Brine Shrimp Reactor?

[go4broke44]

I've found plenty of stuff concerning phyto reactors, but does anyone have any DIY plans or pictures for making a brine shrimp reactor? i have a whole container of brine shrimp eggs, i'm just wondering how to culture them so that they will grow big enough to feed my tank.

i've searched the forums and the internet, and come up with nothing pertaining to what i'm looking for.

[fish lad]

brine shrimp hatchery kits do this

we have them over here in the uk but not sure about the US

[mameloot]

You probably don't want to grow brine shrimp "large" if you are using them as a food. BS have virtually no nutritional value. (pun intended). They are basically the fish equivilent of junk food...

...HOWEVER if you harvest and administer them within the first 24 hours or so after hatching, their yoke sac will have nutritional value for your fish.

Here is a link to a recent RC magazine with an excellent summary of an easy system for hatching brine shrimp.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/nftt/index.php

If you want to get more involved, decapsulated eggs have even more nutritional value as it takes less energy for the shrimp to hatch. If the BS will be used for fry, decapsulating also reduces the risk of tiny hydroids that may be of harm to fry.

The following link from www.seahorse.org includes details on decapsulating eggs as well as more info on brine shrimp as a food source for fry.
http://www.seahorse.org/library/articles/artemiaGuide.shtml

Michael

[cres]

Brine shrimp are most nutritious just after hatching.

Otherwise you need to "gut load" or feed them nutritious food, just before delivery to the fish.

The only setups I've seen to mature brine shrimp involve a circular tank churned by air uplift tubes and the shrimp are harvested through a sieve (like rotifers and phytoplankton).

[modemfox]

Yeah but i don't think they taste all that good.

[jimbo045]

I tried a reactor, but threw it away. LFS seems easier. JD

[schristi69]

Check out Melevs web page. He has a good how-to on this