Hatching Baby Brine Shrimp

[Ray1214]

Hey Marc,

Just a few questions on the Harvesting Brine Shrimp. I follow a lot of the same practices as you do with a few exceptions.

1. I like to decapsulate my brine shrimp eggs first. I wrote an article for the ARC newsletter and a workshop for this for aquarists. Mainly because I use the same eggs you do, but had a hydroid infestation wipe out one of my dwarf seahorse colonies. (I fed daily twice a day) and we discovered that the hydroids had to come from the brine eggs somehow. Also I can harvest in under 24 hours and no shells to worry about. In the reef this isn't a problem I am guessing, but I am wondering if you had any opinions either way.

2. The other method I have advised people who are terrified to decap Brine eggs was to drop about 1 tsp of bleach into their mix. The chlorine will kill off any pathogens or hydroids, but will disapate into air prior to the Brine shrimp hatching.

The Hydroids is my real question, to see if you have experienced any kind of infestation from BBS. I have worked with Jenn Myerscough and Carol Keen (Both are seahorse experts imho and probably forgotten more about seahorses than I know) and we can only narrow it down to perhaps a hydroid protozoa or something is coming in with the Brine eggs.

Great article btw. And I am a very staunch supporter of using live foods when possible.

I used to maintain Rotifers, Phyto and bbs when breeding seahorses and other marine fish like pseudochromis. I haven't had much time after I moved but now my wife is getting into it, and it will be a matter of time before she convinces me to commence breeding again (have to make her think it is her idea).

[rayjay]

One Ray to another!
Just wanted to mention that I've been using BSD cysts for about 7 or 8 years now, using about 2 one lb cans each year, sometimes a little more.
I use both nauplii and adult brine for feeding.
I have never had hydroids, so maybe it's not the cysts but something else supplying the cause of your grief, and the nauplii merely end up as the food to maintain the 'droids.
Years ago, I started descapsulation before hatching, but with all the other things I have to do (too many tanks and too large a brine shrimp growing operation) it was not feasable to continue.
Your suggestion of 1 teaspoon bleach (per 2 litre bottle?) is interesting and I will try it.


RAISING BRINE SHRIMP (http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/brineshrimp.html)

[melev]

Hi guys. I've talked with Tim, one of the owners of BrineShrimpDirect about brine and decapsulated brine shrimp. To be honest, I've not burrowed deeply enough into this subject to answer some of the things you are describing.

Never keeping seahorses myself, I've not had issues with hydroids. I swear my bbs have aptasia in there though. :lol: I can't seem to eradicate these beasts!

That is interesting about the bleach. I used some bleach and water to rinse out a station, then set it up anew and 48 hours later I had dead soup on hand. Perhaps more bleach was used, or it didn't aerate out of the solution quickly enough.

How are you decapsulating them yourself? I know you can buy them that way, but haven't seen the need to do so.

[Falko]

Hi there. Not to change the topic... But how do you decapsulate the eggs?

[Ray1214]

Actually it is kinda easy but scary at first. Once you do it right, it is cake. But resist the urge to try to do many at once. Believe me it is easier to do about 1 tsps at a time verses half a cup (pain in the rear).
This is the article that I wrote for a newsletter here in Atlanta, and i plan to publish something close it in a book hopefully.

