Brine Shrimps are probably the favorite food used by breeders throughout the world. Adults used to condition fish to breeding state, and their larvae, known as Nauplii, are used as fry food for a fast and steady growth. Most breeders often use only one method to hatch their BBS; we will try to give a full scan on the known methods.

Commercial Hatcheries:

These hatcheries are sold all over the world by Fish Foods and Accessories companies. They are based on the familiar methods of DIY bottle hatcheries, and are easy to use and clean. Some of these already come with BS eggs and salt in bags and are noted on the pack on how to hatch the BBS.

Bottle Method #1:

This is the simplest method for hatching BBS- Take a 2_L (0.52 Gallons) bottle, fill it 3/4 with de chlorinated water and 3 teaspoonfuls of salt. After the salt is completely dissolved, insert an Air-stone and activate the Air-pump, then insert about 3/4 teaspoonfuls of BS eggs. In a temperature of about 24-26^oC (75.2-78.8^oF/ 297-299^oK) the eggs should hatch in about 24-48 hours.

Harvesting- Shut off the Air-pump and let the water settle down for a couple of minutes. As the Nauplii are attracted to light and the hatched eggs tend to float, use a flashlight to aim a light beam to the bottom of the bottle. Once the BBS are down on the bottom, and all the eggs are on the surface, insert an Air-tube and siphon the BBS through a BS-mesh and then feed to the fish fry. Another way is to block the bottle's opening with your palm, and turn the bottle upside-down, using the same trick with the flashlight, so that the BBS will be near the bottle's opening and the eggs will float to the surface. Then, by moving your hand a bit, you can pour the BBS and salt-water to another vessel and then pour the BBS to the fry's tank, or pour them directly from the hatchery to the tank.

A word of caution! Some fish fry are very sensitive to salt in the aquarium's water. Hence, this method is mainly not recommended, unless used for cichlid fry, and also without guarantee to the fry's welfare.

Bottle Method #2:

This method is an upgrade to the previous method. The hatchery is prepared in the same manner, only this time, a coated wire is wrapped around the bottle's neck. This wire is used as a hang, in order to hold the hatchery in its place. The hatchery is placed inside the aquarium, so that the water in the hatchery will be at the appropriate temperature for optimal hatching rate, the coated wire is needed so that the hatchery will not fall into the aquarium. Such a case might lead to salting of the aquarium water, which, aside from the egg not hatching, may kill salt-sensitive fish species. This method is particularly suited to use during winter and in times of unsuitable temperatures.

Harvesting- This is done the same matter as in the previous method.

Bottle Method #3:

This method is usually for mass-breeders and is mainly used for hanging several hatcheries on a wooden board or a wall. Using the same bottle size, only this time, turning it upside-down and cutting its bottom so that its opening is wider. The bottle cup can be left as it is and tightly secured to its place, so that no water will leak, or you can drill a small hole in it, push inside it a small part of an Air-hose to use as drainage. If you are drilling through the cup, make sure to seal it with some aquarium-safe glue (such as silicone or coral-glue), to keep it from leaking. Do not forget- place a safety-valve at the end of the hose!!! Now the bottle should look like a cone. Next step is to make sure it stands in place, this can be done by fastening it to a wooden board by one coated wire ring to hold its height and another one to keep it tightened to the wall. Another way is to create a ring-stand from steel or other metals, three legs will be enough- make sure the metal stand is coated so that it will not rust. Again, 2/3 to 3/4 of its height should be filled with salt-water, and an Air-stone is inserted by simply dropping it in.

Harvesting- If your hatchery is with drainage hose, all that is needed is to shut-off the Air-pump and let the water settle for a few minutes, during this you can light with a flashlight on the hatchery's bottom. Then, open the drainage-hose's valve and drain the BBS through a mesh. If you decided not to place a drainage-hose in the bottle's cup, do the same procedure as described before, and insert an Air-hose from above to siphon the BBS through a mesh.

