Brine shrimp question

[Guppysnail]

I have never fed live brine shrimp to anything ever.  I know right.......anyway I know nothing about how to grow them. Read all the enthusiasm on here....yes I want to try that MAYBE but would also like to grow some big enough for my adult guppies as an OCCASIONAL treat....do they grow bigger?

ACO thing is to big I don’t need that many. I currently keep Dubai, superworm, mealworm and cricket colonies for my bearded dragon and frog. I do not want another food for another pet that is time consuming and laborious......

can anyone tell me do any of the tiny hatchery ones work? Are they a PITA? Do they really take 2 days to hatch and die in a day? Do they actually grow?  I know tons of you on here are like what you have your own fish room and know zilch about brine shrimp....yup that’s me 🙂 help please. Again need only as treat occasionally for pets only not sale guppies I do adoptions only I don’t sell so I’m in no hurry to grow them fast.  I admit it it’s for me to be able to watch them chase them ROFL no other reason

[Fish Folk]

On 6/15/2021 at 8:43 PM, Guppysnail said:

I have never fed live brine shrimp to anything ever.  I know right.......anyway I know nothing about how to grow them. Read all the enthusiasm on here....yes I want to try that MAYBE but would also like to grow some big enough for my adult guppies as an OCCASIONAL treat....do they grow bigger?

ACO thing is to big I don’t need that many. I currently keep Dubai, superworm, mealworm and cricket colonies for my bearded dragon and frog. I do not want another food for another pet that is time consuming and laborious......

can anyone tell me do any of the tiny hatchery ones work? Are they a PITA? Do they really take 2 days to hatch and die in a day? Do they actually grow?  I know tons of you on here are like what you have your own fish room and know zilch about brine shrimp....yup that’s me 🙂 help please. Again need only as treat occasionally for pets only not sale guppies I do adoptions only I don’t sell so I’m in no hurry to grow them fast.  I admit it it’s for me to be able to watch them chase them ROFL no other reason

We hatch them every single day. Lots of us do.

I make 1-liter hatcheries with 2x Polar Springs seltzer water bottles. I cut the top 1/3 off of one, and the bottom off the other. The one with cap inverts inside the other like this:

 I punch 3x holes into the cut-off bottom, and slide an airline + stone through one hole like this:

To prep the hatchery, I mix 3x generous tablespoons of API aquarium salt into 8 oz. hot water and thoroughly mix. Then pour into the hatchery. The rest is filled with cold tap water.

 

Then I add 2x generous teaspoons of Co-Op eggs.

I put the cap + airline in, making the water really bubble strong. I keep a light on it for 36-48 hrs. Then I harvest it. Here’s a couple videos:

 

 

 

[Guppysnail]

On 6/15/2021 at 9:54 PM, Fish Folk said:

We hatch them every single day. Lots of us do.

I make 1-liter hatcheries with 2x Polar Springs seltzer water bottles. I cut the top 1/3 off of one, and the bottom off the other. The one with cap inverts inside the other like this:

 I punch 3x holes into the cut-off bottom, and slide an airline + stone through one hole like this:

To prep the hatchery, I mix 3x generous tablespoons of API aquarium salt into 8 oz. hot water and thoroughly mix. Then pour into the hatchery. The rest is filled with cold tap water.

 

Then I add 2x generous teaspoons of Co-Op eggs.

I put the cap + airline in, making the water really bubble strong. I keep a light on it for 36-48 hrs. Then I harvest it. Here’s a couple videos:

 

 

 

THank you that seems easy enough...could I use my hydroponic grow light set up for this or will it be too hot?  Will they or do they grow up in this or are they big enough at that time for adults?

[Fish Folk]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:06 PM, Guppysnail said:

THank you that seems easy enough...could I use my hydroponic grow light set up for this or will it be too hot?  Will they or do they grow up in this or are they big enough at that time for adults?

Adult fish will eat baby brine shrimp. I use a cool / no heat LED. I’m not sure that light is essential.

Growing Brine shrimp to maturity is more complex. You need a small salt water tank setup, essentially.

Baby brine shrimp are good in the hatchery for for a couple days, then they die. After 48 hrs, I sometimes pitch and don’t feed.

[Isaac M]

I personally do not use any light and mine hatch just fine in 24-36 hours. I use the aquarium co-op brine shrimp eggs as well. I have fed brine shrimp up to 3 days after they hatched but I did notice that some had died by that point (I accidentally poured too many brine shrimp eggs for my amount of fish). 

[Guppysnail]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:27 PM, Isaac M said:

I personally do not use any light and mine hatch just fine in 24-36 hours. I use the aquarium co-op brine shrimp eggs as well. I have fed brine shrimp up to 3 days after they hatched but I did notice that some had died by that point (I accidentally poured too many brine shrimp eggs for my amount of fish). 

