Brine Shrimp Hatch and Feed

[reverendmaynard]

Has anyone ever used this brine shrimp hatchery?

It looks pretty convenient to have the hatchery right in the tank so the shrimp will get into the display as their ready and provide a continuous source of food for the fish. I'm a little concerned about maintenance, and the possibility of polluting the main tank somehow.

If anyone has any experience with this unit, or just has anything to add as to it's suitability, I'd love to hear it.

TIA,
Maynard.

 

[DrBDC]

I wouldn't put one on my tank personally. There is a high probability of mixing of the bad hatch water with the tank. Just get you 2-2 liters. Cut the top off one, fill it with a cup of sand for the base. Cut the bottom of the other and invert it into the other one. In the cap of the inverted one have a hard airline or ro line drilled and siliconed into it and a little hole in the base side for it to pass out to hook up to the airpump.

Did that make sense it's early and we went out last night?

 

[reverendmaynard]

Well, it made some sense, but never having made one before, and never really seeing one in action, it's a little hard to get the full concept. Do you know of any links you could point me to?

Let me see if I can't figure it out though...

The base unit is dry right, and the sand is just a weight to keep it from tipping. The cap is on the inverted bottle, with an airline inserted through it and sealed. This is for airation and flow. Just put saltwater and eggs in the inverted bottle and wait. When they've hatched, suck 'em up with a syringe and squirt them in the tank.

Sound about right?

Any need for heat or a specific temp? My basement gets pretty cold this time of year.

Make up a batch and after they hatch, dump the whole thing out and start again, or can some kind of continuous production be done?

Thanks for the help,
Maynard.

 

[DrBDC]

You've got it! If you make 2 or more, you can have a daily feeding. It takes 2 days to hatch so you could alternate their start times. I mix the water 2 cups tank to 1 cup ro/di water to aim it between 1.010 and 1.020. Then I put in 2 teaspoons of brine eggs. I don't worry about the temp but it sits between my 2 frag tanks. After 2 days I enrich using some phyto I grow too for about 1-6 hours depending on my schedule. Unplug the airline, I cover the top with a folgers plastic coffee can (which I use them for all kinds of stuff) so that the light still enters the bottom portion and they are attracted to it. Then I open the little air valve I have on the line coming out and let the first little clumping go (I think it's settled unhatched eggs) grab the middle and watch for the hatched eggs that are floating on top so I don't get them. It will make a nice little amount of brine. I run some ro/di through to wash them then hold the net in front of the powerhead to release it. Fish go nuts and my mandarins run all over the rocks feeding on them. Big fish are funny because they look like they are hyperventilating trying to get them since they are so small. Clean and rinse well after harvesting and start again.



Here is a couple links on brine shrimp hatching.

http://www.melevsreef.com/brineshrimp.html

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/dec2002/breeder.htm

 

[reverendmaynard]

Brine shrimp food if I don't have phyto? Feed them 1-6 hours before harvesting?

So, you use the same airline for a drain? Cover the top, say, 4/5ths of the bottle so they all swim down to the bottom 1/5th? Drain away the first bit which is detritus from the bottom of the bottle? Strain the outflow through a very fine net? Drain until the floaties at the top start reaching the tube? Rinse contents in net in ro/di? Empty net into tank?

Thanks again,
Maynard.

 

[balberth]

Re: Brine Shrimp Hatch and Feed

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6536216#post6536216 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reverendmaynard
Has anyone ever used this brine shrimp hatchery?

I bought one a few years ago. Never got it to work properly, though. Difficult to adjust and clean, plus I ended up with eggs in the tank.

It sounds like a neat idea, but in practice doesn't seem to work very well. Go with to 2 liter bottle method that others have posted - cheap and works well.

-Albert

 

[DrBDC]

You got it. You don't have to enrich them but it is better food if you do. You can use selcon, or phyto or some fish store alternatives i.e. phytofeast. It just gives them a better nutritional value. Same tube that I bubble through I drain through. The LFS's should have a brine shrimp net which all the ones I have are a white netting and looks almost like cloth vs. net. Also, as I'm collecting them I have to shake the net a little so that the water finds the holes a little easier and doesn't overflow. I think the brine may get up against the holes and slow the water flow down.

 

[reverendmaynard]

Cool.

Thanks for all the help.

BTW, that second link was very helpful.

 

[DrBDC]

You're welcome!

 

[rayjay]

Gut loading the newborn nauplii will depend on what nutritien you wish to feed to your fish. Feeding imediately after hatching will give the fish the highest huffa levels possible, whereas, taking the time to gut load them, decreases the huffa content as the egg sack is self consumed but will increase protein levels, depending on how long you gut load for. To FULLY gut load the nauplii, it will take 24 hours, unlike adult brine which can be gut loaded in just a couple of hours.
These two links are (1) to my brine shrimp page, and (2) to a report for the UN by the Artemia Reference centre.

RASING BRINE SHRIMP

ARTEMIA
When you get to the bottom of the page, click the forward arrows to continue.

 

[DrBDC]

Thanks!

 

[Paintbug]

i bought one of those myself. i just placed it in the tank. i didnt mix special water for it just the tank water. they would just about all hatch, and swim into the tank. i didnt even use the air line most the time. it would work but the above mentioned ways works much better.