way valve, and aim the air tube at the net (over a bucket). As the live ones are at the bottom of the bottle, they get flushed out into the net. After they land, there will be a load of water, then eventually the shells will come out. Stop while the water is coming out (or just move the line into the bucket, and pick up the net. Run the net under water to get rid of the salt, then add to the aquarium

 

[Crazycat lady]

i have a ready made hatchery which sounds exactly like yours i don't have a net yet but was told an old pair of tights stretched over a cup will work just as well . great idea just draining them out through the air line . gonna leave mine a day or so more then it's gourmet dinner time for my fry (i get so sadistic when it comes to giving my fish live food). I only have a small supply of the salt that came with my kit. Is aquarium salt ok to use when it runs out?

thanx x

 

[fish48]

All most any salt will do. cooking salt is the cheapest in price and as good as any other

 

[Crazycat lady]

you can really use cooking salt? doesn't that have a load of evil stuff in it? x

 

[Rorie]

I have read cooking salt is a no no, but sea salt, and most others are fine

 

[fish48]

cooking salt will give the same hatch rate as sea salt/ aquarium salt. cooking salt is also good for treating
sick fish. as i have Said cooking salt is the cheapest in price and as good as any other.

 

[Tolak]

I've heard that you aren't supposed to use iodized salt, bit know people who have without any issue. Pickling or kosher salt is not iodized, and is generally cheaper than any aquarium salt.

The very cheapest is livestock salt from a farm outlet, around $5 for a 70 pound sack. You'll go through several ponds of bbs before that sack is empty.