Brine Shrimp Sieve

[Razberry910]

Hi all,

I'm using the coop brine shrimp eggs and the standard square sieve from BSD. The water takes forever to drain through the sieve it seems the mesh holes are too small/fine. I believe the mesh is 120micron. Does anyone use a different sieve that has slightly bigger holes? Maybe Coop is looking to make one?

Thanks

 

[Fish Folk]

I’d like to hear what others do. I’ve never used a sieve, or done the “washing” of artemia nauplii.

I hatch in 1-liter bottles, allow a 5-min settling at between 36-48 hrs, and draw out live baby brine with a baster, syringe, etc. Some cysts float to top. Others sink to bottom. By avoiding both regions, drawing out live artemia, and placing in a specimen container of tank water, _some_ salt concentration is diluted (I am always concerned about high conductivity from salt lowering fertility), and live shrimp are easily drawn out with minimal cyst pollution.

Far from ideal… a bit involved… but it works for me.

 

[TOtrees]

I use these generic brine shrimp nets:

Here's a link from the .ca side of amazon (not sure if it's what I've bought in the past or not, but it's similar). https://www.amazon.ca/brine-Shrimp-Filter-Artemia-Collectors/dp/B07GFC1DGR/ref=sr_1_7?

The key for me (and I hatch bbs every other day) is separation rate (underlined and in bold). How well do the live bbs separate from the hatched and unhatched eggs after the hatching period is over? The bbs eggs I use have GREAT separation. I've never used the coop brand so can't say if it's in line with what I buy/use. 

After a 40-48 hour soak, I turn off the air, remove the bubbler (I use the ziss hatcher), and let it settle for 5-10 minutes. In that time 99.9% of the hatches shells and unhatched eggs rise to the top. Then I pour off or decant the ENTIRE contents of the hatcher via the bottom valve, into a similar sized container. Gravity does this job for me, since the hatcher is attached to the wall above the collecting pitcher. I simply avoid collecting the last final bit at the top where all the eggs and shells are.

Then I pass the 99.9% clean hatched bbs through the sieve/strainer above, and it's ready to feed. 

 

One thing to note: I'm not saying I have great hatch rate here, but rather the separation of the hatched eggs from everything else is what's great. For all I know I might only be getting 70% hatch success. But if so, the unhatched 30% is rising to the top with the hatched shells, and it doesn't come out the bottom when I drain it off. The end result is minimal time/effort on my part, and a very very clean final product for my fish kids. 

[Razberry910]

On 5/1/2023 at 3:01 PM, TOtrees said:

I use these generic brine shrimp nets:

Here's a link from the .ca side of amazon (not sure if it's what I've bought in the past or not, but it's similar). https://www.amazon.ca/brine-Shrimp-Filter-Artemia-Collectors/dp/B07GFC1DGR/ref=sr_1_7?

The key for me (and I hatch bbs every other day) is separation rate (underlined and in bold). How well do the live bbs separate from the hatched and unhatched eggs after the hatching period is over? The bbs eggs I use have GREAT separation. I've never used the coop brand so can't say if it's in line with what I buy/use. 

After a 40-48 hour soak, I turn off the air, remove the bubbler (I use the ziss hatcher), and let it settle for 5-10 minutes. In that time 99.9% of the hatches shells and unhatched eggs rise to the top. Then I pour off or decant the ENTIRE contents of the hatcher via the bottom valve, into a similar sized container. Gravity does this job for me, since the hatcher is attached to the wall above the collecting pitcher. I simply avoid collecting the last final bit at the top where all the eggs and shells are.

Then I pass the 99.9% clean hatched bbs through the sieve/strainer above, and it's ready to feed. 

 

One thing to note: I'm not saying I have great hatch rate here, but rather the separation of the hatched eggs from everything else is what's great. For all I know I might only be getting 70% hatch success. But if so, the unhatched 30% is rising to the top with the hatched shells, and it doesn't come out the bottom when I drain it off. The end result is minimal time/effort on my part, and a very very clean final product for my fish kids. 

Does each sieve/net in that set have different size holes? Your harvest process is almost identical to mine but the water/shrimp mixture isn't flowing through my sieve. 

[TOtrees]

On 5/1/2023 at 3:15 PM, Razberry910 said:

Does each sieve/net in that set have different size holes? Your harvest process is almost identical to mine but the water/shrimp mixture isn't flowing through my sieve. 

Yes they're all the same. I find they clog very quickly. Every time I start and finish my process, I run some full-on tap water backwards through the sieve, to flush out the gunk that's trapped in there. After a couple months of use, I discard and start a new one.

If the process does work well when you have a new sieve, this clogging is probably the issue. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Here’s my set up:

Sieve came from Amazon. Don’t know the micron, but I love this thing and even more love hands-free harvesting. 

