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what the simplest easiest way to hatch baby brine shrimp?
I have a litter bottle and an airstone, but no heater..
any advice.. tricks.. ???
thanks!
Board index ‹ Aquaria Topics ‹ Foods and Nutrition ‹ Easy way to hatch bbs?
Thu Jul 06, 2006 10:05 am
These packets would be OK if a few fish were being fed BBS.
Suppose 1 tsp of eggs are in each packet (?) and suppose 1 packet is used each day.
1 tsp is about 6 g and 6 g of San Francisco Bay eggs runs about $3.
454 g is 1 lb
454 g/6 g = 75 servings
75 servings x $3 = $225 for 1 lb of eggs
Purchase 1 lb can of San Francisco strain brine shrimp eggs is $37. Throw in $8 for shipping as a guess.
That leaves about $180 for water softner salt
Never mind.
Easy way to hatch bbs?
Moderator: Moderators
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Thu Jul 06, 2006 10:05 am
You don't need to worry about a heater. Almost everybody I know hatches them at room temperature. You don't need an airstone either. A ridgid piece of airline tube slightly longer than the bottle maybe. This will get down to the bottom. I used to use a 2 liter bottle filled up just short of the start of the neck of the bottle. (Maybe a liter and a half?) A quater cup of solar water softener salt. (Salt is must cheaper in large bags. 
) I used a tablespoon of bbs in this. I was feeding an entire fishroom though. You won't need as many. 24 hour lighting improves hatch rates, but is not needed. I kept two to three bottles going depending on hatch times. If it was cool and they needed three days, then three bottles, otherwise two. When harvesting you want to turn the air off and let them sit for a while. 10 to 15 minutes. Then siphon the water through a bbs net. You want to leave the unhatched shells on the bottom of the bottle, and the empty shells that are floating on the top. The brine shrimp are the little orange moving thingys.Tip the net over into a small container of fresh water to wash them out of it. Then dump the water into your tanks. Your fish will be happy! 
) I used a tablespoon of bbs in this. I was feeding an entire fishroom though. You won't need as many. 24 hour lighting improves hatch rates, but is not needed. I kept two to three bottles going depending on hatch times. If it was cool and they needed three days, then three bottles, otherwise two. When harvesting you want to turn the air off and let them sit for a while. 10 to 15 minutes. Then siphon the water through a bbs net. You want to leave the unhatched shells on the bottom of the bottle, and the empty shells that are floating on the top. The brine shrimp are the little orange moving thingys.Tip the net over into a small container of fresh water to wash them out of it. Then dump the water into your tanks. Your fish will be happy! 
with the sanfransisco bay bbs you dont need to add salt it is already mixed into the packet
Garrett B.
I've never ever bought it except by the 15 oz can. Way to costly otherwise.
storrisch wrote:
with the sanfransisco bay bbs you dont need to add salt it is already mixed into the packet
These packets would be OK if a few fish were being fed BBS.
Suppose 1 tsp of eggs are in each packet (?) and suppose 1 packet is used each day.
1 tsp is about 6 g and 6 g of San Francisco Bay eggs runs about $3.
454 g is 1 lb
454 g/6 g = 75 servings
75 servings x $3 = $225 for 1 lb of eggs
Purchase 1 lb can of San Francisco strain brine shrimp eggs is $37. Throw in $8 for shipping as a guess.
That leaves about $180 for water softner salt
Last edited by Passionfish on Thu Jul 06, 2006 12:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Like a complete unknown
I am currently hatching them with a 1 liter Mt Dew bottle. I cut out the bottom of the bottle and put it top down in a jar. I fill it to about 2 inches from the top with 1 table spoon of koser salt (dill salt?) and put an airstone all the way to the bottom of the bottle which should be the top if you know what I mean I run it for about 15 minutes so the salt is all one and the water is clear. I then put in a smal (tiny) amount of eggs so it's only enough to feed them for a day or 2 at most. I have about 50 betta fry so they don't really eat much plus I am feeding them microworms. BBS are good for up to about 24 hours after they hatch at most. After that, all their egg yolk has been absorbed and the bbs are mostly shell which not as nutritious for the fry. To harvest, as note in previous posts, just pull out the airstone and let the water settle for about 5 minutes. The bbs will gather to the brightest area of the bottle. I use small dropper to pick them up and run them through a small net right on top of the bottle. I use a baby food jar to get some water from the fry tank, run my net of drained bbs in it and then pour it evenly to the fry tank A sloppy job but is working OK so far. My first batch of bbs, I put too much eggs in there so a lot was wasted. Test it out and eventually you will know exactly how much your fry eats and use only enough bbs eggs per batch.
I run it for about 15 minutes so the salt is all one and the water is clear. I then put in a smal (tiny) amount of eggs so it's only enough to feed them for a day or 2 at most. I have about 50 betta fry so they don't really eat much plus I am feeding them microworms. BBS are good for up to about 24 hours after they hatch at most. After that, all their egg yolk has been absorbed and the bbs are mostly shell which not as nutritious for the fry. To harvest, as note in previous posts, just pull out the airstone and let the water settle for about 5 minutes. The bbs will gather to the brightest area of the bottle. I use small dropper to pick them up and run them through a small net right on top of the bottle. I use a baby food jar to get some water from the fry tank, run my net of drained bbs in it and then pour it evenly to the fry tank A sloppy job but is working OK so far. My first batch of bbs, I put too much eggs in there so a lot was wasted. Test it out and eventually you will know exactly how much your fry eats and use only enough bbs eggs per batch.Cheers,
Doug Pham - http://www.tc.umn.edu/~phamx039
Doug Pham - http://www.tc.umn.edu/~phamx039
I was just stating that because I know she has the packets right now
Garrett B.
One thing, if you have some left over, just feed it to your other fish. Almost everything eats baby brine.
Anyone have any pics of their BBS setup? I saw a neat one that used a 5.5 gallon tank with a 25W heater between 2 2L bottles. Looked interesting.
storrisch wrote:
I was just stating that because I know she has the packets right now
Never mind.
Like a complete unknown
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/store. ... &do=detail
try that. i have one and it works great! it takes approx 12 hrs for the bbs to hatch(about the same time it would for the other setups). super easy to use. no air pump or heat. and plus, no draining or use of the net. i let it sit on top of my 20L fry tank. its only good if you have a small to moderate amount of fry to feed. if you have more, i'd suggest going with a bigger/more elaborate setup.
try that. i have one and it works great! it takes approx 12 hrs for the bbs to hatch(about the same time it would for the other setups). super easy to use. no air pump or heat. and plus, no draining or use of the net. i let it sit on top of my 20L fry tank. its only good if you have a small to moderate amount of fry to feed. if you have more, i'd suggest going with a bigger/more elaborate setup.
13 posts
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