My Brine Shrimp hatchery

[AuroraDave]

I've received a few requests for more info on my brine shrimp hatchery, so here are the details. It is made by Hobby and I purchased it from BrineShrimpDirect.com.

I prefer this method over the 2 liter bottles since there is no need for air pumps or heat, and I don't need to siphon or separate the Artemia and shells. It is very easy.

Hatchery

The hatchery is the size of a Frisbee, only deeper, with 3 concentric troths molded into it. There is a white baffle that sits on top of the black troths that forms over-under-over-under baffles. The lid has a hole in the center, letting in light. Since the rest of the hatchery is completely dark, once the Artemia hatch, they swim threw the baffles to the center where the light is. The kit comes with a small sieve that fits in the circle to collect the hatched brine shrimp.

Process:
1) Fill hatchery with salt water (3 cups @ 1.018 or 25ppt)
2) Sprinkle eggs in outer ring (½ gram) and put on lid
3) Artemia start swimming into sieve after approx 18 hrs @ 75-80 degrees F
4) Feed Artemia directly to tank or enrich w/ Selcon or phyto

The best feature is that there are no shells or unhatched eggs with this design. Separation is automated w/out hoses.
DC

 

[Evolley1]

Very nice Dave...visuals are always good. Sounds pretty easy to me

 

[Caragol]

How do you get it to 75-80 degrees? Do you keep your house that warm or is there a trick?

 

[ostrow]

Float in the sump?

 

[SPES]

Just bought one.. good talking to you again dave..

 

[AuroraDave]

They suggest using only ambient light, but I put a clip-on light over mine to increase the heat. My basement is about 68.

 

[pangea]

I liked mine also, wish there was a larger version. My seive cup also clogged up quickly and didn't drain proper.

 

[ostrow]

Do you guys use the decapsulated eggs or normal?

 

[ppurcell]

I forgot all about this thing... I just ordered one.

Joel, I have the 16oz size of grade A (regular, not decapsulated) which is a multi year supply at the rate I use them. I could hook you up with some.

 

[ostrow]

Why did I read somewhere that the shells can kill the fish?

 

[AuroraDave]

I use the normal eggs, which I got from brineshrimpdirect too.

 

[ppurcell]

the shells are bad for the fish (reported to either choke the fish or block the digestive track, but I think this problem is more relavant when raising fry than adult fish), but the shells float and the baffles in the hatchery keep them separate from the nauplii so they don't get into your tank.

 

[ostrow]

The issue though is if the shell doesn't fully separate? OR does this not happen.

Just wondering why not to get the decapsulated eggs.

 

[AuroraDave]

I've never used decapsulated eggs; however as Phil mentioned, the baffles keep the shells separate.

Phil, are you enriching with anything before feeding...selcon, etc?

 

[ppurcell]

It takes between 12-24 hours after hatching to reach Instar II, at this point the yolk sack has been consumed and they have developed a mouth and gut and can begin to feed. From what I have read the nauplii w/yolk sack is more nutritious than an enriched Instar II so there doesn't seem to be any point in growing the artemia out much past when they hatch.

It is reported that using decapsulated artemia may be more nutritious than non-decapsulated shells because the nauplii do not have to use as much energy to break out of their shells.

 

[ykh]

I have bs eggshells in my fry rearing tanks all the time, haven't killed any fish yet

You can decapsulate the eggs yourself. In this case, you can buy lower hatching rate eggs (70%) and still get good hatching rate. I'm too lazy to do it though.

 

[Rod Buehler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11219075#post11219075 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ykh
I have bs eggshells in my fry rearing tanks all the time, haven't killed any fish yet

You can decapsulate the eggs yourself. In this case, you can buy lower hatching rate eggs (70%) and still get good hatching rate. I'm too lazy to do it though.

Me too!

I find decapsulation to be way more effort than its worth.

Phil seems to have the rest of the 411.. Hatch and feed as soon as they hatch. No need to let them grow at all

 

[ppurcell]

Just regurgitating what I learned from you...

I've read several times that people raising fish often have significant numbers shells in their tank without killing any of their fish. Which is why I don't double siphon my brine.

I have a seen a few writeups on hatching artemia: Here is a pretty good one:

http://www.saseahorse.com/brine_shrimps.htm


There is also this interesting article on the supplementation of nauplii or instar II:

Supplementing Newly Hatched Artemia

By Bill Vannerson,
with contributions from David Kawahigashi and Eric Lund

There was a discussion on several Internet email lists regarding supplementing newly hatched baby brine shrimp (BBS), Artemia, with vitamins or calcium. The results of that discussion brought two important points to light. One, hobbyists can supplement their BBS to add valuable nutrients to their fish, both fry and adults. Two, the power of the Internet can be a valuable resource.
Supplementing Baby Brine Shrimp

Supplementing live food is nothing new. Many hobbyists have been adding vitamins to their worm cultures before feeding to fish and, to a lesser extent, adult brine shrimp as well. The strategy is to have the supplement ingested by the food and then by the fish when they consume the food.

The debate on the mailing lists started when someone questioned the effectiveness of applying this technique to BBS. Would supplements added to the hatching water be ingested by brine shrimp nauplii and then consumed by the fish? Or would the supplement simply stay suspended in the hatching water without providing any additional value to our fish?

The answer comes down to whether or not newly hatched Artemia will consume the supplement. The answer is "Yes" â€" but not right away. Artemia are filter feeders, but they don't start feeding until after their second molt, referred to as the "instar 2 stage."

According to David Kawahigashi, the commercial fisheries have been practicing this for quite a while.

Supplementing nutritional components, such as vitamins or calcium, into live brine shrimp has been practiced by aquaculture hatcheries for around 10 years. This bio-enrichment or bioencapsulation of brine shrimp nauplii (instar 2 or adults) began using emulsified fish oils containing high HUFAs, or highly unsaturated fatty acids, for marine finfish and crustacean larvae. This "breakthrough" enabled the culture of many other new marine species to be developed (flounder, sea bass, tuna, ornamental marine species).
Why Supplement?

Eric Lund, researcher from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, explains:

Briefly, saltwater fish all require a fatty acid that is common in marine fish oils called DHA (docosahexanoic acid) in their diet. They cannot make it from precursors, so it must be present in their food. Freshwater fish have a limited ability to make DHA from a particular precursor fatty acid of the omega-3 variety (linolenic acid), but they too can grow and reproduce well on a diet that includes DHA.

Brine shrimp are a great food for all small carnivorous fish, but they contain virtually no DHA. Marine fish larvae fed only Artemia exhibit mass mortality a few days after they start feeding. Aquaculture operations get around this problem by adding an emulsion of phospholipids rich in DHA to newly hatched Artemia. The Artemia eat the emulsion (more of it also sticks to the outside of their bodies). The Artemia are then fed to the fish or can then be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Enriching or bioencapsulation of Artemia is essential for marine fish, but not for freshwater fish. Then why bother at all? Eric further explains:

I do believe, however, for some delicate killies [and other freshwater fish] that experience high moralities before sexing out, that enriching Artemia may be of some benefit. Another tactic worth trying is to feed enriched Artemia to the adults for several weeks prior to breeding them. In other species, fish eggs with low levels of DHA generally have poorer survivorship to first feeding than eggs that are rich in DHA. Giving females a diet high in DHA allows them to put more DHA into their eggs. As you all know, weak and feeble killie fry can be the result of several factors, including inbreeding, bad water conditions, and improper incubation conditions, but poor parental nutrition may play a role as well.