Brine Shrimps (Artemia Salina) – Live Fish Food

Brine Shrimps (Artemia Salina)

One of the most helpful additions to an aquarist breeder’s kit is a phial of dried brine shrimp eggs. These eggs aren’t in themselves a food, but when hatched out they offer an outstanding early live food diet.

You are able to hatch the eggs in two-pound jam jars, in which a saline answer has been added. To make the answer, mix a tablespoon of salt with a pint of water thoroughly, shaking the container, then permit it to settle and strain via a piece of muslin to remove any sediment.

Pour this water into the jar and sprinkle some eggs on the surface, and then stand the jar in an aquarium to maintain at a temperature of 75°-80°F. This serves as an incubator.

The eggs will hatch in 48 hours, leaving the small shrimps dancing about in the container. To feed, strain the water via a pad made of a number of thicknesses of muslin, and rinse in the aquarium.

You should only make up quantities sufficient for one feeding in every jar, as the collection of newly hatched shrimps can only be done by straining, unless the salt water is also poured into the tank, and I don’t advise this whenever you are feeding young fry.