Under used food

Paul B · 07-15-2007, 10:57 AM

I would like to start a thread about another under used food source. New born brine shrimp. These cheap, easy to hatch foods about the only food available for small fish like Pipefish, dwarf seahorses, small gobies and cling fish. I see people buying these fish all the time and have no Idea how to hatch shrimp.
For about $5.00 you can hatch shrimp every day for a couple of months. These fish really will not live long without this food. You can of course buy frozen brine but they rot almost immediately and the types of fish that need this type of food really need it constantly or at least more than a few bites. Those fish are designed like mandarins to eat all day. I know people say thair tank is full of pods and thats great but pods are for the most part crawling animals, many fish need to catch their prey in the water column.
I have been hatching baby brine for about 40 years and have designed a hatchery that seperates the eggs, you can also buy them at a LFS.
You don't want the egg shells in your tank because they will float around forever.
The shrimp take about 36 hours to hatch depending on the temperature and should be fed the day they hatch but they can be kept if you feed them either Selcon or any commercially available coral food. The shrimp do not eat the first day but they are filter feeders from then on. My pipefish have been spawning for a couple of years on shrimp and it also keeps the smaller gobies in breeding condition. I also would not be able to keep cling fish without the shrimp. Even the bangai cardinals eat them although I don't know how they even see them.
Many corals also will eat baby brine shrimp.
Paul

scumonkey · 07-15-2007, 03:18 PM

Good heads up Paul.
I'm another old timer here that uses newly hatched Brine shrimp EVERYDAY!!!
-I use a hatchery from Brine shrimp direct that needs no air stones and you don't have to seperate the egg shells- it does it for you!
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c1/...Dish-p183.html
This is my most valuable feeding tool (way better than those upside down bottles with air lines)!
I give credit to the use of the baby brine for helping me keep my Crinoid alive for the past 9 months.
And for being able to keep my red tailed Tamarin Wrasse FAT
I buy the best grade eggs and, they hatch in less than 24 hours.
I keep two hatcheries going so I have baby shrimp swarms to feed my tank twice a day.
You can see the LPS and gorgs in my tank gobble them up, as the swarm glides by- the fish go nuts!
If you use them before they are 6 hours old they already have a rich supply of vitamins in their yolk sac. After a few hours you will have to "enrich" them Like Paul said with Selcon or something.
The best part is...since they are alive, they will not contribute nitrates, or phosphates to your tank like other prepared foods do!

Nice Pics! Thank you for sharing.

Paul B · 07-15-2007, 05:11 PM

Scumonkey thats why we are Old Timers, because we hatch shrimp and feed our animals what they need to eat.
My homemade hatchery also seperates the shells.
Take care.
Paul

basiab · 07-18-2007, 06:03 PM

Most consider brine shrimp as being a very poor nutrient. But they have to be eaten within about 8 hours (while they still have their orange color/yolk sac) otherwise you have to give them the suplements as you mentioned. I had dwarf seahorses and that is all they live on. I now have a small tank of fish and I still give them freshly hatched BS a couple times a week. In the summer they hatch as fast as 12 hours and in the winter 24 to 36. I have a clown goby like in your picture, a spotted cardinal, neon goby and royal gramma. And they all go crazy when I feed them BS. I use a turkey baster and the gramma comes up to the tip with his mouth wide open, he just can not get enough. The cardinal eventualy comes there and tries to catch a large group as they come out of the baster. The gobies just like to chase them all over the place as does the gramma once the baster is empty. As tiny as the BS are the fish seem to enjoy the chase even the gramma who is fairly large.

meschaefer · 07-18-2007, 06:07 PM

I used to have a breeding pair of Bangai Cardinals, and I was able to succefully raise the young by feeding them freshly hatched brine shrimp.

Bob 1000 · 07-18-2007, 06:15 PM

I tried this a couple of times, but never knew the benefits... Now I think this will become a staple in my system.... Never thought about them being alive so there will be no phosphates added, unlike frozen..But I use frozen once a month and am all but using pellets now..

Paul B · 08-08-2007, 05:16 PM

Matt I have a batch of baby cardinals on the way which I was not thinking of raising. If I can catch some out of my reef I will raise them since I hatch brine every day anyway.

