Brine shrimp in the UK: info required

[FattyFish]

Hi, Anyone living in the UK who can offer good practical advice and recommendations about breeding Brin Shrip?
I have been successful in the past when I had Marines, just scooping out some tank water and leaving a small clear plastic box on top of the tank, and hey presto, I had Brine Shrimp.
I am currently using a product from Amazon that has the eggs and salt premixed that I just add to water. I'm getting shrimp, but I don't find it to have a very good hatch rate. I'm not sure if it's the product. I hatch this out in an upturned plastic bottle with the bottom cut off and an airline and airstone attached. The bottle stands next to my breeder tanks so shares the light from these; it also has a lot of natural daylight flooding the room.
So my questions are:
What are the best eggs that are available in the UK?
What is the best salt to use, again in the UK?
Should I use a dechlorinator for the water, or does this not really matter?

Any advice on your set-up would also be appreciated.
Thanks in advance

 

[MattW32 148]

@fish48

 

[Naughts31 103]

I probably use the same product as you -“hobby Artemix”, but my hatchery sits inside the aquarium with an extra bubbler. I chose this to maintain the water temperature but I’m sure that has not been your problem over the summer.

 

[GaryE]

I can't speak to availability in the UK as someone in Canada, but if you can track down eggs/cysts and not the rip off salt and egg mixes, do it. You might be able to get a Chinese source, and their artemia, while different species from the American ones, are just as good.

At various points I've had American, Russian and Chinese cysts. They're different sizes (the Russian were quite small) but similarly coloured and effective food. I have never worried about heat with them. At room temperature, they hatch more slowly, so you plan for that. In summer, I get a hatch in about 30 hours, and in winter, it takes around 36. They're just in a room by a window for light. No special light bulbs or heat sources.

Any salt works, though I don't use iodized. I get marine salt, but pickling and kosher salt do the job well.

I buy by the pound, and keep the can of cysts in the freezer awaiting use. I use a lot of it, and bite the bullet to buy 2 or 3 pounds a time. I always buy in the coldest months. Getting it shipped now would drop the hatch rate due to heat. It is a heat sensitive product.

 

[FattyFish]

I probably use the same product as you -“hobby Artemix”, but my hatchery sits inside the aquarium with an extra bubbler. I chose this to maintain the water temperature but I’m sure that has not been your problem over the summer.

The product I have sounds similar; it's called "Microbe-Lift"

 

[FattyFish]

I can't speak to availability in the UK as someone in Canada, but if you can track down eggs/cysts and not the rip off salt and egg mixes, do it. You might be able to get a Chinese source, and their artemia, while different species from the American ones, are just as good.

At various points I've had American, Russian and Chinese cysts. They're different sizes (the Russian were quite small) but similarly coloured and effective food. I have never worried about heat with them. At room temperature, they hatch more slowly, so you plan for that. In summer, I get a hatch in about 30 hours, and in winter, it takes around 36. They're just in a room by a window for light. No special light bulbs or heat sources.

Any salt works, though I don't use iodized. I get marine salt, but pickling and kosher salt do the job well.

I buy by the pound, and keep the can of cysts in the freezer awaiting use. I use a lot of it, and bite the bullet to buy 2 or 3 pounds a time. I always buy in the coldest months. Getting it shipped now would drop the hatch rate due to heat. It is a heat sensitive product.

Thanks for the info, I will definitely order just the cysts next time and get a small bag of Marine salt.