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hi folks
trying my hand at raising brine shrimp and need some help. firstly, after the eggs have hatched does one still need to keep bubbling air into the solution if one wants to raise them to adults? secondly, what is the best food to raise the brine shrimp on to increase their protein value?. thirdly, do they still need the light on after they have hatched? help please

Hi alvin,
There are lots of different ways to raise brine shrimp to adult that work. Just choose the scale on which you want to raise them. When I have done it I always used marine salt mix, heated water ~78*F, a sponge filter sized for the container, and a light source. The light will eventually grow algae which naturally enhances the shrimp food value and I feed the a daily dose of a Brewers' Yeast and water suspension. Add just enough to cloud the water a little and only feed once it becomes clear again. This will usually be once a day.
Be sure to only add brine shrimp nauplii. No eggs. You will have to add them about once a week to replace those you feed to your fish but don't over stock. It will limit grow rates and shrimp sizes.
Once the shrimp are mature they will breed and their eggs will hatch and it tends to become a nusiance separating shrimp from eggs but the reproduction rate is insufficient to keep up with your harvesting.
I just mix the water to the same salinity I would for reef tanks or a touch more.

This project works really best when it's Summer. I have used wading pools and I get lots of algae growth. I cut corners on the salt and use rock salt, Epsom salt and sodium bicarbonate to keep the pH up around 8.5. You will get much better yields this way but still supply a sponge filter and aeration. You can use this indoors, too. Use a hydrometer to get the reading of 1.025 to 1.035.

It is an interesting experience but I think you will find that in the long run the shrimp you raise indoors will cost quite a bit.

hey,

they were talking about this a while ago on another board I'm on

the best thing I read outta that silliness was that one girl "did run a brine culture running for 2 years on my back step. Hatched some brine (or you could buy some adult brine) stuck them in a bucket on my back porch in discarded tank water (from water changes) and let the sun do its thing. Rain topped it off, sometimes I topped it off, but otherwise it thrived on neglect, froze over in the winter, and came back to life in the spring."

economical, effective, and not a pain in the wazoo....