# THE NEW BBS CLUB - Baby brine shrimp (nauplii) hatchery NEW PICS ADDED!



## Betowess

This little Artemia hatchery dish works great. It has a small hole in the top with a small mesh strainer to pickup the hatched baby brine shrimp (nauplii). The unwanted cysts stay in the outer rings and the baby brine shrimp hatchlings swim (wiggle) toward the light allowed in by the hole. A 1/4 teaspoon of eggs yields about 100,000 nauplii and my 25 nine day old Boesemani Rainbowfish fry love eating them. If you are raising fry, I highly recommend this little rig. Its fun to see the little buggers wriggling around and eaten by my fat fry. The size of the plastic dish is about 8 inches diameter by 2 inches deep so it doesn't take up much space.
Here is a quote from their website and a link.

http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c1/Hatchery-Dish-p183.html

_We first saw this brine shrimp egg hatchery in Kowloon, Hong Kong and were instantly intrigued by its strange shape. With some misgivings about the functionality of the "breeding dish," I brought it home and tried it. I was amazed at the results in 24 hours!

With absolutely no aeration, air tubing, direct light or heat, my yields were as good as if I had used a more elaborate set-up. With a premeasured charge of about 0.4 grams of dry cysts, the Hatchery Dish yielded over 100,000 baby brine shrimp.

A particularly nice feature of the shallow, dish-like shape of the Hatchery is the naturally occurring separation of the newly hatched nauplii (baby brine shrimp) from shells and unhatched egg - resulting in a very clean harvest.

No siphoning or net is required. This is truly a great product for hobbyists!_


----------



## epicfish

No aeration, etc...? I know the site says that the yield is the same as other techniques, but have you seen the same, Betowess?

Very interested in this setup...just want to know if I should spend the extra effort so that I don't waste any of this new A++ grade-95%-hatch-rate brine shrimp eggs I was given by a friend.


----------



## Betowess

The dish is flat and wide with a ~2 inch open hole so that is the aeration. It works. I can't prove the stated yields, but I have a boatload of nauplii. Just warm water below 90 degree and I mixed 5 teaspoons of Instant Ocean brand salt with a quart of water. I used most of the quart to fill the dish to the fill mark. Dumped in the eggs in the outer rings ( around 1/4 teaspoon) and in 24 hours had a boatload of wrigglers. Best if in a warm window sill or with a little spotlight on it. And ambient room temp should be "warm". I have a 60 watt with silver reflector a couple feet above, pointed down at the dish. 

There are still a bunch hatching 36 hours later, so one tray could last a couple of days worth of feeding. And I read one should sterilize the tray with a mild bleach rinse before reusing. Because soap can leave a residue harmful to next hatch - that is why they recommend a bleach dip. Yeah, this thing works and its EASY. :thumbsup: This unit I got from Brineshrimp Direct is perfect for a one or two small fry tanks.

FYI, I also saw some cool hatchery's for bigger volumes on EBAY which were made out of PVC to hold two to three quart plastic pop bottles, depending on the model. They only require an airpump and don't include the pop bottles used. With those, you can have a continuous supply, but I don't quite get how they work without seeing them in action.


----------



## fredyk

~resisting the urge to go shopping on line for shrimp hatchery~~.....


----------



## fredyk

placed order for shrimp hatchery. :bounce:


----------



## Poohbee

can this thing be floated on top of the aquarium? Or do you just leave it on a table somewhere warm with light. The reason I ask is because I was looking for an easy to maintain shrimp hatchery and saw some "in tank" hatcheries on sale at bigals and at drs foster and smith that looked like they were nice units.


----------



## Betowess

Poohbee said:


> can this thing be floated on top of the aquarium? Or do you just leave it on a table somewhere warm with light. The reason I ask is because I was looking for an easy to maintain shrimp hatchery and saw some "in tank" hatcheries on sale at bigals and at drs foster and smith that looked like they were nice units.


I doubt it, unless you put it in a little bigger container. Because its about 3/4 full of almost a quart of water. But it should work inside a slightly larger, deeper plastic container . That is a good idea. I may try that out tonight. I need to start another hatch. 76 degree water would be a perfect temp and the black plastic would pick up more heat, hopefully not too much.

That said, mine worked fine on a table with a little reflector light on top. The directions don't call for a light, but it helps attract the nauplii to the center and kept it a little warmer in a cool room.


----------



## unirdna

I'm intrigued. Too bad I'm not raising angels and rams anymore.....


----------



## epicfish

I have a bunch of extra BBS eggs...so why not feed my tetras with them?  