Marine and Reef tanks:

This is the easy way of them all, and is meant for the lazy. Due to the fact that the specific-gravity in Marine and Reef aquariums is suitable for hatching BS, you can hatch them directly in the aquarium. There are two ways to do so- in a mesh compartment or by spreading the eggs straight to the aquarium. If you hatch the BS eggs in a mesh compartment, you should place the compartment where it gets medium water movement. After hatching, you can take the BBS with a BBS mesh, by siphoning them out and pouring them to the aquarium, or by simply detaching the compartment from the aquarium wall and pouring its content directly to the aquarium. In both cases, the egg shells will drift to the Overflow box and into the S.U.M.P. filter, and the BBS will be eaten by the fish. There is, however, a great disadvantage to these methods- you can never know that all the hatched BBS are eaten by the aquarium inhabitants, and more likely- most of them will drift to the Overflow box and to the filter, plus, if you are spreading the eggs directly to the aquarium, they might drift to the Overflow even before hatching. This method is usually used for raising fish fry in aquarium systems with slow to moderate water flow, most preferably- an air-operated Sponge-filter.

A word of caution- after such feeding, Ammonia picks might contaminate the water. Do a large water change about an hour after every feeding, so that your fish fry will not die!

How to raise Brine Shrimps to adulthood:

Due to the fact that most people feed their fish right after hatching BBS, they do not know how to raise these to adulthood. In fact, it isn't hard as it sounds. You need an aquarium with about 45 liters (10 gallons) capacity, 1 teaspoon of BS eggs, salt, air-pump, air-operated sponge filter and heater. Set the aquarium- fill it with water, operate the filter and heater, then add the amount of salt needed to get the same ratio as used in the hatchery. Let all the salt dissolve and after 2 days running period, add the eggs. After the eggs hatch, shut down the filter, so that the eggs will float to the surface, and draw the Nauplii with a flashlight to the bottom. Collect the egg shells with fine mesh or a paper, then shut off the flash light and operate the filter again. The BBS usually finish their yolk sac after about 48 hours, so it is important to start feeding them at the second day after hatching. Suitable foods are all fine foods, such as liquid fry foods, powdered fry foods mixed with water and yeast mixed with water. BS are filter feeders, so it is important to supply them with foods that have small enough particles. Feed them sparingly about 2-4 times a day, small amounts every time, so that you don't pollute the water. Water changes are important also for BS, make a 50% water change every week- Make sure the new water has the same salinity as the aquarium's water. Every water change should consist siphoning the dirt from the bottom of the tank. To do so, shut off the filter, set a flashlight next to the water surface and after the BS go up, siphon the bottom. With any luck, you should have adult BS within 7-8 days. The adults should start breeding in no time, and the eggs laid, should hatch also within about 48 hours. To collect adult BS, all you have to do is to shut off the filter, point a flashlight to a certain place in the aquarium, and sift them with an aquarium-net. Make sure that the net has holes big enough to allow the BBS pass through them, yet small enough to catch the adults.

Food Enrichment-

The adult BS use mostly for conditioning fish to breeding, or for feeding fish that will not eat dry foods. For some of these fish, simply feeding with BS is not enough. Due to their being filter-feeders, it is easy to feed them special food that will enrich their nutritional value, or give medications to our fish. There are many powdered foods use for it, mainly- Spirulina (Blue and Green pigment enhancer) and Astaxanthin (Red pigment enhancer), and off course- medications. The most economical way to do so is to make a concentrated solution in another small vessel, let the BS swim in it for about 20 minutes, and then sift them out with a net and feed your fish.

Conclusion:

Due to its high nutritional values, BS is probably the most favorite fish food. As young Nauplii, they are rich in fatty acids, which are important for fast and healthy fry growth. As adults, they are rich in proteins, which are important for conditioning fish for breeding or keeping fish with high nutritional requirements at good health. These small crustaceans are easy to hatch, easy to rise to adulthood, easy to breed and most important- easy to feed with! No matter what you are keeping in your aquariums, Artemia salina is a food that you will surely keep at one stage or another.

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