BBS Tank Nasties??

[laurarca]

The attached photo is my BBS tank...it is 3 gallons with the sponge pump shown...why is there always a "pile" of orange mass at the bottom of the tank? I just put those fresh BBS in there a couple of hours ago...the tank was squeaky clean...this is an issue I always see...thanks again for your time!!

 

[Peka]

It could be unhatched eggs.. that happens in mine also.... I only use an airline in mine and I dump and bleach it every 2 or 3 days.....

Here is my set up....

 

[laurarca]

Thank you Beth!!! Is using a sponge bad?

 

[Peka]

I don't really see the point in it because BBS are so nasty that you have to clean the tank so often that I feel you are just wasting the sponge filter. When I try to grow out brine, I put them in a container with live phyto.. the live phyto controls the ammonia and you don't have to do much else with it...I hope that info helps...

 

[rayjay]

Is there a possibility that you don't have enough water motion?
I've noticed that when first hatched the nauplii like to congregate in mass on the bottom and end up suffocating so I use rounded/sloped containers with strong aeration.
The air sponges I have will suck some of the nauplii up into the sponge so I wouldn't use them.
I just use containers, water and rigid air lines to keep everything in suspension.
I don't even worry about ammonia because unlike rotifers, artemia are very resilient to ammonia.
I've left the garbage pails I use for two weeks when I go on holidays, with the sitter just feeding them 3 times a day, and the ammonia doesn't get bad enough to affect them. These would be anywhere from about 3 days to 8 weeks old brine.
When I come back though I have to disinfect them before using because for me, the bacteria would be the worry.

 

[DanU]

Are you trying to grow them out or hatch them?

Dan