brine shrimp questins

beaver8888

beaver8888

Large Fish
#1
Feb 22, 2003
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Rhode island...on a island
#1
i have a brine shrimp hatchry kit off bigalsonline.com i have a light on them abut 25 watts i put them into a cut inn half 2litter bottle and i did everything like theyb said and how long wil they live and how long will it take for them to actualy get bigg and what do i feed them :confused: :eek: i dunno please help me out if you know anything about these
 

toodles

toodles

Large Fish
#3
Jan 6, 2003
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#3
The time it takes for the shrimp to hatch depends on the water temp. The warmer the water, the shorter the hatching time. The average life-span of brine is (I *think*) around 4 to 5 months. Could be wrong on that though.
When the shrimp first hatch, they will NOT require any feedings as they still have their egg yolk attached. If the fish you are feeding will eat them at this small size, then this is the very best time to feed the shrimp to the fish as the shrimp are the most nutritious at this point. If the fish you have won't eat the baby brine shrimp because they are too small, then once the egg yolk is absorbed by the shrimp (usually 48 hours), then you will have to start to feed the brine shrimp. Brine shrimp are filter feeders and the very best thing to feed them is a phytoplankton food that you can buy at your LFS. The very best of the best is DT's for around $10 for a small bottle (that's the brand name and this is live phytoplankton.....this must be kept refrigerated), after that, Kent's makes a decent product that costs around $6 for a small bottle and that doesn't have to be kept cold as the plankton is dead. Before you panic, you aren't going to feed the shrimp huge amounts of food. I give mine about 1 teaspoon a day of the DT's and the small bottle will last me a little over a month. Some people start up a marine "green water" culture just to feed the shrimp which would be cheaper in the long run. Then there are others that feed the shrimp yeast. Be warned that giving the shrimp yeast will result in shrimp less nutritious than if you fed them a decent food.
HTH:D
 

toodles

toodles

Large Fish
#5
Jan 6, 2003
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#5
Yes you can, but you are going to have to maintain the salinity levels and change the water periodically. I don't hatch brine shrimp anymore myself, I just buy the adult shrimp as needed. Even so, if the shrimp are around for more than 2 weeks, I change their water as it will foul.
To maintain the salinity level with the water you already have, make a mark on the bottle where the water level is. Then all you have to do is add dechlorinated tap water back up to the line.
I change the water as it isn't a problem for me to get saltwater as I have a salt tank.......but unless you have a salt tank this could be a problem for you. If you decide to mix up your own water you will also need a hydrometer so you can get the salinity right. What might work out better for you is to get a small sponge filter and attach it to the end of the tubing. That way at least, it should collect some of the detrius and you can clean it once a week or so.....
Then again, I'm not familiar with the brine shrimp kit.....did it come with several pre-packaged salt mixes?
 

toodles

toodles

Large Fish
#7
Jan 6, 2003
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#7
So the packaging comes with the eggs and salt mixed? There is no way you will be able to seperate the two. Thinking again about the sponge filter idea, I can see that it would be a problem, at least with the eggs and baby shrimp. They might get caught up in it. The best thing I think in your situation is to use the shrimp as quickly as possible and just maintain the the water level in the bottle. Cut back feedings to 1/2 teaspoon maybe every other day to help keep the water quality up. Remove any dead shrimp ASAP too.
What fish are you going to be feeding them to?
 

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