# mysid shrimps



## cichlidor (Oct 8, 2009)

Where can i buy live mysid shrimps?anyone here sells or know where to buy them pls. Let me know.thanks for your time.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Never seen them for sale. Copepods yes, and amphipods- just take a scoop out of anybody's refugium...  But never seen Mysids. I have wondered myself before...


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I've heard you can culture them but I've also heard it's just easier to feed live brine.


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

cichlidor said:


> Where can i buy live mysid shrimps?anyone here sells or know where to buy them pls. Let me know.thanks for your time.


Reef Aquatica (Hubert) has them. I just saw them today. Quite expensive though ($1-$2 each). You can get 5-10 for a starter culture and raise them in a refugium or dedicated tank. They are cannibals.

Hubert has a crazy clownfish breeding setup - worth it just to see the operation.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

noy said:


> Hubert has a crazy clownfish breeding setup - worth it just to see the operation.


+1 got to agree...


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## cichlidor (Oct 8, 2009)

noy said:


> Reef Aquatica (Hubert) has them. I just saw them today. Quite expensive though ($1-$2 each). You can get 5-10 for a starter culture and raise them in a refugium or dedicated tank. They are cannibals.
> 
> Hubert has a crazy clownfish breeding setup - worth it just to see the operation.


Is he located at old finch?it says on the website that his only open sat and sun.


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

cichlidor said:


> Is he located at old finch?it says on the website that his only open sat and sun.


Your best bet is to call ahead or email and make an appointment. Even for a Sat/Sun.


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## noy (Nov 19, 2012)

email him at [email protected]

I usually pick up stuff during the week after work. With the mysid shrimp I think he wants a day ahead to catch them. He has reef nutrition stuff too (oyster feast, rotifeast) etc..

Just curious why do you want live mysid? Its not very practical to raise them as food.


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## cichlidor (Oct 8, 2009)

noy said:


> email him at [email protected]
> 
> I usually pick up stuff during the week after work. With the mysid shrimp I think he wants a day ahead to catch them. He has reef nutrition stuff too (oyster feast, rotifeast) etc..
> 
> Just curious why do you want live mysid? Its not very practical to raise them as food.


I wanted to start a colony in my refugium.im really hoping to have a tank with just seahorses.


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## disman_ca (Nov 12, 2011)

You don't need live mysis to keep seahorses for the most part unless they are not captive bred. Mine ate frozen mysis just fine mind you I made sure I observed them eat before I purchased them. zenafish has had live mysis before so she may be able to direct you to where she gets hers. She is experienced in keeping seahorses including dwarfs I believe.


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## cichlidor (Oct 8, 2009)

Thanks for all the replies.really appreciate them.


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## zenafish (Feb 20, 2007)

Unless you're super rich and don't care about throwing away money (or if you have feeding budgets like the Toronto Zoo), live mysids is a terrible way to maintain a tank of seahorses. Many people underestimate the size of these buggers. They're about 1/4" each and runs about $0.25-$0.50 a piece, and one seahorse can wipe out 30-50 in one sitting. Mysids are also cannabalistic so if you start with 100 you can expect maybe 50 by the next day just having them killing off each other. Put a seahorse in a fuge with mysids will quickly wipe out whichever culture you painstakingly built over time. A separate mysid culture vessel can be made using a couple of 40gal breeders, but it's pretty intense to maintain those. I have literature on building these tanks if you like.

Alternatively, live brine shrimp is more accessible and cheaper if you're set on live food. But your best shot will be to find good quality captive bred seahorses that already understand the concept of frozen food.

Nonetheless, live mysids make awesome treats for them and I splurge once in a blue moon and buy a box to special treat my ponies, or to transition true wild caughts (who don't have a clue of what even live brine shrimp is). To bring down cost (mostly in shipping) I usually do a box of 500 or 1000 mysids and run about $200-300 to last me about 2 weeks.

The quickest and easiest way to get mysids - talk to Hubert  like others already suggested


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