Rxblade123
Aquarium Advice Freak
How do you keep brine shrimp alive? I plan on buying some live, since it's much cheaper than frozen. I have no idea how to keep them alive though.
Brine Shrimp
- Thread starter Rxblade123
- Start date
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mgkaelen
Aquarium Advice Freak
pretty sure they can last in the fridge... my LFS sells brine shrimp and blackworms (live) and i keep the worms in the fridge no problem (even though i thought they would freeze/die/ SOMETHING) but they're fine.. in fact the last time i fed live blackworms to the tank was about 3 dys ago and today i saw one swimming after i had disrupted the rocks! just don't get so many becuase i don't think they can stay in there for more than a week ... double check before you go with my advice though =]
Rxblade123
Aquarium Advice Freak
Well keeping them in the fridge would freeze them. I don't want them frozen. I've tried keeping them in the refrigerator and it slows them down a lot, but in only a few days they die. I tried keeping them out and they die in like 1 or 2 days. Thankfully I buy some for only $1 and I don't waste much money 
Cheap I know lol. How do the lfs keep their brine shrimp alive?
Btw I want to breed some Betta's and I won't have food to feed the fry except some powdered food called, TetraMin Baby Fish Food. I doubt this would be enough, so I was planning on finding another source. I have read up on Microworms, but I doubt I will be able to succeed. Any suggestions. Oh yea if you have any tips on breeding Betta's I'm all ears. I still need some pointers.
Cheap I know lol. How do the lfs keep their brine shrimp alive?Btw I want to breed some Betta's and I won't have food to feed the fry except some powdered food called, TetraMin Baby Fish Food. I doubt this would be enough, so I was planning on finding another source. I have read up on Microworms, but I doubt I will be able to succeed. Any suggestions. Oh yea if you have any tips on breeding Betta's I'm all ears. I still need some pointers.
mgkaelen
Aquarium Advice Freak
unfortunately, i have no experience with breeding any fish, much less bettas! and honestly, when i went to purchase the black worms from my LFS, they didn't have any brine shrimp because the hatchery they purchase them from had been temporarily wiped out due to some weather problems! i can only assume that they kept them in the fridge, however if you say they don't last very long, it makes me think twice! I'll give them a call tomorrow though to find out! i'll probably be in that neck of the woods anyhow so i'll be able to get back to you on that!
however, do you think that brine shrimp will be small enough for your fry to eat? the powdered food may be sufficient for a while... i think fry food takes into account that they need lots of nutrients during the beginning of life. however, i'm really not that sure!! i'll find out about the brine shrimp tomorrow though, as i want to feed them to my tank as well!
another thing about brine shrimp is that they're not that nutritious. i've read on the boards that they're the "potato chip" of the fish foods. they're good once or twice a week as a treat but shouldn't be relied on as a staple source of food because they're not that nutritous. blackworms/bloodworms on the other hand i think are very high in protein and will be able to adequately feed your fish. however i'm not sure the size of them will be small enough for the fry to chow down on. !
however, do you think that brine shrimp will be small enough for your fry to eat? the powdered food may be sufficient for a while... i think fry food takes into account that they need lots of nutrients during the beginning of life. however, i'm really not that sure!! i'll find out about the brine shrimp tomorrow though, as i want to feed them to my tank as well!
another thing about brine shrimp is that they're not that nutritious. i've read on the boards that they're the "potato chip" of the fish foods. they're good once or twice a week as a treat but shouldn't be relied on as a staple source of food because they're not that nutritous. blackworms/bloodworms on the other hand i think are very high in protein and will be able to adequately feed your fish. however i'm not sure the size of them will be small enough for the fry to chow down on. !
Rxblade123
Aquarium Advice Freak
I'm asking about the Brine Shrimp for my Adult Betta's. I need to condition them before the spawning. Conditioning = Getting them ready. Baby Brine Shrimp has more nutrition, but I am not good with this hatchery things so I'm not gona try. How small are bloodworms? The fry of Betta's are really small.
Hi guys . You don't need live food to condition betas for spawning. They are quite easy to spawn actually. Raising the fry are another story, and the males are likely to kill the females if she isn't removed right away. I'd be feeding them mosquito larvae as this is their natural food.
You need to be very careful when feeding live foods. Especially worms. I will only feed them in bare bottom tanks Mg. Once they get into the gravel and die, you can really have probs.
. You don't need live food to condition betas for spawning. They are quite easy to spawn actually. Raising the fry are another story, and the males are likely to kill the females if she isn't removed right away. I'd be feeding them mosquito larvae as this is their natural food. You need to be very careful when feeding live foods. Especially worms. I will only feed them in bare bottom tanks Mg. Once they get into the gravel and die, you can really have probs.
Rxblade123
Aquarium Advice Freak
I know they don't have to be live food, but alive is cheaper than frozen. Btw how many would satisify a Betta?
Guppyman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hi,
Keeping live adult brine shrimp alive for more than a few day is not practical. You need to feed them and chill them. They're a crummy food, anyway. Waaay over rated.
If you want to condition your bettas for spawning go with frozen blooworms or blackworms. Although you do not NEED to condition them, it helps. Feed no more than any food. No more than they consume in 5 minutes, but feed very often. Removing the female after spawning or at least providing a good hiding place for her is mandatory or the male will attack and possibly kill her.
Betta fry require infusoria to get off to a good start. Very easy to culture and there are literally hundreds of sources of info on the web. bbs are too large for new born betta fry. They absolutely can not ingest it for 4 to 5 days after birth. Avoid "liquifry" food. It will instantly foul your water.
Hope this helps. - Guppyman
Keeping live adult brine shrimp alive for more than a few day is not practical. You need to feed them and chill them. They're a crummy food, anyway. Waaay over rated.