[TOtrees]

In case anyone is interested, the small size of Python gravel vac tubing (not the airline tubing, but the smaller diameter siphon tubing) fits on the bottom spout of the ziss hatcher perfectly, should anyone want to carry the drained mix from the hatcher to something that isn't directly under it. 

You folks in the states have no idea how great you have it with plumbing fixtures. I look at that great DIY rack/holder, and I see like $50 in parts. 😤

[Edit: Maybe you do know how great you have it, I don't know. And I'm not judging. But that doesn't change my curmudgeonliness. Which is a word.]

Edited May 1, 2023 by TOtrees

[Razberry910]

On 5/1/2023 at 3:34 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

Here’s my set up:

Sieve came from Amazon. Don’t know the micron, but I love this thing and even more love hands-free harvesting. 

Maybe it's this one? https://www.amazon.com/MEIMEI-Collect-Artemia-Copepod-Hatchery/dp/B092TPH9QL/ref=sxin_16_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.ea7393e3-de5f-4d19-84a5-8c5fb5c68d5f%3Aamzn1.sym.ea7393e3-de5f-4d19-84a5-8c5fb5c68d5f&crid=2O65YGN4KJFL3&cv_ct_cx=brine+shrimp+sieve&keywords=brine+shrimp+sieve&pd_rd_i=B092TPH9QL&pd_rd_r=3b9ba6fa-0152-45f5-af64-17a686d95ab7&pd_rd_w=eL1jl&pd_rd_wg=T8jjt&pf_rd_p=ea7393e3-de5f-4d19-84a5-8c5fb5c68d5f&pf_rd_r=9AW1MPZZ4X7DECD23C11&qid=1682971627&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=brine+shrimp+seive%2Caps%2C215&sr=1-3-2b34d040-5c83-4b7f-ba01-15975dfb8828-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzRVVDUVZONzlXQzM2JmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTQ0MDc2SlFYM1lCMFpYNVYmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDI2OTc5OTM1RzVDOEtaNTJBTUEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWMmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

 

On 5/1/2023 at 3:53 PM, TOtrees said:

In case anyone is interested, the small size of Python gravel vac tubing (not the airline tubing, but the smaller diameter siphon tubing) fits on the bottom spout of the ziss hatcher perfectly, should anyone want to carry the drained mix from the hatcher to something that isn't directly under it. 

You folks in the states have no idea how great you have it with plumbing fixtures. I look at that great DIY rack/holder, and I see like $50 in parts. 😤

[Edit: Maybe you do know how great you have it, I don't know. And I'm not judging. But that doesn't change my curmudgeonliness. Which is a word.]

Good to know I stuck a piece of airline tubing into the bottom spout but a larger diameter tube would be nice.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@Razberry910 That link looks correct!

[B1gJ4k3]

@Razberry910 Are you getting the sieve wet first before draining the brine shrimp through it? For whatever reason, that seems to be a critical step that I frequently forget to do.

[Tommy Vercetti]

I wet my BSD seive before use, makes it much faster. 

[Andy's Fish Den]

I've been hatching BBS several times a week and noticed that it seemed my sieve was getting slower one day as I was straining the BBS out. After I got that batch strained and into a container to feed, I took the sieve and rinsed it out and I could see a film across it, so I took a little vinegar and poured it in a dish, and set the sieve in it for a few minutes then gently scrubbed with an old toothbrush I have to use in tanks, rinsed it out and the next time I used it, it worked much better. I think it got a thin film of build up on it, even though I always rinse it out after using it, but I have hard water so I'm sure there was some thing on it. 

[Razberry910]

On 5/2/2023 at 6:34 AM, Andy's Fish Den said:

I've been hatching BBS several times a week and noticed that it seemed my sieve was getting slower one day as I was straining the BBS out. After I got that batch strained and into a container to feed, I took the sieve and rinsed it out and I could see a film across it, so I took a little vinegar and poured it in a dish, and set the sieve in it for a few minutes then gently scrubbed with an old toothbrush I have to use in tanks, rinsed it out and the next time I used it, it worked much better. I think it got a thin film of build up on it, even though I always rinse it out after using it, but I have hard water so I'm sure there was some thing on it. 

Thanks I'll try this tommorow

[sumplkrum]

I use these:

https://www.amazon.com/Shrimp-Aquarium-Hatchery-Hatching-Separator/dp/B0BGS9VNDV/

The fine one strains most of your batch thats just water and shrimp.
Then I add the bigger one when I goto strain out the egg shells.

I use the sprayer on the sink to 'pressure wash' them clean when I'm done.

I guess you could also re-rinse them in fresh water a second time if your worried about the salt.