Questions about growing brine shrimp

[divemasterjim]

I have read a few different articles about brine shrimp. Some articles said to start off the eggs in complete darkness others said use light. I was wondering if any of you have grown your own brine shrimp and if you had any advice.
I have a small 5 gallon glass tank with 2 airstones in it for water circulation. I just added salt but have not measured it yet as the salt is still dissolving, im shooting for .0120-.0122sg

 

[JG]

I grow them all of the time. I have a 1 gallon plastic critter carrier. They hatch just fine without airstones or special lighting. The airstones help to keep them from sticking to the aides of the aquarium. The water should be warm when you place the cysts in and they take almost exactly 24 hours to hatch. I do use a flashlight to attract them to a general spot when I go to scoop them out.

Don't get caught up in complexities. Remember that kids have been hatching them out for over 50 years as sea monkeys. They are really quite easy and your fish will love them.

 

[divemasterjim]

cool thanks

 

[melissfish]

i hatch them myself, i use fluoro light 1 hour daily, keep them at 28 degrees with an airstone and mine hatch in 2-3 days. Do i need to feed them?

 

[rayjay]

We need to get this straight now. Do you mean grow the brine shrimp, or just hatch them to get the nauplii to feed your fish? There is quite a difference.
The brine shrimp hatch in a period of 8 to 24 hours and have a nutritious egg sack they feed on at first while they develp their mouths and anus so they can begin feeding. If you want to really grow them, this is where the work begins.
You can easily maintain a few brine in a large volume of water, but to grow enough to feed most tanks, you need more intensive cultures.
To be honest, it would be best to just buy live adult brine shrimp if you can, as the work involved is probably not worth it for those with access to live ones.
My web site has a page where I describe basically how I started and what I had to do to get reasonable yields.
I have gone beyond that stage now and am growing them in 20g garbage pails, with plans to step up to 55g olive barrels as local demand increases.
If you really have an interest in growing them and not just hatching them, then here is the link to my brine shrimp page.
GROWING BRINE SHRIMP
For more information on Brine Shrimp see also:
Brine Shrimp Direct
BRINE SHRIMP FAQ'S
BRINE SHRIMP HUB
BRINE , TANK PRODUCED
LIVE BRINE SHRIMP

If you have any further questions, feel free to e-mail me.