Awibrandy · 08-08-2007, 05:27 PM

Thank you Paul, and Eric for the link!! You guys are the best!

sweetsop · 08-08-2007, 11:47 PM

This is great! I would like to try my hand at hatching baby brine shrimp, please advise how or what I need to get to start this.

Thanks!

scumonkey · 08-08-2007, 11:51 PM

Quote:


	please advise how or what I need to get to start this.

http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c1/...Dish-p183.html

07-15-2007, 10:57 AM	#1
Paul B Three decade club Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Hyde Park Posts: 738 Reefer Ratings: (3) Friends: (2)	Under used food I would like to start a thread about another under used food source. New born brine shrimp. These cheap, easy to hatch foods about the only food available for small fish like Pipefish, dwarf seahorses, small gobies and cling fish. I see people buying these fish all the time and have no Idea how to hatch shrimp. For about $5.00 you can hatch shrimp every day for a couple of months. These fish really will not live long without this food. You can of course buy frozen brine but they rot almost immediately and the types of fish that need this type of food really need it constantly or at least more than a few bites. Those fish are designed like mandarins to eat all day. I know people say thair tank is full of pods and thats great but pods are for the most part crawling animals, many fish need to catch their prey in the water column. I have been hatching baby brine for about 40 years and have designed a hatchery that seperates the eggs, you can also buy them at a LFS. You don't want the egg shells in your tank because they will float around forever. The shrimp take about 36 hours to hatch depending on the temperature and should be fed the day they hatch but they can be kept if you feed them either Selcon or any commercially available coral food. The shrimp do not eat the first day but they are filter feeders from then on. My pipefish have been spawning for a couple of years on shrimp and it also keeps the smaller gobies in breeding condition. I also would not be able to keep cling fish without the shrimp. Even the bangai cardinals eat them although I don't know how they even see them. Many corals also will eat baby brine shrimp. Paul Attached Thumbnails

07-18-2007, 06:07 PM	#5
meschaefer One to Ignore Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Astoria Posts: 2,510 Reefer Ratings: (14) Friends: (3)	I used to have a breeding pair of Bangai Cardinals, and I was able to succefully raise the young by feeding them freshly hatched brine shrimp. __________________ Matt When you pay too much, you lose a little money, that's all When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. John Ruskin (1819-1900)

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07-15-2007, 05:11 PM	#3
Paul B Three decade club Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Hyde Park Posts: 738 Reefer Ratings: (3) Friends: (2)	Scumonkey thats why we are Old Timers, because we hatch shrimp and feed our animals what they need to eat. My homemade hatchery also seperates the shells. Take care. Paul

07-18-2007, 06:03 PM	#4
basiab Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 439 Reefer Ratings: (22) Friends: (1)	Most consider brine shrimp as being a very poor nutrient. But they have to be eaten within about 8 hours (while they still have their orange color/yolk sac) otherwise you have to give them the suplements as you mentioned. I had dwarf seahorses and that is all they live on. I now have a small tank of fish and I still give them freshly hatched BS a couple times a week. In the summer they hatch as fast as 12 hours and in the winter 24 to 36. I have a clown goby like in your picture, a spotted cardinal, neon goby and royal gramma. And they all go crazy when I feed them BS. I use a turkey baster and the gramma comes up to the tip with his mouth wide open, he just can not get enough. The cardinal eventualy comes there and tries to catch a large group as they come out of the baster. The gobies just like to chase them all over the place as does the gramma once the baster is empty. As tiny as the BS are the fish seem to enjoy the chase even the gramma who is fairly large.

07-18-2007, 06:15 PM	#6
Bob 1000 Professional Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Staten Island Posts: 3,707 Reefer Ratings: (32) Friends: (36)	I tried this a couple of times, but never knew the benefits... Now I think this will become a staple in my system.... Never thought about them being alive so there will be no phosphates added, unlike frozen..But I use frozen once a month and am all but using pellets now..

08-08-2007, 05:16 PM	#7
Paul B Three decade club Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: New Hyde Park Posts: 738 Reefer Ratings: (3) Friends: (2)	Matt I have a batch of baby cardinals on the way which I was not thinking of raising. If I can catch some out of my reef I will raise them since I hatch brine every day anyway.

08-08-2007, 11:47 PM	#9
sweetsop Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: brooklyn, ny. Posts: 283 Reefer Ratings: (10) Friends: (4)	This is great! I would like to try my hand at hatching baby brine shrimp, please advise how or what I need to get to start this. Thanks!