Decapsulating Brine Shrimp eggs and Hatchery

Baby Brine shrimp (BBS) is used as a feeder food for some corals, baby fish, small mouthed fish, seahorses, pipefish and clams. I typically like to add a teaspoon or two of live BBS to a feeding regime for all of my tanks once or twice a week. It helps that I keep a constant culture going for my pipefish, and my dwarf seahorses (when I have them).
Be forewarned, it is not touted to be an end all food. And, if you let your Brine Shrimp get over 30-48 hours old, they aren’t very nutritious. But for those of us that need a convenient, year-round supply of live foods, it is a great boon.
But why do I want to decapsulate Brine Shrimp eggs? I am perfectly happy with the hatch rate I am currently getting and I harvest them without the brine shrimp egg shells. Well there are a few reasons.
a) You will not have the risk of introducing the brine shrimp egg shells into your culture tanks or seahorse tanks. Sometimes it is not possible to for the shell to be removed from the shrimp and small fish, young fish, some corals and dwarf seahorses cannot ingest the shells. This can cause choking, and problems for the young fish or corals.
b) Nauplii will be more nutritious (higher energy content) since they will not have to expend any energy to break out of the hardened shell.
c) Even if you don’t hatch the brine shrimp, the eggs by themselves are a high energy food that fish seem to adore.
d) Decapsulated cysts have lower hatching requirements. Like lower temps, lower lighting requirements and lower aeration.
e) The cysts are also disinfected by the process. Contamination is a high possibility due to “dirty” cysts. The bleaching will wipe out most all containments. There has been a popular theory that decapsulating brine shrimp eggs all but eliminate hydroids in dwarf seahorse tanks. Since I have started decapsulating my cysts, I have found this to be true but have not performed any scientific evidence to prove either way.
f) Hatch rates are so much higher. On a comparison, by viewing, I took a 1/8 teaspoon of normal brine shrimp cysts and a 1/8 teaspoon of decapsulated brine shrimp eggs; I probably had about 100 percent more of a hatch rate. (So probably about a 90 percent hatch rate decapsulated verses about 45 percent of normal brine shrimp cysts)
Decapsulating Bring Shrimp Eggs
Ingredients:
16 oz of cold freshwater (can be RO or tap)
2 oz of liquid chlorine bleach (must be the unscented kind)
1 tablespoon of white vinegar
1 tablespoon of brine shrimp cysts
¼ cup of any sea salt
1 small container for storing the cysts after decapsulating
Equipment:
Air pump
6 Inches or so of Rigid Air Tubing
8 inches or so of Normal Air Tubing
Air Valve (Optional)
Two cups or containers
Brine shrimp net/sieve

NOTE: None of these ingredients or equipment guidelines are set in stone. I just kind of eyeball it when I decapsulate my brine shrimp eggs.
Ready for Storage
Prior to decapsulating your brine shrimp eggs, and if you plan on keeping them, it is not a bad idea to make some brine to store them in. I take about a ¼ cup scoop of marine salt and mix it into about 1 cup of ro/di water. I add it in little by little until it does not dissolve any more salt and salt starts to collect on the bottom. It is not a bad idea to use an air pump and hose and let it aerate a bit prior to using. I only use about 2 ounces of this water but you don’t want the salt in the bottom of the cup go into the storage container.
Instructions
First you must hydrate your cysts. You do this by using about 3-5 ounces of water in a container and adding your brine shrimp cysts. (You will notice that most of them will float) And using your air pump and the airline tubing, start to aerate the water. I prefer using an air valve (cheap kinds) to put flow about 50 percent while I am hydrating, so the least amount of eggs get thrown up on the sides of the container but still stirring the eggs around in the water. This is the most time consuming and takes about an hour to two hours. I normally perform other functions while this is going on, checking every so often to use the teaspoon to knock some of the eggs back into the water. You should notice that most of the eggs are sinking to the bottom as time goes on, to about 90 percent at the end of a little more than an hour.
At then end of the Hydration cycle, when most of the eggs are sinking or mixing with the water current, turn up your aeration a bit. (I normally crank mine full open) and add the 2 ounces of bleach. You will immediately notice that water temperature increase a bit from cold to warm. If you are doing large batches and increase the amount of the ingredients, you may want ice cubes to help cool it back down a bit. With this small amount I have never had to so it isn’t necessary. After about 5 minutes or so, you should notice the eggs going from dark brown/black to a grayish color. They will transition to white then pinkish orange. While you are waiting for the cysts to change color, break out the other small container and pour in the white vinegar to about 3 ounces of water.
After most of the cysts have changed color (about 70-80 percent), pour out the bleach, water and brine shrimp egg mixture into a brine shrimp sieve or brine shrimp net.
NOTE: MAKE SURE YOU USE THE REAL FINE MESH TYPE OR THE EGGS WILL WASH RIGHT THROUGH THE NET.
Start rinsing the eggs in the rest of the freshwater and your tap until the chlorine smell is gone. (Typically I let the net fill about 3 or 4 times and drain) Then dip the whole net with the brine shrimp eggs into the container that you prepared with the vinegar. Let it sit for about 60 seconds. This will neutralize the bleaching action. (You will notice that some more of the eggs decapsulate even during the rinsing till almost all of them are decapsulated) Rinse your eggs once or twice and they are ready. Now you have three options:
1. You can feed the eggs directly to your tank. Larval fish and some corals and normal fish will eat them with relish and they are very nutritional.
2. You can store them from up to a month in the prepared brine solution that you prepared ahead of time. For hatching or feeding.
3. Or you can hatch them and feed baby brine shrimp to larval critters or your tank.
Simple Hatchery
These are quick instructions for building a quick DIY hatchery. First you need these items:

