# DIY Brine Shrimp Hatcheries?



## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

What are the best methods to make a brine shrimp hatchery?


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

I've been hatching brine shrimp for a month now and had A LOT of success. IMO it's more about the quality of eggs. Everything else should be second to it. hatching them then just take time.

basic hatchery:


1 2L bottle or clear juice bottle with 2in of the bottom cut off.
styrofoam to place bottle in so it doesn't tip over when inverted
airline with bubbler attached
place bubbler in the bottle, 2" from the cap.
fill the 2L bottle 2" from the very top when inverted.
add 1tbs of Kosher salt and you're set.


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## derekc85 (Oct 23, 2008)

Melev's reef has tons of info.. I believe it is the cheapest and effective way of hatching... sure you can buy a 100 hatchery from Aquamedic or whoever sells it... but the pop bottle will work as well...

http://www.melevsreef.com/brineshrimp.html
http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/food/bbs/how_to_bbs.html

good luck...


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Ideally, you want the water to be around 80 F for optimal hatching. The inverted 2l pop bottle works great, but I float mine in a small tank I made with a heater in the tank. The eggs will hatch better with a light, and the salinity is higher than a marine tank. The eggs will hatch in 16 to 24 hours, and really need to be fed within a few hours to have any real food value. What you are actually feeding is the yolk sack in a moving carrier. When I need lots I float 3 bottles in a 5 gal tank. I also decapsulate the cysts before use. This makes them all usable, and you have no hulls or bacteria (or hydra). The info in the link about allowing 48 hours is out of whack.


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

I found this:

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_brineshrimp_hatchery.php

Will it be sufficient? Also, where can I get good brine shrimp eggs in Mississauga? I went to Franks today but he was all out. I know Big Al's doesn't keep it in their fridge so I'd rather not get theirs.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

I ordered mine online. I'm not sure the eggs have to be in a fridge. I think the state they come in (cysts) don't really have any requirements other than cool, dry environment - their container.

People put the extra hatched brine shrimp in the fridge. Not the unhatched eggs.


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## PPulcher (Nov 17, 2006)

If the cysts get overheated, they die and won't hatch for you. Storage of the eggs is best in fridge or freezer so they remain viable over the long term. See http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Hatching-Brine-Shrimp-Cysts-c169.html for some info on hatching and storage of eggs.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

PPulcher said:


> If the cysts get overheated, they die and won't hatch for you. Storage of the eggs is best in fridge or freezer so they remain viable over the long term. See http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Hatching-Brine-Shrimp-Cysts-c169.html for some info on hatching and storage of eggs.


thanks for the info.


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## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

derekc85 said:


> Melev's reef has tons of info.. I believe it is the cheapest and effective way of hatching... sure you can buy a 100 hatchery from Aquamedic or whoever sells it... but the pop bottle will work as well...
> 
> http://www.melevsreef.com/brineshrimp.html
> http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/food/bbs/how_to_bbs.html
> ...


Thanks for this!

Has to be one of the best sites, ive ever seen for BBS!


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## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

Joeee said:


> I found this:
> 
> http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/diy_brineshrimp_hatchery.php
> 
> Will it be sufficient? Also, where can I get good brine shrimp eggs in Mississauga? I went to Franks today but he was all out. I know Big Al's doesn't keep it in their fridge so I'd rather not get theirs.


I've used Big Al's many times over, and have been successful, on the % Of survival... beats the snot out of me, tbh, never paid attention. Just did the mixture and fed .


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

arktixan said:


> I've used Big Al's many times over, and have been successful, on the % Of survival... beats the snot out of me, tbh, never paid attention. Just did the mixture and fed .


Usually how much do you get from each one?


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

don't do what I did and use your brine shrimp net for anything other than filtering brine.. LOL I stretched my net out and didn't notice how much shrimp I was loosing through it. :s


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

Ciddian said:


> don't do what I did and use your brine shrimp net for anything other than filtering brine.. LOL I stretched my net out and didn't notice how much shrimp I was loosing through it. :s


so you're saying that I shouldn't wear it as a thong?


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## arktixan (Mar 30, 2010)

Joeee said:


> Usually how much do you get from each one?


no idea tbh, enough to feed my fish thats for sure lol.


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Joeee said:


> so you're saying that I shouldn't wear it as a thong?


LOL!!!!! Nooonoo... def not  I used it once to scoop out gravel cause I was lazy


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

Ciddian said:


> LOL!!!!! Nooonoo... def not  I used it once to scoop out gravel cause I was lazy


I wonder why it stretched...


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

I found an easier way to hatch Brine Shrimp. I learned it from Frank. Because most of us don't own 300 tanks, all we have to do is get a 2L bucket, fill it up with 2 tbs of salt, 1L or luke warm water, place it on top of water heater in basement, and sprinkle a pinch of BBS eggs on top, wait 2 days and voila (80%+ hatch rate).

No airline tubing, no heater, no nothing out of the ordinary.


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## Joeee (Apr 3, 2010)

carbonlist said:


> I found an easier way to hatch Brine Shrimp. I learned it from Frank. Because most of us don't own 300 tanks, all we have to do is get a 2L bucket, fill it up with 2 tbs of salt, 1L or luke warm water, place it on top of water heater in basement, and sprinkle a pinch of BBS eggs on top, wait 2 days and voila (80%+ hatch rate).
> 
> No airline tubing, no heater, no nothing out of the ordinary.


I was wondering about the air pump, because I bought the sea monkeys thing a LONG time ago. I remember there was 2 packets, one for what I'm guessing is conditioning the water and the other one is the actual eggs. At the time I hypothesized that one was eggs and one was sperm. XD

And doesn't Frank own like 300 tanks?

EDIT:
This thread made me realize that I did make a brine shrimp hatchery a few days after I made this thread and hatched some brine shrimp. What else it reminded me of is that I haven't looked at my makeshift hatchery since I made it and tried to hatch eggs.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

a brine shrimp net seems key. i always get brine in the tank with my syringe = not good.


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