How to Hatch Brine Shrimp

Brine Shrimp (Artemia salina) were marketed since the 1960s as 'Sea Monkeys.' Well, before that and still today, they're fish food, sorry. :-) I hatch brine shrimp for my Angelfish fry and they are an excellent food for their first month. You can hatch brine shrimp far in excess than you can use at one time, so I will give you a cool way to store them as well. The following instructions to hatch brine shrimp is extracted from the official San Francisco Bay Brand instruction booklet, and it works very well.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A hatching cone (I'll give you a link for one at the end)
• A small air pump and tubing
• A 100w incandescent light source
• Epsom salt
• Plain (non-iodized) salt
• Baking soda
• A fine mesh 'brine shrimp' net
• Brine shrimp eggs (cysts)

1. CLEAN THE HATCHING CONE -- When you want to hatch brine shrimp, the single biggest reason for poor hatch results is a dirty hatching container. So scrub and rinse it well after each use!

2. ADD WATER TO THE CONE -- No salt yet! Place one liter of tapwater in hatching container and turn on air supply, bubbling vigorously. Add 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda to the water. Low pH will adversely affect the hatch rate.

3. 

   ADD BRINE SHRIMP CYSTS -- I usually add about 1/2 tsp. Do not put too much in, as this will reduce your hatch rate; no more than 1 tsp. per liter. Keep all cysts in suspension by aeration.

4. DIRECT LIGHT TO HATCHING CONE -- It is extremely important to illuminate cysts during the one to two hour rehydration period in fresh water. Place the 100w bulb about 8" from the cone. This also serves are a heat source and keeps the water warmer to increase your hatch time and rate.

5. ADD SALTS -- After the one to two hour period in fresh water, add approximately one teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon epsom salt.

6. 
   Newly hatched brine shrimp

   WAIT FOR HATCHING -- Brine shrimp will hatch within 12-48 hours, depending on water temperature. Keep the aeration going the whole time.

7. HARVEST THE SHRIMP -- Harvesting should take place between 36-48 hours. Maximum energetic and caloric content is realized within the first 6 hours of hatching. Turn off the air supply and let them settle for 5-10 minutes. Disconnect the airline tube from the pump and siphon the shrimp through the net into another container.

8. FEED AND STORE SHRIMP -- Rinse the net in tap water and feed to your fish as much as they can consume in 5 minutes. Since brine shrimp will only survive a few hours in fresh water, you will need to store most of the hatch. Here's how I do it: Get an ice cube tray and using an eyedropper, put several drops of brine shrimp into each cube. Fill the rest of the cubes up with fresh water and freeze. To feed your fish, just drop a cube into the tank!

9. WASH THE EQUIPMENT -- It is very important to wash the hatching cone with hot water and detergent. Rinse well and then it is ready to hatch the next batch of brine shrimp!

Tips & Warnings

• The water should be kept between 75F to 86F (24C to 30C). Temperatures in excess of 90F (32C) cause the hatch to stop.
• When properly care for, cysts have remained viable for many years. They are kept best in a tightly closed, dry and clean container.

Resources

• You can get a hatchery kit and net here, but you have to supply your own soda bottle and air pump.
• You can buy brine shrimp eggs online too.
• Here's a cheap air pump too.

[Malzeke]

on 12/2/2008 This is really fascinating. I'm going to pass this on to Jennifer. She will enjoy knowing this. Thanks!

[dlcass]

on 12/1/2008 I remember "A bowlful of happiness" Now sea monkeys are just mystery meat to fish. Great article!