How does Brine Shrimp work?

[SAMollyBreeder]

Hi TASA,

How do you breed Brine Shrimp and how long does it take? If anyone has tips or other food that is possible to raise fry and youngsters on, please tell me.

Thanks,
SAMB

[Firefly]

Hey SAMB

Rather hard to "breed" brine shrimp. They are extremely nutrias to fry and most fry enjoy them very much.
Another easy food would be micro worms but these are usually for extremely small fry the can't eat brine shrimp strait away. These guys eat rotting foods and they are usually fed on oatmeal and yeast.
Yet another would be artemia or "water fleas". There are more than 36 species of artemia ranging from microscopic to 5mm or so. These are easy to keep, feed off green water and can grown quickly.
Fairy shrimp is the freshwater variety of brine shrimp and are also thought to be good started foods. Not needing salt water but pure water to grow makes them a nice easy source of food.

I hope that helps a bit.

Firefly

[SAMollyBreeder]

Thank you Firefly! Do you know where I can get some fairy shrimp and does the growing process works the same as brine shrimp?

Thanks,
SAMB

[Firefly]

eBay or Bidorbuy.... I think brine is cheaper though.

[SAMollyBreeder]

What about Daphnia?

[Slojo]

Daphnia can be caught at some of our local ponds.Try the one as you enter Brits from Harties.

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How to Culture Daphnia
Brine Shrimp Hatchery
Growing Adult Brine Shrimp
(http://www.slojo.co.za/articles.htm)

[Firefly]

+1 Slojo. Forgot about your article even though I Bookmarked it. Very good read.
Daphnia is also a good food source. Usually for larger fry that have moved off of brineshrimp.

[Henk Hugo]

Hey SAMB

Yet another would be artemia or "water fleas". There are more than 36 species of artemia ranging from microscopic to 5mm or so.

Artemia = brine shrimp....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_shrimp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemia_salina

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3732e/w3732e0m.htm

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Water fleas are Daphnia

[Slojo]

Artemia = brine shrimp....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brine_shrimp

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemia_salina

http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3732e/w3732e0m.htm

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Water fleas are Daphnia

+1.
I missed that.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Thank you so much everyone! So I can just go and catch some Daphnia. How do I keep it though?

SAMB

[Slojo]

Thank you so much everyone! So I can just go and catch some Daphnia. How do I keep it though?

SAMB

I use it like in immediately.
BUT
Before you net them,have a look at the water's surface.If you see an oily substance DO NOT NET.
It is caused by insecticides/paraffin that the local authorities use to kill off mosquito arvae.
You need to make yourself a net with a fine mesh.(I use Pantyhose for this.)
You will see millions of very very tiny creatures in the net after swirling it through the water.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Ok, and I just keep them in a bucket? Can I feed them to Bettas?

SAMB

[Firefly]

+1.
I missed that.
Me too. Soz, I meant daphnia. Whoops.

[Slojo]

Bettas are weird when it comes to food because on one hand they will eat just about anything (especially things they are not “supposed” to) and on the other, they can be really picky.
Mosquito larvae are true Betta food,as it is what they eat in the rice paddies where they originated.
So Yes i am sure you can but be moderate.Do not ever overfeed.
You can also give them micro-worms,way easier to cultivate and get hold of.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Ok, thank you. :)

[Henk Hugo]

I would try and setup a daphnia culture if you really want to - search the forums has it has been explained in the past how to set one up....

[Gert Combrink]

On a lighter side:
" How does Brine Shrimp work?"
They don't "work" as hard, if you compare them to ants!
As @Henk will say: " Google is your friend!"

[ryanj252]

I just got myself some brine shrimp eggs from a LPS and decided to hatch some. Waited like 2 days for the stuff hatch and on the 3rd day I realized that the eggs moving around were the actual brine shrimp.

So i fed them to my platy fry's and to my adult neon's and now..my neon's all have fat stomachs and are floating vertically, face down!
What did I do wrong? Is it the shrimp?

If it is, then how do I solve it? Cos i thought this stuff was as good as a big mac is to me...

[Firefly]

Are they still alive? Could be that they swallowed some air when they were catching the shrimp and that it's stuck in their stomach now. Or, did you feed them the shells of the brine shrimp? Be careful because if one does, it can cause the fish to choke on the hard shells of the brine shrimp.

[ryanj252]

The one neon died. He could maintain his bouyancy and then started swimming upside down...and eventually died. (*wipes tear off face*) Ive noticed two more of them doing the same thing, yet still alive. I gave them the brine shrimp and eggs...Had no idea how to separate the two.

[Firefly]

Oh. Sorry to hear that. Cut a coke bottle in half and stick the top half into the... I'm just going to use paint.
6004
Let it run with air bubbling and then stop the air. The brine shrimp will sink and the eggs will float. Connect some tubing to a syringe and get the ones at the bottom. Sorry that my painting is so rough. I'm not Pablo Picasso yet.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Or do what this guy did : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uNkHPuGaqo

Anyone know where I can get a pump like that?

Thanks, SAMB

[ryanj252]

il try that next time. Thank you

[ryanj252]

that video helps! but why does his brine shrimp look so big? mine are about the same size as the eggs!

[SAMollyBreeder]

I'm not to sure but we'll have to try that and see. I'm going to make one now and I'm going to buy some fairy or brine shrimp at a later stage. I like the way that the vid is step by step and how he tells you, this is the egg shell layer, this is the water layer, this is the layer with the brine shrimp and the cap is the unhatched eggs.

SAMB

[ryanj252]

yep. I like that aswell. Will build one and try later. He doesnt mention anything about lighting and heating though.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Yeah, I'm gonna try it like that though.

[Firefly]

It works well. Built one a while back. My shrimp lasted about a week but I got lazy..... Give it a go. And don't forget water changes 8P

[SAMollyBreeder]

Just a question for some one who has watched the video. How think must the pipe be or doesn't it matter?

SAMB

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thick*

[Firefly]

It's a normal air tubing for a normal air pump.

[SAMollyBreeder]

Ok, thanks.