brine shrimp?

[iamkellogg]

The dwarf seahorses eat newly hatched brine shrimp. Does anyone use the decapsulated brine shrimp as well as the regular and what is the differences as far as time and hatching. I know that decaps have the shells removed...but is that it? Do they still swim when they are rehydrated? I am trying to figure out which food would be best. I can not find the information on decaps that I need. I have read that they are faster and easier but that is all of the information I can find...no specifics. When you order them do they come with directions? What are the pros and cons to each?

Sorry if these are stupid questions. I just want to make sure I do this right.

Thank you!

Kelly

 

[DaveK]

Yea, that's about it, the shells are removed by a chemical process. Somewhere around the net, I found a method for doing it, but I never considered it worth the effort.

I might buy decapsulated eggs only to avoid the task of getting the shrimp without the eggs, but this isn't too dificult.

I hope you find all the effort worth it. I did a bit of it when I was breeding some FW fish for fun. You usually need 2 cultures going to keep up a constant supply.

 

[lcstorc]

Grr. I just read step by step directions somewhere. I can't remember where though. I'll keep looking an thinking and hopefully have a link soon. I hate getting old.

 

[panmanmatt]

Decapped brine shrimp are hatched the same way as regular cysts. The hatch time is shorter and the brine more nutritous as they don't have to fight through the hard shell when they hatch out. Decaping also helps remove any nasties that may be attached to the brine cysts.

They can be purchased already decapped from SeahorseSource.com. Most of the other ones you will find are not hatchable.

You can slo decap your own following the instructions in the link below.

seahorse.org - The Complete Guide to Artemia (Brine Shrimp)

 

[lcstorc]

Even better than the one I was remembering.

 

[iamkellogg]

Thank you all! I looked all over the place for that...guess it was hiding.

Kelly

 

[BigAl07]

Is this ONLY for seahorses?

 

[Cougra]

You can use the decapulated brine cysts for any type of fish. Another advantage to having the decapulated ones is that you can even feed the cysts to the fish without any potential problems and they are still very nutritious.

The main reason people like them is because they don't want the hassle of removing the shrimp from the empty shells that could cause problems. They are ideal for fry tanks because it removes some of the worry that the fry will attempt to eat a shell and choke to death.

 

[panmanmatt]

Is this ONLY for seahorses?

Decapped brine is also a great food for your corals.

I would not add decapped brine to a fry tank. Most fry tanks are small water volume and brine are dirty creatures, even with the shell partially removed.

If you are going to hatch brine for any reason, it is best to do it in a seperate container, harvest them, rinse them and then feed to your fry or what ever else you may want to.

The cysts can be directly added to a reef set up as the corals and fish will feed on them before they have a chance to hatch out.

 

[iamkellogg]

I have learned that not all of the decaps will hatch. You have to watch that when you buy them. The ones I need are the hatching ones.

Kelly

 

[panmanmatt]

Kelly,

The ones from SeahorseSource are the hatching kind. They are the ones I use myself.

 

[SubRosa]

Might be off topic a little,but almost every breeder of FW discus that I know uses new born brine to raise their fry,and discus are more sensitive to water quality than most marine fish.When raising fry of any kind,the solution to pollution is dilution.Clean up after feeding and change more water more often than you think you should.

 

[DaveK]

There are other factors involved. In FW systems brine shrimp are going to die very quickly, so you need to control that problem by cleaning up after feeding and by water changes. In SW systems brine shrimp can live for some time, so the fish will get a lot more chances to eat them. You usually don't have the problem of uneaten food unless you grossly over feed.

In addition, if you are raising fry, you use newly hatched brine shrimp just long enough to get the fry to the next largest food. This is usually something like microworms, daphnia or something else that will live in FW for longer periods.