Brine Shrimp

[K.J.]

Okay, so I'm going to order some BS. I do have a few questions though:

1. Will I be able to feed the adults to my full-grown bettas?
2. I know how to culture them, but do you just start the culture and wait for them to breed?

Thanks. Some user comments would be good too.

 

[lisie]

There are good directions for hatching brine shrimp on brineshrimpdirect.com. It's a good place to order from too. It's not a culture that you just set up once and harvest whenever you need them, but you'll have to set up a new hatchery every day or two. I use 2 liter soda bottles with the bottoms cut out... just fit those up about 2/3 of the way with water, add 1-1.5 tablespoons of aquarium or marine salt, and then the eggs, depending on how much you think you'll need. I'd start with one full scoop (a scoop should come with the eggs, I think it's about 1/2 a teaspoon) at first until you can judge if you need less or not. It's better to have more than not enough.

As for raising them to adulthood, that's not quite as easy... you'll have to feed them and stuff. You can google it to find out how.

 

[K.J.]

There are good directions for hatching brine shrimp on brineshrimpdirect.com. It's a good place to order from too. It's not a culture that you just set up once and harvest whenever you need them, but you'll have to set up a new hatchery every day or two. I use 2 liter soda bottles with the bottoms cut out... just fit those up about 2/3 of the way with water, add 1-1.5 tablespoons of aquarium or marine salt, and then the eggs, depending on how much you think you'll need. I'd start with one full scoop (a scoop should come with the eggs, I think it's about 1/2 a teaspoon) at first until you can judge if you need less or not. It's better to have more than not enough.

As for raising them to adulthood, that's not quite as easy... you'll have to feed them and stuff. You can google it to find out how.

Hmm, yeah, will you end up with 250 bottles? Or do you just throw the old ones out afterwards? So I [resume I'll have to get a new can every once and a while? What food do they take...?

 

[lisie]

They only survive a couple days without being fed or anything, so I just dump the old ones down the sink, and just put fresh water, salt, and eggs in there. Just make sure you keep the hatcheries lit, and warm (about 80 degrees).

 

[K.J.]

They only survive a couple days without being fed or anything, so I just dump the old ones down the sink, and just put fresh water, salt, and eggs in there. Just make sure you keep the hatcheries lit, and warm (about 80 degrees).

Do you happen to know what they eat, or is it something that only occurs in the wild?

 

[lisie]

Taken from this webpage:

"Feeding

Brine shrimp are filter-feeders and consume particles in the water column as well as inert nutrients. Newly-available enrichment formulas such as Selcon are highly recommended, but you can feed the shrimp fish meal, egg yolk, whey, soybean powder or wheat flour. Dried algae such as spirulina can also be used. Do not overload the tank with inert foods, it leads to fouling and low oxygen levels. Continuous drip-feeding is best. Small amounts several times a day also works."

You'll also need a rubbermaid container or 10 gallon tank to raise them to adulthood.

 

[K.J.]

Taken from this webpage:

Feeding

Brine shrimp are filter-feeders and consume particles in the water column as well as inert nutrients. Newly-available enrichment formulas such as Selcon are highly recommended, but you can feed the shrimp fish meal, egg yolk, whey, soybean powder or wheat flour. Dried algae such as spirulina can also be used. Do not overload the tank with inert foods, it leads to fouling and low oxygen levels. Continuous drip-feeding is best. Small amounts several times a day also works.

You'll also need a rubbermaid container or 10 gallon tank to raise them to adulthood.

Wheat flour, egg yolk is entirely possible for me. Will spirulina flakes be the same as spirulina algae?

Rubbermaid contain... -thinks- forget what that is at the moment

 

[lisie]

I'm sure you can use the flakes, although you'd want to grind them up. You're probably best off waiting for advice from someone who's raised brine shrimp though, because the most I've ever done is just hatch them.

 

[K.J.]

I'm sure you can use the flakes, although you'd want to grind them up. You're probably best off waiting for advice from someone who's raised brine shrimp though, because the most I've ever done is just hatch them.

Alright, thanks, I'll email somebody and pick up some spirulina flakes next time at the store. Would the rubbermaid container also be ten gallons?

 

[lisie]

They come in all different sizes, including 10 gallons... but the size of the container really depends on how many you want to raise though, I think.

 

[K.J.]

Not too many in general, I have eight fish and I would prefer to use the BS to condition two of them.. so, really not too many.