Question about hatching brine shrimps

[xjasminex 301]

Do brine shrimp actually require a heater?

My package says that i need to heat the water to 80-82 degrees...

Is this the truth?

[bubbles22 483]

I didn't use a heater and they still hatched I did keep the hatchery in direct sunlight but even then the water temp ranged from 72-76 in the summer. I believe you'll have a better hatch rate if you do use one though.

[fantailfan1 26,742]

I use a cheap desk lamp with an incandescent bulb. Keeps them in the mid 70s and that seems to work fine.

[xjasminex 301]

Ok, sounds like a regular preset heater will work then.

The only heater that i have that gets to 80-82 is a bigger ehiem jager heater and i dont want to use such a big conatiner just so my heater will fit, lol.

Thanks!!!

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Here is my fancy set up.

[FishWish 1,530]

My set up is just like above…I think they need the light…and the warmer the water the faster I believe they will hatch. So, being a cold winter, it's probably going to take a full 24 hrs if not 36 to get the full batch to hatch. Living as far south as I do, we've had a few days up to almost 80 degrees and those days the batches hatch faster…20 hrs or so.

[TikiLola 5,709]

Interesting. Where does one get live brine shrimp eggs?I've only seen frozen cubes....

Edited March 7, 2014 by TikiLola

[xjasminex 301]

Interesting. Where does one get live brine shrimp eggs?I've only seen frozen cubes....

Amazon =]

Ok, i used a glass vase that holds a liter and put in a small heater and an airstone.

Is it ok for the eggs to collect at the bottom of the glass, the airstone only circulates so many of them...

[FishWish 1,530]

I attached my airline to a plastic straw and turn the pump up enough to blow all of the eggs upwards. Some get stuck around the top and I use a turkey baster to rinse them back into the water with the rest.

I copied Solid Gold's setup here...

[xjasminex 301]

Thanks for that video FishWish!!!

[mysterygirl 2,031]

I posted a similar basic brine shrimp tutorial a while back, here's a link to it.

I found that I didn't need an air pump, just occasionally mixed things up manually by blowing air through a straw, or floated the closed bottles in my tank.

I used a halogen light for a heater, but did monitor the temperature. If the water gets much hotter than 90F it will kill the shrimp and stop the hatching. Low 80's is a safe range. It is easier than a lot of tutorials make it out to be, and surprisingly adaptable to what you have at hand. If you're raising fry, you'll be hatching every 2-3 days so you'll get plenty of practice.

[FishWish 1,530]

I posted a similar basic brine shrimp tutorial a while back, here's a link to it.

I found that I didn't need an air pump, just occasionally mixed things up manually by blowing air through a straw, or floated the closed bottles in my tank.

I used a halogen light for a heater, but did monitor the temperature. If the water gets much hotter than 90F it will kill the shrimp and stop the hatching. Low 80's is a safe range. It is easier than a lot of tutorials make it out to be, and surprisingly adaptable to what you have at hand. If you're raising fry, you'll be hatching every 2-3 days so you'll get plenty of practice.

I killed a batch once. The instructions are to add warm water to the bottle…the water that time was actually HOT….and not a single one hatched!!! So, I'd recommend just luke warm water when you are adding!

[xjasminex 301]

Lol, ok! Thanks for the advice!