Two 2-litre bottles (Kind you get with Coke or Dr.Pepper in)
Some flexible airline tubing
1 inch pieces of rigid airline (Optional)
Air valve
Air pump
Marine sealant is optional
3/16 inch drill bit and drill

First make the cap. Take the 3/16 inch bit and drill a small hole in one of the bottle caps for the 2-litre bottles. Poke in either flexible airline hose, or as I prefer a small piece of rigid airline tubing. Make sure you have it pushed up to the middle so you have about ½ inch on both sides of the cap. One side is to connect the air line to. Now I have build these caps and got almost no leakage and even a drop every so often is not bad as you will find out later on in this instruction. But some purists prefer to use a dab of aquarium or marine sealant around the tubing to prevent any leaks. It is fine either way and use the sealant if you find it leaks excessively.
Next make the hatchery. Take one of the soda bottles and cut the top of the bottle off right about where it curves inward. It should leave about ½ to 2/3 of the bottle depending on the soda brand. Near the bottom, about 1/3 of the way up to the top or so, drill out another 3/16 inch hole. (This hole can be a bit larger but I use the same bit and wallow it a bit) Now put this bottle aside.
Grab the second 2-litre bottle and on this one you can cut the bottom off of it. I typically only cut out half of the bottom and leave the piece of plastic on like a lid. I do all of this cutting with regular household scissors. Screw the cap on the 2nd bottle and now you can either pull the airline from the cap through the second hole in the first bottle or push through some flexible airline tubing thru the hole in the first bottle and connect it to the rigid airline tubing. Now take the inverted bottle with the air cap and place it cap first into the first bottle with the top cut off. This acts as a stand for your hatchery. Also the first bottle should catch any drippage from the second bottle.
Finally attach the air hose to the air pump. I prefer using an air valve to regulate the air going into the hatchery but this is optional.
Hatching and rearing the Shrimp
Now for the easy part. Fill the bottle about 4/5 to the top. Doesn’t have to be exact but don’t fill it up to the top since when the agitation is on, it will bubble over the top.
Get about a teaspoon full of the brine shrimp slurry if you opted to store them for later use (about a teaspoon of decapsulated brine shrimp eggs in 2-3 ounces of brine water where one teaspoon of the solution is roughly 1/8 of the actual eggs) or if you did not store them yet, about 1/8 of a teaspoon of cysts in the hatchery.
I use an old 15 watt lighting fixture to keep the hatchery warm at about 78-80 degrees and you should start seeing your first hatchings at about 7-10 hours. You don’t have to feed them at all during this stage and for the next 24 hours, however after consulting with Steve at “Angels Plus”, it may not be a bad idea to feed them just a bit at this stage. Here is why. Because the most nutritious part is the yolk sac that the baby brine shrimp feed off in the first stage of life. However they can start filter feeding almost immediately and if you feed them, some of the vitamins and nutrition from the yolk sac will be retained if you harvest them within 24 hours or so. After 24-36 hours, no yolk sac will remain and you will want to supplemental feed them to “gut-load” them. I use spirulina powder, Kent’s Micro-vert, DT’s Phytoplankton, mashed up boiled egg yolks, liquid fry foods, and sometimes just green water from a bottle left on the porch. When feeding the baby brine shrimp, it is very easy to over feed. Use just enough (smaller than a pinch) to see a small haze go into the water. One method I tried and seemed to work is dripping phytoplankton at about one drop every 5 minutes into their rearing tanks.
