Beginner's Brine Shrimp Hatchery Tutorial

OPENING:  Brine shrimp are a great betta fry food.  Some adults like to weigh into a cloud of them inhaling them by the mouthful too.  Hatching them isn’t that tough either. The process is clearly laid out for you in this video.

As you can see, this helpful video offers some great tips.

• It starts off with a list of items you’ll need which among other things will include a two liter pop bottle, air pump, airline, rigid airline, brine shrimp eggs and premix.
• If you aren’t using aged water, add a dechlorinator.
• If you have a shrimp and salt premix you’ll want to add a tablespoon of that to your two liter bottle.
• Add one liter of water to the bottle.
• Place the rigid airline into the water and unleash the bubbles. These will keep the eggs in motion and they should hatch in 24-36 hours depending on the temperature. 78-80 F is ideal. Lower just means the eggs will take longer to hatch.
• When the shrimp hatch the water will look bright orange. Now you just use your rigid tubing and airline as a suction to draw the shrimp out of the hatchery. Then get the air line pumping the air again to keep the shrimp alive and in motion until the next feeding time.

There are many slight variations to this method.  For example some use two pop bottles, cutting one in half and using it as a base. They invert the other and sticking it in that base so that the eggs, when they fall, are funneled into an airstone which keeps them suspended.

Brine Shrimp Hatching FAQ

QUESTION: I’m new to this. Why should I feed my fry BBS?
A: They are a nearly perfect food when freshly hatched. Reason being their yolk sac offers a decent amount of protein and fat to nourish the babies.

QUESTION: What can I do to get a great hatch?
A: Buy eggs rated to give you a 90% hatch. They’ll cost a bit more but they’re worth it because they’ll hatch out more artemia. 

QUESTION: Anything else to improve the hatch rate?
A: Make sure you’ve got sufficient aeration. Eggs that aren’t kept moving are more apt not to hatch.

QUESTION: What should I do with the excess from a hatch to save them for another time?
A: Stick the brine shrimp in an ice cube tray and freeze them

QUESTION: How long will these guys live in the my hatcher?
A: They can go for several days if you keep the aeration going. They will live off their egg yolk initially. And if you don’t aerate them well, they may suffocate.

QUESTION: How can I increase the temperature of the hatchery to get them to come out faster?
A: One way would be to keep a light on them. The heat from the bulb will heat them up. Or you could keep your hatching set up in a heated aquarium.

QUESTION: Do I have to use premix?
A: No. It’s just that the premixed eggs/salt is somewhat more convenient.  Alternately you can use aquarium salt (not iodized table salt), baking soda and shrimp eggs. You’ll need a pinch of baking soda, add one tablespoon of salt for every liter of water, and a quarter or half a teaspoon of brine shrimp eggs. Fill your pop bottle most of the way up and add the salt, baking soda and shrimp eggs.

QUESTION: Which reminds me, how many shrimp in quarter of a teaspoon?
A: That’s about 180,000 shrimp.

QUESTION: What if I want to feed my BBS to grow them out? 
A: You can try things like phytoplankton, Liquidfry, yeast, soybean powder and egg yolk.  Just take care not to overfeed. In other words frequent smaller feedings are better than one huge feed.  It is very easy to foul their water. 

CONCLUSION:  This post reveals just enough to make you dangerous.  Do a bit more research however and in no time you'll have a hatchery full of BBS to feed your baby bettas.