Brine shrimp hatching

Hey TASA,

I am sure someone has experience with this. I have started hatching brine shrimp for my fry. I made a DYI hatchery the bottle, airtube and light bulb route. 24 hours in and they have hatched. I added 2.5g in 1L of water. After settling the water for 10minutes the empty shells are at the top, 90% of the hatched shrimp at bottom but plenty of the eggs still float or sink with the shrimp. I have removed the shrimp and put them in ice cube holder to freeze for later use as there are vrek many! Now my questions:

Do I leave the eggs in the hatchery and just keep going until they hatch
and if so, how long do I continue doing this before I assume the eggs wont hatch?

Ps. I would guess that only half the eggs hatched in 24 hours. The light was on all the time and the water was about 28degrees C.

Ty in advance

 

Some eggs won't hatch. I'd wait till tomorrow morning (about 36 hours) before throwing away the unhatched eggs.

 

Thanks @TaahirS, I was able to harvest double what I did yesterday just by letting them hatch the extra 12 hours. very little eggs are left.

 

hi @ Chris_H

i like to see that hope you record on how you made it

 

On the topic, where can I buy some eggs???

 

I will upload some pictures tonight

 

cool i like to try the DYI hatchery

 

I got mine from my LFS, but you can buy them online too.

 

@Chris_H and others; just some extra info you probably already know.

Your time it takes for the eggs to hatch is very much dependent on temperature, some guys float their hatcheries in a heated tank to keep the temperature up and get a more consistent hatch time. Not sure if your light was the only source of heat Chris?

Once hatched you should ensure to harvest (and freeze) the shrimp before they absorb the egg sacs, these are what make them so nutritious.
When they are bright orange they have just hatched and at their best for a fish food, as they absorb their egg sacs the color appears more brown than orange.

 

Thanks for the info, the light was in fact the only source of heat but I had to move it away from the bottle as it was getting too hot at some point. I have harvested twice now, last night after 24hours and left the eggs and then again this morning first thing.

 

Here's how to build the hatchery:

Wash out one empty 2L cooldrink bottle. Try and keep it as plain as possible as any ridges will cause the eggs to get stuck on them and any color will make it harder to see if the shrimp hatched.
Cut the 2L bottle at the base (about 30% in) so that you can place the other 70% side with cap on upside down in the smaller piece to keep it upright. (my bottom part was too big so had to put some filler in - wood pieces)


I also got a salinity tester, a straw and a rigid tube connected to my airline pipe from my airpump with valves - you will need a valve to regulate the bubbles as you don't want it boiling, just turning the water.


And some regular aquarium salt


Put some water in the 2L bottle (make sure the cap is fastened) and add roughly one heaped tablespoon of salt per liter. Put the airline tube in the water to get the salt to dissolve faster. Test with the salinity tester.




Add a light source as the shrimp will need constant light and heat to hatch, they take 20 to 36 hours depending on the heat


I add half a teaspoon of Brine Shrimp Eggs to my 1.5L of water



Stir the eggs to make sure you get them all under water, some will still get stuck just above the water line but they will sink much later. Once this is done, cover the container so that the salt water does not spray on your other equipment




At first the mixture will be brownish, once the shrimp hatch it will turn orange. I then use the straw to suck them up, this is how:
Turn the light off, or focus the light on the bottle cap, this will cause the brine to sink to the bottom.
Remove the airline tube from the water.
Holding the straw, put your one finger on the top end and keep it sealed, when you put the straw in the water it will create a 'vacuum' in the straw, lower it to where the brine is and remove your finger from the top end, this will cause the vacuum in the straw to be filled with the liquid from the bottom and suck up the brine shrimp with the water

 

Hi that nice and simply easy ....now to buy a coke and find some eggs
Thanks Chris