brine shrimp hatchery - pics please

[Cricketman]

upside down bottle means that the eggs flow toward the centre of the conical bottle and the lid where the air is coming from. helps ensure they are suspended in the water properly and help avoid dropping out to the bottom and not hatching.

make sense?

[Sunbird73]

i have seen these set ups in other peoples fish rooms with no heater in them.

but the room is warm

can i rely on ambient temps?

does it have to be 24c? or else it wont hatch or will it hatch just slower?

how much light does it need?

ambient light?

or does it need a beam on it, like a fluro bulb beside it or something?

I hatched them in my cold garage, coke bottle setup with a desk lamp on them = heat + light. Think I used a 60W bulb from memory. Took about 36hrs to hatch roughly. I did have it in my tank but it was too ugly for me.

[raewyna]

I have jugs that have open handles that can just hang on the side of the tank (hanging in the tank water to pick up the warmth from the heater). Into each jug goes 1 tbsp salt plus however many brine shrimp eggs - up to about half tsp is good. I then hang the jug over the edge of the tank and put an open air hose in it (ie no airstone on it). That gives enough aeration to keep the eggs moving and get a good hatch rate. I can use as few or as many of these jugs as I want depending on how much I need to feed.

To feed, I just fill another clear sided jug with fresh water. I tip the brine shrimp mixture through a 'net' I made from fairly finely woven polyester fabric. That then goes into the clean water. Wash out the net and the used jug and make up the next batch. And meanwhile put the clean brine shrimp brew next to the tank light to attract the shrimps to the bottom, then siphon them off with a meat baster to feed.

It's all quick and easy. I have baby angels at the moment and the morning feed takes only a few minutes in between me eating breakfast while I wait for the shrimps to settle.

[somethin fishy]

Would it be a silly idea to put a 25w heater inside the upside down coke bottle to raise the water temp?

[Ira]

Would it be a silly idea to put a 25w heater inside the upside down coke bottle to raise the water temp?

I've put the coke bottle in a bucket and the heater in that. But I don't see any obvious reason you can't put the heater straight in.

[Sunbird73]

I don't think you need a heater, overkill. I wouldn't in case it melted thin plastic or if the water evaporated off under the lights past the level of the heater and left it out of the water... but then I worry about stuff that often doesn't happen

Much easier just to use the light as the heat source. Mine hatched in 24-36 hrs even with the cold weather we are having now. If you are worried you could insulate the coke bottle with poly or something.

[Ira]

I don't think you need a heater, overkill. I wouldn't in case it melted thin plastic

It takes a lot of heat to melt a coke bottle. Over boiling at least. Go pour boiling water in one. They shrink.

[somethin fishy]

Thanks guys, I might use a 60watt bulb in a desk lamp as my light source and see how I get on..

[alanmin4304]

They need heat and light to hatch well. It doesn't realy matter where you get either from. I have used a heater/thermostat in a coke bottle for years without problems.