growing brine shrimps

[roger]

Hi I heard that it is good to feed live food to your corals and fish.

I saw a bottle of JBL brine shrimp eggs but I don't know what to use to hatch the eggs. Just a container and air hose right?

Will someone advice me?

Thanks!

[Achilles Tang]

Hi Roger!

Welcome to the Singapore Reef Club!!!

To answer you, yes feeding BBS (Baby Brine Shrimp) to your marine tank provides a source of natural food that triggers the feeding response of all fishes, especially those who do not take frozen foods or pellets.

I have photos of my BBS hatching station and it something you can DIY yourself!

Hmmm... I'll put it up in the DIY section tonight, so you can check it out later!

But in the meantime, here's a pix of newly hatched BBS that I took through a magnifier!

[Darth Vader]

Wah! Are you a scientist or what?

They look like insects!

How big is your microscope?

[roger]

I know Petmart is selling adult brine shrimp at $3 a packet... it's very expensive! Click here

Therefore it will be cheaper to hatch your own right?

[Hon]

Hi Roger

You mean Petmart selling a pack of Brine Shrimp for $3. Are they Live or Frozen brine shrimp??

Many years ago, I did try hatching brine shrimp myself. They are easy to hatch. Put them in the 1.25L coke bottle with salt water, throw in a airline to bubble and shine a table lamp on it. That's easy!!!

But they are so small....I use liquid food to feed them for 2 weeks in order to grow them to around 5mm long to feed the fish. But after 2 weeks of change water, liquid food dose, I get only a few shrimp alive. Which I ditch the idea forever, I using Frozen brine shrimp now....ha.h.a

Better still, use dupla food pellet. My fish love them a lot...

[Achilles Tang]

$3 for live BS.

From feedback from hobbyists overseas, yeah, its not worth the effort to grow adult brine shrimps.

Took much effort for too little benefit.

Unless you have commercial growing vats.

[spiff]

i thiink growing zooplankton is better. but damn sian...but grow phyto too!

achilles i think brine arent worth the effort becoz they r low in nutrient????

[roger]

Can you elaborate on the brineshrimp breeding steps? How do you do it, achilles tang?

And what is the purpose of plankton?

[dfstan]

Been thinking of hatching brine shrimp myself....

<_<

[Phang]

Hey Spiff,

Maybe you can also post information on zooplankton/phyto plankton breeding too...

Then we all can have BBB and Plankton for our inverts and fishes....

[roger]

Achilles,

I buy the check valve already from Petmart and airline hose also. Ready to begin when I get more info on the steps to do.

I also bought a small airpump.

[Achilles Tang]

Spiff! Are you into phytoplankton culturing too?

I am actually preparing to start my new Nannochloropsus and Rotifer cultures next week!

Phang: I will posting an article on phytoplankton culturing to feed our reef tanks soon. But knowing how busy I will be the next couple of days/weeks... it could be some time!

Roger: I will post more details tonight on the brineshrimp culturing procedures that I use to grow BBS. Did you check out the DIY section yet?

[B|uEc@rpEt]

Hon...

I share ya sentiments.....hatching them is way chicken feet as compared to the chicken shit of rearing them till adult...

For $3...i think its a steal.....as one pack has quite a lot of adult LIVE brineshrimp.....

But then again.....after buying a packet of it...out of excitement....i found that i did not have much use for it...accept maybe feeding some of my corals that r able to "catch" them with their stingy tenticles.....

Truth is...m corals do eat frozen BS too....

[roger]

I know those corals with big mouths eat BBS like sun coral and bubble coral, but what do the acropora, dendro (look like cauliflower type) and clams eat?

[Phang]

I thought clams and acropora don't eat.... they photosynthesis....

[Achilles Tang]

They mainly get their nutrition from photosynthesis... but their polyps also capture zooplankton and to a lesser extent phytoplankton.

Baby clams under 2 inches get the bulk of nutrition from feeding from the water column... they eat phytoplankton.

I put my baby clams in a container with Instant Algae till the water is a light green... and in a few hours.. the water will be clear!

[Achilles Tang]

Hey roger, found this info for you on how to culture brine shrimp... explains everthing! Took this off the brineshrimpdirect website!

What are the guidelines for hatching brine shrimp cysts?

