Brine Shrimp

[kronin]

I was just reading an article in a magazine about this bloke here in the UK who has a 400 gallon tank. Amongst the massive amounts of livestock, he has a colony of brine shrimp. Now I think thats pretty cool It would obviously make an excellent source of food for filter feeders, and he says that when they appear its like a big cloud of dust flying across the tank.
Anyone else read or actually done a similar thing? I know brine shrimp only last about 50 days, do you think he raised them seperately and then one day introduced them into the tank or because its obviously the right temp, salinity etc. he just chucked in a bottle of eggs ?
It was really interesting, well to me anyway

 

[kris walker]

Good question, I'd like to know too. I think brine shrimp would be great little critter to add to my existing population.
sam

 

[kelly]

From what I think I understand, but I could be wrong, there are atleast 2 types of brine shrimp. One that comes from the great salt lake in Utah, and others that come from the ocean. (personal thought.) If you by San Francisco Bay brine shrimp, I think that you could do it.
I have bought live brine from my LFS, and in 15-20 min. there are none swimming around the tank any more, and they were not all eaten. I guess these might have been from the great salt lake in Utah. I have checked the salinity, and it was higher than I could measure with my tester.
If you wish to try it, I would recommend that you raise your own, and feed them one of the photoplanktons, and introduce them in to your tank. I have seen some good articles on the web about how to go about raising your own brine shrimp.

 

[kimf]

What is the web site of 400 gallon?

 

[kronin]

Thanks for the input Kelly - At the moment Im hatching some Brine Shrimp using shell-less eggs. Not sure what variety they are - just the regular stuff you would use to feed fry or whatever.
I know they only last 50 days, but ones Ive bought from LFS are pretty big, so I suppose like you say its best to raise them outside the tank and introduce them once theyre bigger.
Im gonna give it a go Ive got 2million eggs lol, I'll hatch the teaspoonful or so and feed them up for a week and stick them in the tank and see what happens.
kimf - Im afraid It wasnt a website where I read about it. It was in a British aquarium magazine. It was 400uk gallons, not sure what the US equivalent would be. It was very similar to the 500 gallon one posted in these forums last week - though it was definately a different tank. Same price too! £15,000 to setup and then £50 a month on electricity

 

[kelly]

Mr Tang,
No, the salinity in my tank it 1.023, the salinity from the saltwater that the LFS had the brine in was higher than my hydrometer reads. It only reads from 1.017 to 1.027. I hope this clears it up.

 

[kung fu]

I think the bit about brine shrimp from Salt Lake is correct...
I believe the shrimp used in most biology classes and the ol' 'Sea Monkey' are from Salt Lake and the salinity there would be a quite a bit higher (though I may be wrong about this).
Doesn't mean they'd be a poor choice for a food source I'm sure, but it would be hard to raise in your reef tank...no reason though why you couldn't raise in a separate tank and use for food....
Peace...

 

[ratbattey]

Brine shrimp from San Fransico and The Great Salt Lake, and indeed, all areas, are considered to be a single species- Artemia salinas (formerly francisana).
Most Artemia eggs (cysyts) commonly available are from Utah, which could explain the high salt level you observed.
I doubt that you could have a colony of Artemia living in a reef tank (but stranger things have happened!). What you are probably observing are the early larval forms (nauplii) of variaous copepoda. These nauplii are a major element of the zooplankton colonies sometimes seen in large reef tanks. Either way, it is a great indicator of a very healthy tank!

 

[ratbattey]

Uh oh, someone gave you some bad information, or I don't understand your plan. My understanding is that you can't hatch shell-less Artemia eggs. These decapsulated cysts are produced as a food for use in the aquaculture industry and are to be feed directly. They are an excellent early food for the larvae of many fish and crustacea.

 

[kronin]

OK - first point, as much as I wish it was - this wasnt my 400 gallon tank. It said they were brine shrimp, but yes they could be pods I suppose.
Articles Ive read on the net about hatching artemia have all stated to use water @ 80oF with a specific gravity between 1.020 -1.025.
As quoted from the side of shell-less eggs box :
"The special de-capsulation process which ARTEMIA SHELLESS goes through means that all disease organisms and parasites are eliminated. This process also makes hatching faster and gives a higher yield of hatched shrimps compared to other brands."
"ARTEMIA SHELLESS eggs may also be eaten by most juvenile fish, even before theyre hatched, without fear of the egg shells causing intestinal damage to the fish. The unhatched brine shrimp eggs are just as nutritious as adult shrimps to fish."
So everyones sort of right !
My first batch have all hatched now. So Im going to move them into a bigger container and feed them up on liquidised algae, flake and egg yolk.

 

[ratbattey]

I stand corrected. Sorry to state my missinformed and incomplete knowledge as fact.

 

[kappadoku]

Living in Salt Lake City, I can tell you the brine from the Great Salt Lake are VERY hardy. I usually go net about 50-100 of them once a month or so.
I then procede to rinse them in fresh RO water, they dont seem to mind.
I then keep them in a 1 gallon jug in the window sill, filled with salinated water, SG 1.022 or so. They last in that jug for about 7-10 days before they start to die off. I feed them about 10-20 at a time. Full grown, they are about 1/4 inch long. My fish love em!
I also hatch eggs in a sea monkey hatchery I bought at the local science-toy store and feed them to the tank within 24 hours of hatching, as hey are most nuitrious in this period. The nauplii (almost microscopic)are great food for my baby Catalina gobys and baby Bangaii cardinals, and also for the larger filter feeders in the tank.
BTW, The "sea monkey" brand of brine are neither the Great Salt Lake varity or the San Francisco varity, They are a genitically engineered varity, made specifically to be exceptionally hardy and reproduce exceptionally fast.
WHOA! where did that useless bit of info come from?
Anyway, CHEERS!

 

[kronin]

Apology accepted
LOL only joking, I wasnt trying to throw that post back in everyones faces, it just sort of came out like that.
I forgot about the joys of hatching brine shrimp...sad I know, but seeing all the little baby shrimp swimming around just after a day of sitting in some aerated saltwater is pretty cool. Reminds me of when my guppys first gave birth lol.