Now I typically harvest about ¼ of the bottle at a time to feed my pipefish and seahorses. And I mix in on my reef feeding days, some of the culture into the reef food that I thaw out. At this rate, if you want to slightly overfeed it isn’t too big an issue. Just make sure you can see the critters moving around when the air is off.
If you want adult brine shrimp, it will take some doing and you will have to have a tank with old saltwater and an airstone. It will take some time like several weeks. I prefer to buy my adults if I am wanting to use them as food. There are several articles for creating grow out tanks but that is beyond the scope of this lecture and I will be more than happy to through out a suggestion or two but it is a pain.
Last thing on this topic. I like to use two cultures going. And I wash out the bottle with a bit of bleach between cultures. YOU WILL HAVE A CULTURE CRASH FROM TIME TO TIME. It is normal. Don’t sweat it. Maybe the temperature dropped too low. Maybe you overfed them babies. Maybe a drop of carpet deodorizer made its way into your culture. Whatever the reason, clean out your culture bottles and try again. But dump the old culture into the sink, don’t use it since it is about a 10 cents worth of brine shrimp is not worth wiping out your tank or your babies. Now you see why I overlap cultures with two of them.
Harvesting your crop
Now you have babies. Be that they are gut loaded, newly hatched or free swimming and you want figure out how to get them out of the soda bottles. There are a few ways, but the easiest way is to turn off the air to container. Give it a moment to settle down or not, doesn’t matter with decapsulated eggs. (With normal cysts you want the unhatched eggs to sink to the bottom but you don’t have this issue with decapsulated eggs) Take the airline and disconnect it from the air valve. The direct it into a harvesting container or just a cup. Use a light to make sure you have plenty of baby brine shrimp, it will be apparent. Then drain the cup through a fine meshed brine shrimp net or sieve. (some people use coffee filters), and you can drop them into your tanks.
One other method is to use a flash light to concentrate the brine shrimp into one spot of your soda bottles. And use a brine shrimp net to scoop them up. I find this to be a bit messy but it works.
After you are done harvesting, it may be wise to shut your air valve down a bit (remember you will have less volume so less air is needed to agitate it) and plug it back into your air pump.
Final Thought
I hope I am not tiring yall out with handouts, and from the numerous requests on creating live foods for your tank spawned this lecture on decapsulating and harvesting baby brine shrimp. I have found that it is great to have a back up plan to feeding all of my tanks and this makes a good item for a plan. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask and you can email me at ray@todaysanswer.com or ask for Ray1214 on The Reef Tank, Atlanta Reef Club forum and I promise to answer them to the best of my ability.

[melev]

Thanks Ray, that was very interesting.

I hatch a tsp worth of eggs daily, so this process would be quite labor intensive for me. Still, it is interesting, and I appreciate your taking the time to put this article together.

Good luck on your book!

[SERVO]

I just got my package from Brine shrip direct from Next wave!!!!!

Finally, 100, now I can change that damn AVatar !!!!!

[melev]

After 100 posts, you picked that one? ;)

[Ray1214]

Thank you Marc for your kind words. Hopefully I can figure out a good way (I don't like those "continous feeders") to use a darkend fuge to build a contious feeding system that doesn't get the zostrae fry stuck to the pump.

Ray