Auto brine hatchery and feeder

[Paul B]

I often have to go out of town and with pipefish that only eat live newborn brine shrimp that is always a problem. I have a tank sitter that can feed the fish but I can't ask her to hatch brine shrimp every day and sit there while the pipefish eat for an hour so I designed this device which is not quite finished.
The internal mechanism is now sitting on top of the white box that will sit in the tank. (this is just for the picture) Once a day a trap door will open on top of the container and an auto fish feeder will deposit brine shrimp eggs into the container. The door will close keeping it dark inside and aeration will start inside the box. After 36 hours the eggs will hatch and the aeration will stop, a tube on the side will open allowing light in and the shrimp, who are attracted to light will swim out into the tank or I can direct them to my brine shrimp feeder. After a few hours, the tube will again close and the trap door on top will open allowing more eggs to be deposited inside and the process will repeat. All that is required for power is a small air pump which aerates and circulates the eggs and opens and closes the valve controlling the tube where the shrimp swim out. I tested the mechanism and all I now have to do is put it together and position the auto feeder on top which also opens and closes the trap door on top allowing eggs to enter.
Of course it works great on paper but I still have to test the entire thing.

 

[muttley000]

Looks interesting!

 

[ThreeMoneyJ]

That is a great idea! I cant wait to see how it turns out so that I can copy you

 

[todddye]

What are you using to control this?

Very interesting build.

 

[Paul B]

It is controlled by an air pump. That opens and closes the valve that allows the shrimp to swim out. An auto feeder adds eggs to the container and a timer controls the air pump.
I hatch eggs now every day anyway and always have but when I am away I can't do that and pipefish need live shrimp every day. I use this hatchery and shell seperator now, but it is not automatic.

 

[todddye]

Looking forward to seeing this in action!

 

[Paul B]

So do I

 

[Paul B]

I was having some problems figuring out how to get the eggs into the unit while still keeping it dark. I just came back from having two MRIs back to back so I was in the machine for an hour. That was great because during that time, I figured out how to get the eggs in the thing.

 

[el aguila]

I've been using a hatchery dish form Brine Shrimp Direct that I really like. Sits at the top of the tank, no air, use tank water, easy to harvest.

However something automated does perk my interest.

 

[Paul B]

I abandoned that design because the eggs kept clogging the tiny air vent that would let out air from the float and allow the valve to open. I also thought it was to complicated and hard to change the water. This is a much simpler design and so far is passing the tests. It is a much larger version of my normal feeder except this one allows for the water to be constantly renewed. There is an auto dry food feeder on the rim of the tank (above the funnel) that I tweeked a little so it only lets about 1/4 teaspoon of brine shrimp eggs into the funnel at the top of the tube just at the waters edge twice a day. There is a small tube (3/16") that disperses water into the funnel from the tank. That comes from my algae trough but an air bubbler would work. The water flow provides 2 services. It aerates the eggs and pushes them down the tube to the feeder and even if it doesn't, after the shrimp hatch, they will be forced down (I hope). I may have to tweek this a little but I have an other design in my head for that possibility. There is a stocking over the feeder to allow the shrimp to exit. The water being pumped into the device also changes the water in the device. "most" of the eggshells will stay under the mesh (stocking) but not all. The eggs are slightly larger than the mesh and most of them sink anyway. When I come back from vacation I will run my diatom filter if there are any visible eggs to remove from the tank but I don't think it will be a problem in a few days. Right now the 3 pipefish, 2 mandarins and scooter dragonette are all around this thing and the rest of the fish come by for a snack. I will get the fish used to feeding in this place for a few days before I go anywhere and I will be using it now. The powerheads will turn off a couple of times a day to allow the pipefish to feed without searching all over the place for new born shrimp. I like this idea even better than how I am feeding them now as it keeps shrimp in the water continousely and that is how pipefish and mandarins are supposed to eat. I will update with any problems and maybe a video.

