Which Brine Shrimp Hatchery?

[koikeepr]

To those of you hatching your own brine shrimp to feed fry, which shrimp hatchery have you purchased that works well--or did you DIY one?

I saw this one on Ebay. Then there's also this kooky one with a cut soda bottle.

What can you share?

 

[DrDave]

I use 4 of the Kooky ones and they have worked fine for 3 years. The air tube stems on the bottom are not very robust and will break if you are not careful. I have superglued 2 of mine back together.

 

[koikeepr]

thanks drD. I'll get a kooky one, then. After the brine hatch, at what point do you start feeding them to the fry? I'm assuming they are miniscule in size, correct?

I've always done pulverized koi food dust for fry, never live food (tho I've done frozen brine). This is my first grow-it-myself scenario.

Can you please describe your feeding rituals for fry?

 

[DrDave]

Well since I am away 10 hours a day, they only get fed brine shrimp once a day. I start feeding the day they hatch and continue once daily for 6 weeks. After they are 1 week old, I suppliment with some finely grated koi food at 3:00 when I get home. They get the brine shrimp 3 hours later.
On the weekends, I give them some fine powder once morning and again at noon, followed by the brine shrimp at about 6:00.

I have a sock over the intake to avoid sucking them into the filter, this has to be cleaned often.

The bottom of the aquarium starts getting a little nasty after a few weeks. Tomorrow I am going to go in with a siphon hose and clean it. I know I will catch some babies, but if I do it into a bucket and let it settle, I should be able to catch them and put them back in the tank.

I buy Premium Brine shrimp eggs by the pound from:
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/Premium-Grade-Brine-Shrimp-Eggs-16-Ounces-p2.html

If you call them and use a credit card, you will have them in 2-3 days. Talk to Victoria.
1 lb lasted me 2 seasons.

 

[DrDave]

Here are some photos I took last year. I harvest one hatchery every other day. That gives the eggs 48 hours to hatch.
I use 10 grams of rock salt per liter of water to make the salt water they need to hatch. I also use a flourescent bulb that remains on 24/7.

 

[koikeepr]

Wow! Okay, this is super helpful. What's all this I'm reading about brine shrimp being photosensitive and drawn to light?

 

[DrDave]

Re: Why did fish die?

Taken from an article on the internet:
Brine shrimp are attracted to light so use a low light level, otherwise they will expend much of their energy (which lowers their quality) in an effort to remain near the light source. A 60- to 100-watt light will suffice but hatching will require higher light levels (2000 lux constant illumination). Optimal temperature conditions range from about 77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the strain that is cultured. They prefer a salinity between 30-35 ppt and a pH of around 8.

 

[koiguy1969]

a DIY HATCHERY.... couldnt be any easier.......
https://www.gardenpondforum.com/brine-shrimp-fry-food-t5737.html#post42046