Using Sea Monkeys As Fish Food?

[honmol]

Sea Monkeys Are Brine shrimp but is there something different about them that's not good for fish? Or is it just a way to get inexpensive brine shrimp? (Buy starter pack, put in jar) I've had them before but as pets when I was tiny. They mate constantly and if they don't then there's something you can get to encourage mating. They also have 2 year life insurance which most shrimp don't have. . . So if they all die I get more for free. Has anyone ever used them as fish food before? Do you know if they're ok?

[Jchillin]

This link may help explain the brine shrimp industry as it is known now in the US. They are one and the same...when you read the article, you will see why they were sold as Sea Monkeys several years ago.

http://ut.water.usgs.gov/shrimp/

[honmol]

Okay. I've looked at the website for sea monkeys and in the FAQs there is an answer to the question "Can My Sea Monkeys Live With My Fish?" The answer is "Only if you want them to become fish food" It also says that the "Sea Monkeys" Get larger than avarage brine shrimp. Could this cause problems? Flamingos turn pink because of their diet. You can buy special red food that will turn the shrimp red. Will this turn my fish red? All I really want to know is if they're okay to feed to my fish. I guess they are. I've never used brine shrimp as food before. How old should they be before I feed them to fry?

[Jchillin]

I have never heard of any negative effects of feeding live brine shrimp. As a matter of fact, most cichlid fry are raised on baby brine shrimp. I wouldn't purchase live brine shrimp from the LFS, as they sometimes contain parasites that will have an adverse affect on your fish, including ich.

Sna Fransisco Bay Co. produces live BS. Check online to see where you can obtain it.

[DepotFish]

I occasionally feed my bettas brine shrimp. The ones I get are packaged as sea monkey eggs. I figured that getting the eggs and hatching them myself assures I'm not putting any bacteria in the water, not to mention I can hatch a pinch of eggs at a time rather than keeping a jarfull or tankful.

[honmol]

Ok. It's just that I wasn't sure about buying the "Sea Monkeys"

[flamingonhot]

If you want to feed bbs to baby fish then they should be about1-4 hours old or really close to that. After that they loose most of theyre egg sac, and with it ,ost of they're nutrition.

Buying sea monkeys is a waste of money IMO. I can go and buy a little vial of brine shrimp eggs for 5 dollars, instead of making 20 of them and keep sending in for more you have a whole vial which has thousands of them in it.

When I was littler I used to buy them, now that I know they are brine shrimp I feel wierd paying 10 dollars for them.

[honmol]

they sell just the eggs for 2 dollars. That's what I'd get. I'd set them up in a jar.

[DepotFish]

I get sea monkey eggs in a little vial for 5.99. Theres probably a couple thousand in there.

[Veneer]

Originally Posted by honmol

they sell just the eggs for 2 dollars. That's what I'd get. I'd set them up in a jar.

It's much more cost-effective to purchase regular brine shrimp eggs. Either way, be sure to rinse them in a fine net (with FW) prior to feeding.