keeping brine shrimp alive?

wablondie98664

wablondie98664

Active Member
we've recently bought 2 oz of live brine shrimp for some of our fish, we put them in a 10 gal aquarium half full of salt water and 4 days later about half of them are dead. does anyone have any tips to keep these brine shrimp alive longer? or do they not live long in the first place?
tia
 
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daniel411

Guest
Did you have an air stone for water circulation/aeration?
 
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daniel411

Guest
You deffinately need something to keep the water from turning stagnant and maintain oxygen. Whenever I picked up live brine from the lfs, I'd always just dose a bit of dt's phytoplankton into a large cup, and pour them in with the water they came with. I was told by the lfs that putting them in the refridgerator extends the life. No idea what truth that is. I'd always just get the smallest amount I could and use them all up within 2-3 days, tops. So I never tried keeping them long term.
 
dreeves

dreeves

Active Member
Brine shrimp are saltwater creatures...therefore need saltwater to survive...
They are also breathing creatures which produce the same biological waste as do marine fish and others...i.e..amonia...
To maintain them, they need a food source as well.
Get a cheapie Lee's or similar sponge filter...a small air pump, a 2-5 gallon tank (for less water change) and try to keep them at a steady temp just like a regular tank.
They have short life spans and many usually die from starvation and then amonia...
These are from my own experiences with live brine and seahorses...
Hope this helps
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
you can also do a hatchery type thing for your own brine.
take a tank or bucket and place it in the sun with normal SW in it. get some phyto plankton culture to start it out and leave it sit for a while in full sun. then add brine shrimp to it. the phyto will be the never ending food source for them. and the will reproduce and keep a constant supply for you. do a search there are a ton of ways to do it.
also if you live in a west nile viruse area dont worry mosquitos dont live or breed in SW just FW.
I personally havent done this but have heard of people doing this. one that even said that there are left outside all winter with leaves in the water and in the spring they clean it out and away it goes and there are still some live brine in the buckets that start to repopulate the cutures.
searh for brine shrimp cultures and thing similiar to that
HTH
Mike
 
lionstorm

lionstorm

Member
brine shrimp have a life span of about 2 weeks tops, and they need very salty water (after all they come from the great salt lake and the dead sea)
I personally think its a waste of time and money to try and hatch them, getting the egg shells out is a hassle and feeding the babies can be tough. I think its just better to use them as treats for your fish every now and then (my pufferfish loves them although not always the challenge of chasing them)
But as far as pets (sea monkeys) a 2 week life span just doesn't cut it, IMO.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
yep thats what they are called.
you can but I dont know how long they would last i have never heard of someone doing that its an idea though.
also they make a intank hatchery that you can place in the tank and as they hatch they go into the tank .
Mike
 
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