How do you get the salt off of them. I have 3 types of snails and tons of plants so the salt scares me

[Fish Folk]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:33 PM, Guppysnail said:

How do you get the salt off of them. I have 3 types of snails and tons of plants so the salt scares me

I extract ca. 50 ml. Of brine water + hatched shrimp settled down to the bottom 1/4th of the hatchery, and deposit that in a 1/2 gal. Lee’s large specimen container of fresh tank water. It dilutes the salt content. 

[Isaac M]

Here is my setup, I have it underneath my tank stand so like I said, no light directly on it. 

As far as not getting salt in your aquarium, I use this sieve.

But honestly, I have just dumped in the salt before, with plants, snails, and corydoras. Unless you have a really small aquarium, the salt will get diluted and I imagine the plants and fish would actually use some if not all of the minerals it would provide. Regular water changes will also further dilute. 

[Guppysnail]

Awesome thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it. I have always been add nothing but conditioner, water and commercial food to the tank people so everything else scares me. 

[Ben C.]

@Guppysnail I wouldn't worry about workload, and everything said above is great advice! It takes me maybe less than 5 minutes to set it up, and maybe 5 more to collect some after 24-36 hours and feed 3 tanks. I just fill the hatchery with tub water, mix the salt, add the eggs and air, and forget about it for a day or so. The fish love it and I've noticed even greater coloration and behavior in my fish since I've started feeding it every other day. I also just add the water directly to my aquarium - with the salt in it and all - and have never noticed any adverse affects, but if you are worried, you can always rinse them down.

[Guppysnail]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:47 PM, Isaac M said:

Here is my setup, I have it underneath my tank stand so like I said, no light directly on it. 

As far as not getting salt in your aquarium, I use this sieve.

But honestly, I have just dumped in the salt before, with plants, snails, and corydoras. Unless you have a really small aquarium, the salt will get diluted and I imagine the plants and fish would actually use some if not all of the minerals it would provide. Regular water changes will also further dilute. 

I like the sieve. I’m not real handy diy type. Can I do just a few at a time in the ziss one? 

[Guppysnail]

On 6/15/2021 at 10:51 PM, Guppysnail said:

I like the sieve. I’m not real handy diy type. Can I do just a few at a time in the ziss one? 

I keep my home at 69-70 degrees should I use a heater?

[Isaac M]

Here is the temperature of the 10 gallon quarantine tank next to the hatcher right now, it is 72.2 degrees Fahrenheit. I would say 70 degrees would be the lowest I would go. Brine shrimp take longer to hatch in a cooler environment. For instance, in the winter time, it would easily take 36 hours or even more for them to hatch. Right now, all or most would hatch in the 36 hours. 

I am not sure what you mean about the sieve and being handy. I did not make it, I bought it and the brand is on the box in the picture. The purpose of the sieve is to run the brine shrimp and the salty water through it, the sieve will catch all of the brine shrimp while letting the water go through. That way you do not get all the salt and ammonia into the aquarium. 

I hope that helps! If I misunderstood I apologize, please let me know if I did! 

[Guppysnail]

On 6/15/2021 at 11:11 PM, Isaac M said:

Here is the temperature of the 10 gallon quarantine tank next to the hatcher right now, it is 72.2 degrees Fahrenheit. I would say 70 degrees would be the lowest I would go. Brine shrimp take longer to hatch in a cooler environment. For instance, in the winter time, it would easily take 36 hours or even more for them to hatch. Right now, all or most would hatch in the 36 hours. 

I am not sure what you mean about the sieve and being handy. I did not make it, I bought it and the brand is on the box in the picture. The purpose of the sieve is to run the brine shrimp and the salty water through it, the sieve will catch all of the brine shrimp while letting the water go through. That way you do not get all the salt and ammonia into the aquarium. 

I hope that helps! If I misunderstood I apologize, please let me know if I did! 

I meant building the bottle set up I’m sure I would get water everywhere hubby would flip. Thank you yes you were all so very helpful.  

[Isaac M]

Oh I see haha what I do is only add a little bit of brine shrimp eggs into the Ziss one. I only fill it halfway with water and use enough eggs to feed 3 aquariums which is not much. A 29 gallon, 55 gallon and a 10 gallon. You can make as much as you need. But honestly, you can make brine shrimp in any container really as long as you have some air in it (not too much though as you can make the baby brine shrimp crash into each other and die or get hurt). I personally got the Ziss one because of how convenient it is.

I would recommend finding something that has a little spout at the bottom so you can let the hatched eggs float to the top while pouring the brine shrimp out of the bottom. That and the sieve makes it very easy and clean to feed. 

[Guppysnail]

@Isaac M and other wonderful folks......my sea monkeys hatched! Lol I feel like a little kid. Thank you all for helping an old lady learn a new way to enjoy her hobby!  I’ve never seen my fish go so bananas!  I gave them to every tank not just fry because it was soooooo much fun. 

[Isaac M]

@Guppysnail that is awesome! I am very happy to hear that, that is what this is all about! Love the setup, if you could, maybe you can give us an update in a month or so to let us know what difference you have seen with your fish? I know mine were a lot more responsive and healthy!