brine shrimp (How?)

[tanker100]

I am trying to hatch brine shrimp... I am having a little trouble or maybe I am not patient enough... I have the packet of brine eggs, I use saltwater from my tank.. 1.022-1.024 I have rigged up a 1 ltr bottle with a air pump hose in the cap and bottle upside down.. I put the eggs in and the next day I have little brine swimming around.... Now what? do I wait, do I put them into another conainter? how long does ittake before they a large enough to feed to the fish.... the packet makes it sound like 2 days and wha-la you have fish food....... I have youtubed it and I still am not sure..... anyone have a little insite on this.... tank , temp, water movement? do you feed them? is it even worth the time? thanks Tanker

[loosecannon]

After 24 hours they don`t have much nutritional value . If you want to grow them out you need micro-alge . :)

[returnofsid]

They are best fed immediately after hatching, for the most nutritional value. Unfortunately, they're very small at that stage and any medium to large fish will most likely ignore them. Brine shrimp aren't usually a very good choice for fish food, unless you're feeding fish fry, sea horses, or other fish that require very small food. Brine Shrimp quickly lose most of their nutritional value, unless you're feeding them high nutrient foods. Also, a few days after hatching, if you plan to feed them and raise them to adult size, they'll need much saltier water. They can hatch in 1.025, but will need to grow in an actual brine.

IMO, Brine Shrimp are most useful for those breeding Freshwater fish. I used to breed several species of freshwater fish and hatched Brine shrimp on a daily basis. Since starting Saltwater, I haven't had to hatch a single BS and it's been a blessing....lol. Eventually, I may if I set up a special tank for my mated Black Occellaris Clownfish, or my mated pair of Benghai Cardinals.

[cloak]

Not sure if you have seen this before, but here's a good article.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/nftt/index.php