Anyone raising brine?

My tetras love frozen brine. So I'm interested in hatching and raising live ones. Any input on what to feed them?

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Comment by TeamKRF on October 11, 2013 at 7:57am: when i was using the 2 liter vessels i had lots of eggs at the bottom also. Try using a coffee filter rubber band it to top of a drinking glass and siphon into that, than use a pipette or turkey baster to suck up concentration of brine in coffee filter.

Having way more success with the mason jars, yield wise. will get some pics posted of both set ups shortly.

Comment by TeamKRF on October 11, 2013 at 10:04am: I Painted the outside of vessel black and left small unpainted part at bottom of jar as to get concentrated column of light where the brine will hang out in giving you more concentrated pockets (balls) of brine shrimp.

Comment by Benny on October 11, 2013 at 12:31pm: That's really awesome! .....I think I got everything to throw that together. Only thing is... No Heater.. Wander if the light is enough. Doubtfull in my unheated garage. Def cool setup tho

Comment by TeamKRF on October 11, 2013 at 12:49pm: That setup is sitting on a metal desk, under the stairs, in my basement in MN. Only heat source is the light. I just plan on a day hatch time.

Comment by Benny on October 11, 2013 at 9:37pm: So gettin the shrimp out of the 2liter has proven to be a more of a pain than i thought. I barely bumped it while siphoning and polluted most of the pull. Need to make an illuminated trap and lower it in or something. I got my wheels goin. With the mason jar, and coffee filter trick .. Do you get a lot of shells and unhatched eggs? Along with Actual shrimp?

Comment by Robert Jango on October 11, 2013 at 10:18pm: A 100 watt incandescent bulb throws off a lot of heat.

The fact that you have eggs at the bottom still bugs me. There shouldn't be any. The shape of the container should ensure that the eggs are always moving and don't pile up like in a snow drift. Otherwise I don't think the shrimp care if there in a mason jar, a 2 liter bottle, or a toilet bowl made of gold.

The salinity must be correct. Use tap water with instant ocean salt to be on the safe side, and don't skimp on the aeration. The eggs must be lit at all times or they won't hatch. I use an upsidedown, cut-off two liter bottle mounted inside a weighted jar. The only time I had a problem was when I bought some really old eggs and they turned out to be no good.

The only other thing I can think of is temperature. I'm assuming you have them at 72F. If the water is too hot or too cold that could be the problem. I've never tested the outer limits, but I had a successful hatch once in 90F+. Not sure what the low limit is but below 64F could mean a three day wait for hatching.

Comment by Benny on October 12, 2013 at 9:27am: I didnt invert my bottle, I had it about 78F, constant airiation. I'm not certain about salinity, but I put exactly one liter dechlorinated tap water in as per instructions. I did not have constant direct light. Indirect light yes, direct... No. Not sure how old my pack is but expires 6/14.... So could be old I dunno.
Ill fab up an inverted bottle and place air in the low spot "cap" so to have a better stir.... I'm actually gonna construct a whole rig with drinking bottle inside of a 2.5 gal rectangular tank. Hatch in the bottle, raise in the tank. At least that's my plan. Thanks again for all the great tips!

Comment by TeamKRF on October 12, 2013 at 10:11am: other types of vessels tried. on inverted types (not jar) airline acts as 2-way. air in and siphon out. Just be sure to turn valve off before shutting air pump off and use check valves.

Comment by Robert Jango on October 12, 2013 at 1:02pm: Sounds good. Yeah, put the light right up against the container - the brighter the better. And, like I said, if you use a 100 watt incandescent (not florescent) bulb your problem may be there's too much heat. In that case you simply increase the distance between the lightbulb and the container, until you get to about 78F. If you're not sure about the salinity you'll have to get a hydrometer. They cost almost nothing at Petco and even a 5 year old child can figure out how to use it.

The problem with raising the brine shrimp to adulthood isn't finding a container. Its the water. It goes bad within days and must constantly be changed. The cost of salt alone makes it 5 times more expensive than ordering live ones online. The commercial brine shrimp dealers raise their shrimp in huge vats half the size of a football field or they place nets directly in the ocean. They are also fed a special species of algae that's difficult to culture. I know one guy who raised them outside in a 100 gallon container. He lived on the ocean; so there were no water issues and he got plenty of direct sunlight which turned the water green.

I doubt it will work but let me know if it does. I'd love to be in on the secret.

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