If you want to condition your bettas for spawning go with frozen blooworms or blackworms. Although you do not NEED to condition them, it helps. Feed no more than any food. No more than they consume in 5 minutes, but feed very often. Removing the female after spawning or at least providing a good hiding place for her is mandatory or the male will attack and possibly kill her.
Betta fry require infusoria to get off to a good start. Very easy to culture and there are literally hundreds of sources of info on the web. bbs are too large for new born betta fry. They absolutely can not ingest it for 4 to 5 days after birth. Avoid "liquifry" food. It will instantly foul your water.
Hope this helps. - Guppyman
Rxblade123
Aquarium Advice Freak
Infusoria, hmmmmm alright thanks . I'll try it if I can stuff on it.
. I'll try it if I can stuff on it.Guppyman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Infusoria
This should help you. - Guppyman
Infusoria
By Bill Malay Reprint from THE AQUARIAN
Here's a proven method of culturing Infusoria for raising the fry of your egg layers. With this method, a one-gallon culture will support about one hundred young fish until they are past the Infusoria stage.
There are ways to raise the fry of egg layers that require infusoria as their first food. One of the main reasons most of the newly hatched fish disappear is that, when Infusoria is fed, there is too much of the contaminated water in the tank, thus killing the fry.
The materials needed are at least two test tubes, a one gallon wide mouth jar, a quart jar to stand the tubes upright in after they are filled with Infusoria water, a syringe bulb with rigid plastic tubing inserted in the open end of the bulb, and some lettuce leaves. The water used is taken out of a tank that has aged water and fish in it. The method used is as follows:
Fill the one gallon jar with the water from the tank, and add 1/2 dozen lettuce leaves. In about 3 days, you will notice a scum forming in the jar. Next, take the syringe and suck the water and scum from the top of the jar, not going in deeper than 1/4". Now take a handkerchief, or bleached muslin, such as an old sheet, and strain the water taken from the jar of Infusoria through the handkerchief into a small jar or cup. This removes most of the scum particles.
Fill the two test tubes with the strained water and stand them upright in the jar over night. The next morning you will notice that the Infusoria has risen to the top of the test tubes. Pour only about 1/2 inch of this into a tank that has fry in it and pour the rest back into the Infusoria jar.
Do not put an air stone into the gallon jar as this would keep them swirling in the jar and they would not collect in the top in a mass as you want them to. My theory is that the reason the Infusoria collect in the cultured jar, and also in the test tubes, is that they come up for oxygen.
This amount of Infusoria culture that you have in the jar will smell foul, but that does not harm your fish as you harvest almost pure Infusoria each morning and night until the fry are ready for MicroWorms or other food. A 1 gallon culture will support about 100 young fish until they are past the Infusoria stage.
Keep looking at the bellies of the fry to make sure that they are full at all times. A magnifying glass is very helpful in checking the young fry and also to see how much Infusoria is already in the tank with them.
This should help you. - Guppyman
Infusoria
By Bill Malay Reprint from THE AQUARIAN
Here's a proven method of culturing Infusoria for raising the fry of your egg layers. With this method, a one-gallon culture will support about one hundred young fish until they are past the Infusoria stage.
There are ways to raise the fry of egg layers that require infusoria as their first food. One of the main reasons most of the newly hatched fish disappear is that, when Infusoria is fed, there is too much of the contaminated water in the tank, thus killing the fry.
The materials needed are at least two test tubes, a one gallon wide mouth jar, a quart jar to stand the tubes upright in after they are filled with Infusoria water, a syringe bulb with rigid plastic tubing inserted in the open end of the bulb, and some lettuce leaves. The water used is taken out of a tank that has aged water and fish in it. The method used is as follows:
Fill the one gallon jar with the water from the tank, and add 1/2 dozen lettuce leaves. In about 3 days, you will notice a scum forming in the jar. Next, take the syringe and suck the water and scum from the top of the jar, not going in deeper than 1/4". Now take a handkerchief, or bleached muslin, such as an old sheet, and strain the water taken from the jar of Infusoria through the handkerchief into a small jar or cup. This removes most of the scum particles.
Fill the two test tubes with the strained water and stand them upright in the jar over night. The next morning you will notice that the Infusoria has risen to the top of the test tubes. Pour only about 1/2 inch of this into a tank that has fry in it and pour the rest back into the Infusoria jar.
Do not put an air stone into the gallon jar as this would keep them swirling in the jar and they would not collect in the top in a mass as you want them to. My theory is that the reason the Infusoria collect in the cultured jar, and also in the test tubes, is that they come up for oxygen.
This amount of Infusoria culture that you have in the jar will smell foul, but that does not harm your fish as you harvest almost pure Infusoria each morning and night until the fry are ready for MicroWorms or other food. A 1 gallon culture will support about 100 young fish until they are past the Infusoria stage.
Keep looking at the bellies of the fry to make sure that they are full at all times. A magnifying glass is very helpful in checking the young fry and also to see how much Infusoria is already in the tank with them.
Rxblade123
Aquarium Advice Freak
Thanks Guppyman Save me some time.
Save me some time.Guppyman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
My pleasure. Best of luck in your breeding endeavor. - Guppyman
lyquidphyre
Aquarium Advice Addict
If Brine shrimp are Sea Monkeys and you can buy the Sea Monkey kits... wouldn't that keep them alive? If you bought a cheap Sea Monkey kit and followed the instructions and instead of, or in addition to, "creating" sea monkeys with the packets they give you, purchase some at your lfs and keep them that way?
Im not sure it will work that way, or if you plan to use brine shrimp anymore as food, but I figured Id throw it out there =o)
Im not sure it will work that way, or if you plan to use brine shrimp anymore as food, but I figured Id throw it out there =o)
