Newbie needing brine shrimp advice - HELP!

[kpc01]

I was wondering what info you guys could give me about hatching BBS. I am wanting to get a couple of pygmy seahorses but I am not sure about their feeding requirements. I have the brine shrimp set up with air and heat, now I am waiting for them to hatch. This may sound stupid, but are they encapsulated at this point??? I have read several posts on de-capsulation, but I am not sure what is best. And also, after they hatch, how do I maintain them for feeding, and how long will one batch last to feed 1 or 2 pygmy's? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!

[NanoLurker]

pygmy? as in H. bargibanti? i doubt that is the species you are referring to. do you mean H. zosterae?

if you bought regular, dried, brine shrimp eggs, then yes, they are encapsulated and can take longer to hatch. you can decap them yourself or buy decapsulated bs eggs from a couple of places online. i personally use purchased decapped, the hatch time is faster with them and it is believed the napulii are "more nutritious" as they don't expend as much energey hatching.

[kpc01]

Thanks!! After they hatch, I know that they should be given to the SH's right away, but how long will I be able to use this batch before they are too large to feed to my tiny horses??
Can I just maintain the leftover bs in a container with air and a little heat till they are used up?

Thanks!!!!

[Swanwillow]

I believe that they can eat adult bs:but the babies are more nutritious.

and another reason to decapsulate the eggs: the eggs may have hydroids living in/on them, and when your dwarf horses have babies, the hydroids will eat the babies: don't worry, the baby horses can and will eat baby brine shrimp.

[JennyL]

www.saseahorse.com is Tracy Warland's site, owner of a breeding facility in So Australia and has all the indepth info on artemia, from decapping to ongrowing. Just click on Brine shrimp and it will pull up loads of info for you.

She has recently updated her site and included more info you are needing.

HTH

[rogerwells]

do the bbs hatching things really need the heat?

how am i supposed to get a heater in a 2 liter bottle i cut in half?

[NanoLurker]

i don't use a heater so the hatch time can be longer. i do hatch mine in the kitchen which stays reasonably worm. i've seen people make holders and place several bottles in a spare tank with a heater. i don't use that much bbs so i just keep two hatchers in rotation when i need them.

[whatnot45]

As far as feeding goes i would HIGHLY!! recomend a hatch N feed feeder from DR. Fosters and Smith for feeding baby brine shrimp. All you need to do is set it up (takes 10 minutes) and then put in eggs every day, and the shrimp will hatch and swim into the tank where your horses can eat them. You dont have to worry about decapping or the eg shells because they stay in the feeder. I have been using one for 6 months and it is AWSOME!! i only clean it once every month or so, and it makes dwarfs a breaze. They are easier to take care of than my erectus.

[Wink]

I wouldn't use an in tank hatcher and they usually aren't recommended. I believe that the hatch water is full of bacteria you really don't want to put into the tank. I think most people rinse the hatched brine completely to remove as much bacteria as possible before putting them in the tank - I know I do.

[Swanwillow]

AND using an in-tank feeder adds a ton of ammonia to the tank: hatching brine shrimp out is VERY dirty...

[whatnot45]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6837577#post6837577 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Swanwillow
AND using an in-tank feeder adds a ton of ammonia to the tank: hatching brine shrimp out is VERY dirty...


I dont know i have never had an amonia spike with it, and my 4 horses are perfectly fine mating and everything....

[DanU]

It is well documented that bacteria, including vibrio spp. grows in artemia cultures. This becomes problematic in cultures where there are repeated introductions of high amounts of artemia as the primary feed.

If you ever want to see a real mess, take a small portion of the harvest, place it in a container for a coulple of days and then take a look at the water under a microscope. It will be loaded with bacteria and protozoa.

I highly recommend rinsing the artemia well with freshwater prior to feeding out. While it won't eliminate it all, it will reduce the counts of bad guys significantly.

Dan