Salinity - 20 - 30 parts per thousand (ppt) salt solution or approximately 1-2 tablespoons of rock salt per quart (or liter) of water. This equates to around 1.015-1.020 specific gravity. A 20% (or around 1/2 teaspoon per quart) concentration of Epson salt or magnesium sulfate can be added to further buffer the hatching solution.

Temperature - Optimum temperature for a 24 hour complete hatch is 80-82° F or 26-28° C. Lowering the temperature would result in a longer hatching time. Do not exceed 30°C.

Light - Illumination is necessary to trigger the hatching mechanism within the embryo within the first few hours of incubation. Maintaining a light source during the entire incubation period is recommended to obtain optimum hatch results and for temperature control.

Aeration - Constant aeration is also necessary to provide sufficient oxygen levels for the cysts to metabolize and hatch. A minimum of 3 parts per million dissolved oxygen during the incubation is recommended. Strong aeration will not damage or hurt the brine shrimp cysts or nauplii.

pH - A starting pH of 8.0 or higher is recommended. If pH drops below 7.5 during incubation, add a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate or a pH buffer to raise it above 8.0.

Stocking Density - 2 grams per quart or approximately one level tablespoon of cysts per quart is recommended. A higher stocking density will result in a lower % hatch.

Hatching Cone - Flat bottom hatching vessels should be avoided. Cone or V bottomed containers are best to insure that the cysts remain in suspension during hatching. Be sure to thoroughly wash the hatching cone with soap and water and allow to air dry between uses.

How do I harvest the baby brine shrimp?

To harvest the baby brine shrimp or nauplii, simply shut off the air and wait a few minutes for the shells and nauplii to separate. The shells will float to the surface and the live nauplii will go to the bottom of the cone towards the light source. Once separated, the nauplii can be siphoned from the bottom or drained from the bottom of the cone through the air tubing.

Should I rinse the baby brine shrimp before feeding?

Yes, definitely! The warm incubation temperatures and metabolites from the hatching medium create ideal conditions for a bacteria bloom. Rinsing of the baby brine shrimp or nauplii in a fine mesh net using fresh water is sufficient before feeding to your fish.

[spiff]

king achilles is rite.

they do eat.

i dun cultivate any live stuff leh. i only feed dead ones heheheh (kent marine phytoplex)

i wan to cultivate zooplantkon but its damn troublesome

[Achilles Tang]

Maybe one of the privileges of being a member of the Singapore Reef Club is that we may teach culturing and also share plankton?

[Phang]

Heehee,

Members have its priviledges....

[yhkwong]

Hi Achilles, would be glad to learn a thing or two on your rotifer culturing. Pls post some articles along the way, and if possible, can I look at your setup too?

[CKS]

Hey Achilles Tang, where did you 'Instant Algae' from?

[Achilles Tang]

Hi Achilles, would be glad to learn a thing or two on your rotifer culturing. Pls post some articles along the way, and if possible, can I look at your setup too?

Sure... but now till like 2 weeks later I think... my new tank project is taking up a lot of space and my house is a big mess...

Later...

[Achilles Tang]

Hey Achilles Tang, where did you 'Instant Algae' from?

Oh you can import it but it's too much a quantity to use... and you really need a very cold freezer. I believe the optimum temp to prevent degrading the quality of the frozen algae cells is -4 degrees.

I bought mine in a little small tub from Reefworld. I wouldn't dare to think how they must have melted the whole lot to pour into the little chilli tubs (like those used for chicken rice!)... so I bet the nutritional value has degraded a lot. And a little bit lasts a very long time. I suspect the shelf life is only about 4 months. My little tub is more than a year old and I barely scrapped 10%! I wonder why I keep it anymore!

You only need a little bit to scrape into a glass of tank water and stir till it turns light green.

I turn off my circulation for one hour to let it get absorbed by the clams, corals, sponges or other sandbed creatures, then resumed circulation and filtration.

Put too much and you get nuisance algae.

It rapidly becomes organic waste in the tank water... as it is already considered dead plankton cells to begin with.

Make sure you turn your skimmer on!

I think the way forward is to culture live plankton as it won't degrade water quality and may actually improve it!

[CKS]

Nothing beats live plankton!

but its too much trouble keeping a constant supply of live culture

anyone tried Spectra Vital from Marc Weiss?

it claims to turn brineshrimp red and vital suppliment for rotifer.

would save lots of trouble using dry product rather then feeding phyto to zoo to keep them alive.

Maybe a product review for this magic in a box (snake oil) product?

haha