Baby brine shrimp are the most common and widely known type of live food. They are available freeze dried, frozen, and of course live at most pet stores. Brine shrimp can be feed in fresh and saltwater aquariums and are suitable for fry and larger fish. Hatching them on your own is very easy.
You will need a 1 Gallon milk jug or 2 liter soda bottle turned upside down with the bottom of the bottle cut off. At the screw top attach airline tubing (fixed with silicate glue) and a valve for easy drainage. Also needed is an airstone connected to an air pump for aeration and a regular light bulb at the top of the bottle. The airstone should release large bubbles, as small bubbles will be ingested by the shrimp, which makes them die off.
The water parameters should be at 1.030 salinity pH of 7-8, heavy aeration, temperature should be preferably at 77-82 degrees and a minimum but constant amount of light.
200'000 - 300'000 baby shrimp can hatch from 1 gram of eggs (cysts), so half a teaspoon is sufficient for one batch. The baby shrimp (nauplii) hatch after approximately 1-2 days.
To harvest the brine shrimp, turn off the air supply, remove the airstone and give the culture time to settle. Unhatched eggs will fall to the bottom, while the hatched ones will float on top, the brine shrimp hover in the middle to the lower region. Using the valve, the unhatched eggs can be recovered for the next batch. As soon as they are removed, the brine shrimp can be harvested the same way. The water can be re-used as well. Brine shrimp move towards light. Harvesting the shrimp is easier if the main light is shut off and an alternative light is used to draw the shrimp closer to the bottom.
You can feed them immediately, store them in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze them in ice cubes for later use. They will survive for about 5 hours in freshwater and about 24 hours in saltwater.
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