Brine Shrimp & Reef

[goalieman392]

I have some brine shrimp eggs laying around and was wandering, if i added some to my 54 gallon reef tank if they would survive, but more importantly, not hurt anything else? I figured the little critters could eat algae or whathave you. I know my clownfish or damsels might eat them, i just wanna make sure it is safe and healthy to hatch them in the main tank if they are not meant solely for food. Dont worry, i havent added them yet heh.

 

[Blown 346]

You can add them to the main tank but they will most likely 1 get eaten before they hatch, and 2 go into the filter and nevermake it.

 

[buzzer]

I thought brine shrimp couldnt survive long in salt water as brine shrimp live in the highest salinity of any animals.

 

[NicoleRM]

They can't handle the high flow currents we usually have in our reef tanks and end up getting smashed to death. The eggs may hatch, but don't count on creating a sustainable population.

 

[rayjay]

First of all, don't add the cysts to the tank direct as the cyst sometimes harbour bad bacteria that may damage your system.
If the cysts have been lying around, unrefrigerated for some time, there is a good chance they will give a very poor hatch rate, or not hatch at all. For best conditions they need to be stored between 35 and 40F.
Brine shrimp can live in water that is brackish, and can live in water that is so salty that nothing else can survive, thus at that high level, you have a brine shrimp culture that won't pass off anything at all to whatever they are fed to.
I raise mine at 1.025 and it works quite well.
At whatever stage you feed your tanks with, be it nauplii or live adult brine, be sure to rinse in fresh water before adding to your tank, and for best results, be sure they are gut loaded with spirulina or selco, or a high quality food that your fish can benefit from.
RAISING BRINE SHRIMP