 

[Sean_Denver]

Please do keep us posted, I am really interested to see the outcome.

 

[dre7606]

I would love to keep Pipefish but because I travel for work I would not want the wife to have to hatch brineshrimp everyday. This seems to be a viable solution. waiting on the outcome...and Subscribed!

 

[Paul B]

The first batch of eggs hatched in the feeder and the pipefish and mandarins are all over it like a cheap suit. I love it. There is a dragon face pipe laying on the thing but he is white so hard to see, then there is a multi stripe pipe and the pregnant mandarin.

 

[kenman345]

The first batch of eggs hatched in the feeder and the pipefish and mandarins are all over it like a cheap suit. I love it. There is a dragon face pipe laying on the thing but he is white so hard to see, then there is a multi stripe pipe and the pregnant mandarin.

You're in LI NY and you have a pregnant Mandarin? Any chance you might try and rear a few and have them available to locals? I want a captive bred mandarin.... Would be happy to pay, and would like to potentially come see this setup for myself if I could. What county you in?

 

[Paul B]

Come anytime you like, call first. I am in Nassau. My mandarins spawn all the time and I would never be able to catch the fry in here.

 

[Paul B]

I took a video of the thing working. The mandarins also hang out on it but they are afraid of me and run away as soon as I get near the tank. You can see the male mandarin to the left at the start but he leaves when he sees the camera because he got up on the wrong side of the tank today and doesn't like his picture taken.
The two pipefish just stay on it all day and every minute or so they can grab a shrimp. This works differently than my normal feeder in that the shrimp are expelled a little faster but more spread out during the day. They do that because they hatch all day long. The fish don't have to sit on it as they can constantly eat shrimp all around it.
It is a very natural way of feeding such fish and the large copperband also visits on every trip around the tank. You can see the funnel at the top with some water running into it to push the eggs down which they all do. The auto feeder is missing the hopper for the video.

 

[kenman345]

That clears things up a lot actually. Thanks for the video. I hope to hear a lot of success from this project and maybe I might create a similar setup for myself.

Are the baby brine shrimp, if done in large enough quantity throughout the day, would make a good source for the main diet for some 2 firefish, 2 clownfish and 1 PJ Cardinal? I use an automatic feeder during the workweek but pellets are a terrible way to go when fresh food can be on the menu for the weekdays. I have in in-tank refugium as I am sumpless on my DT, but I do not think the copepods have enough room to prosper to the point I could get a Mandarin and support it just yet. I really do think a Mandarin would be a nice addition to my tank livestock though.

 

[Paul B]

Baby brine shrimp are not an adequate food for firefish, clownfish and cardinals. I also have those fish and they eat the shrimp, but they would not live on it as it is to small a food for them. My mandarins eat it which is the reason they are always spawning.
So It would not feed pellets to anything. Fish need fresh food. Frozen is good but a whole food like clams are better and live foods such as blackworms are best. That is all I use, clams and live worms. Sometimes Mysis.

 

[kenman345]

Baby brine shrimp are not an adequate food for firefish, clownfish and cardinals. I also have those fish and they eat the shrimp, but they would not live on it as it is to small a food for them. My mandarins eat it which is the reason they are always spawning.
So It would not feed pellets to anything. Fish need fresh food. Frozen is good but a whole food like clams are better and live foods such as blackworms are best. That is all I use, clams and live worms. Sometimes Mysis.

I feed frozen foods on the weekends, but I try to automate whatever I can. If I can somehow, whether by combination, or outright with one solution feed them fresh foods daily, I would definitely be doing so. I have been actively researching these type of solutions, so your project is very intriguing. Sometimes, as you may know, we have to do what we can, even if not the absolute best option, so that we can sustain our tanks when we are unable to be there. If I had a way of ensuring that the fish were fed properly that used a better food source, I would get ahold of it and implement it.

 

[oh207]

Neat project.