Hatching brine shrimp

[leafyseadragon]

I just got an Aquabreed 200 to hatch brine shrimp in my (empty) QT tank. The instructions inside are not very precise.

The hatchery came with decapsulated eggs, so I don't have to worry about draining off the shells. But what I want to know is how the size of newly hatched brine shrimp compares with the eggs. I started it up last night, but it doesn't seem like anything has changed.

I tried this many years ago when I was a little kid using a mayo jar and an airstone. Absolutely nothing happened, so I am hoping things work out better this time around.

 

[loganj]

The shrimp will be a bit larger than the eggs. They are also phototrophic. If you hold a small flashlight up to the side of the breeder, they will congregate close to the light. If I remember correctly, it take a couple of day to hatch them...been years since I raised any.

 

[Bang Guy]

I could be behind the times but I thought decapsulated eggs were only viable for a few days. Were they packaged recently?

 

[leafyseadragon]

According to the bottle, the eggs are good until 07/04. But I am pretty sure they should be viable for more than a few days, since you can buy a bottle of Life A at the LFS.

 

[Bang Guy]

When I hatch mine I just use old tank water and keep it aerated & warm.

 

[ellisz]

I just bought some live brine at the LFS to see if my mandarin will eat them. I would like to keep the other fish from eating them though. I bought a cup of them and figured I just dump a few in after I have fed the rest of the tank and have turned the lights out for a bit.

Does this sound right?

If this works, I wll just buy some eggs and do my own.

 

[loganj]

Check out this post for a good recipe for raising brine shrimp.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=1090&highlight=brine+shrimp

 

[Bang Guy]

The problem with using yeast to grow the shrimp is that they're pretty useless as a food source for marine fish. I would suggest feeding them a nutritious phytoplankton a few hours before feeding them to your fish.