How to Feed Live Brine Shrimp to your Aquarium Fish

Would you like to give your fish a delicious treat while adding a new dimension of interest to your aquarium hobby? Feed 'em live brine shrimp!

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• pet store that sells live brine shrimp (or brine shrimp eggs).
• fine mesh net
• small plastic container
• aquarium fish

1. 
   Live brine shrimp - they don't exactly LOOK like monkeys, do they?

   What exactly ARE brine shrimp? Remember those "live sea monkey" ads in the old comic books? That's a slightly overhyped description of brine shrimp. And, no, they don't wear little hats and sit in thrones like they do in the ads, but they are a delicious delicacy to aquarium fish. By the way, they're considerably less expensive when purchased as live fish food rather than as novelty "pets"!
   Brine shrimp are tiny reddish brown crustaceans. Adults are about 1/4 inch long. Native to the American West, their eggs can survive long drought periods before it rains. The eggs hatch in brackish or salty pools. While not all pet stores sell brine shrimp, they almost universally sell the easily storable eggs, which can be hatched and raised fairly easily.

2. 
   A net and plastic container are all the equipment you'll need for a live brine shrimp feed.

   As with tropical fish, newly purchased brine shrimp are usually packaged in a knotted plastic bag. When preparing to feed your fish, have on hand a net and small plastic container partially filled with tap water. Because they are saltwater inhabitants, don't pour them directly in to an aquarium. Even with saltwater aquariums, you want to avoid importing outside diseases. Consequently, the best procedure is to net the critters and then dip and swish them in tap water.

3. Release the shrimp into the fish tank, sit back and enjoy the spectacle!You'll enjoy watching the fish chase down and relish eating them. Even neon tetras, some of them barely larger than the shrimp themselves, love the feast! By providing your fish with live food, you are also providing them with a life enriching activity.

Tips & Warnings

• After the initial feeding, strain the remaining seawater from the holding bag through the net, over the sink. Fill with tap water and strain again. Then take the plastic dipping container and drain it through the net. You'll almost always have a few residual shrimp.
• If live brine shrimp are unavailable, it's relatively easy to hatch and raise them from the commonly available dry eggs. Freeze dried brine shrimp is another alternative.
• Other pet/animal related articles by this writer include - "How to Keep a Betta Fish" , "How to Photograph your Pet Bird", "How to View and Photograph a Wild Moose" and "How to Photograph Wild Seals".
• The sooner you feed the live shrimp to your fish after you purchase them, the better. Wait more than 24 hours, and you risk having the shrimp start to die off.