Placed an order for one too. =)


----------



## Betowess

You'll like this little dish. Keeps the egg cysts separated almost 100% and my fry can't keep up with the volume. About 25 Boesemani approaching two weeks old. I'm sure they'll be able to eat them all once they are a few weeks older. 

But its kind of sad seeing all those one hour old baby shrimps getting massacred.  :angel:


----------



## Khandurian

Since you have one of these, could you post some better pictures of this thing? I have seen that on there for quite awhile but I have never seen any decent photos of this thing.


----------



## Betowess

OK, here are some quick pics...

Hatchery (8 inch by 2 inch tall) with a 2 inch opening. Notice the catching net/sieve.










With nauplii catcher pulled out. Notice the yellow baby brine shrimps...










Here I popped off the top. There are a 1/4 teaspoon of hatched and unhatched eggs cysts in there. That is suppose to be about 100,000 baby brine shrimp with a 90% hatch rate. Cost is about .06 per hatch if you only purchase a 1.75 ounces package (50 grams). And way less per hatch if you buy a half pound of eggs. I think I should get about 100 hatches out of a 50 gram package. 

The shimp swim under the white rings to the light source to which they are attracted. Very few of the cysts get in with the eggs as long as you put the eggs in the outer area.










Closeup of catching device... Those are all alive baby brine shrimp (nauplii) in there. I have already pulled out three feedings today and more are hatching!










Extreme close crop of baby brine shrimps swimming in catching sieve. Each of those little specs is a baby brine shrimp wriggling around. Fish LOVE them. roud:


----------



## distrbd

To tell you the Truth I have been seriously thinking about buying this hatchery device ever since you brought it up in your first post,it looks like a well made and effective product worth paying the higher shipping charge to Canada.
how long does a package of those brine shrimp eggs last you?


----------



## Betowess

About 100 hatches for the $6.00 (USD) 1.75 oz or 50 gram package. Maybe a hatch everyother day at the most, so 200 to 300 days. But they sell bigger quantities.


----------



## CampCreekTexas

So you don't have to plug it in or anything? Just the ambient heat of the room makes the shrimp hatch and then they swim towards the light coming through the hole in the top, separating themselves from the unhatched eggs and egg shells? That's COOL! I think I'm going to have to get one now for my betta fry.


----------



## epicfish

So basically $12 in eggs will for sure last you a year.


----------



## Betowess

CampCreekTexas said:


> So you don't have to plug it in or anything? Just the ambient heat of the room makes the shrimp hatch and then they swim towards the light coming through the hole in the top, separating themselves from the unhatched eggs and egg shells? That's COOL! I think I'm going to have to get one now for my betta fry.


Yeah, you got it. Its too easy! Sometimes is isn't even 24 hours. I had some hatch in about 12 hours, but it continues for a couple of days, but peaks around 24 hours and last past 36 hours.



epicfish said:


> So basically $12 in eggs will for sure last you a year.


Epic, That is true. I suppose if one wanted to really crank and had a few/multiple t tanks of fry in a fish room, one of the hatchery offerings on Ebay with multiple bottles might be better. But the half pound size of brine shrimp eggs is a better deal on cost ($10.95), though I don't know how long the eggs are viable... But each hatch is pretty good for two days worth of food for one to two tanks of fry - or small adults I suppose.
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/c1/c2/Grade-A-Brine-Shrimp-Eggs-c20.html


----------



## Khandurian

Well thank you for the pics!


----------



## CampCreekTexas

Yes, thank you for the pics, Betowess! And posting all the info on it. This is just too cool of a gadget ~ and seems lots easier than the plastic-bottle-with-air-line-and-light-then-siphon-them-off method that wastes quite a few unhatched eggs. I think I'll be starting another batch of fry earlier than I thought just so I can play with this thing.


----------



## epicfish

Wow, if 1.75 ounces at $6 will last say...150 days, then the 8 ounce can will last 4.5 times longer, so 675 days...for $11. Hmm...I think I spend more on that for flake food a year! And this is *live* food. 

Hurrah for a new food source.


----------



## Betowess

Glad you folks found the pics helpful.

Epic, one does need to rinse the hatchery with a mild bleach wash before each hatch. I didn't do that the first hatch, but did the second and (anecdotal) it seems I had a greater hatch rate.


----------



## spypet

I'm loving this idea, and may buy one soon. but for now, just 2 brine newbie questions;

1. can you feed your shrimp anything to fatten them up before letting them loose on your fish?

2. how do you deal with your tank filter? do you turn it off while feeding? if so, for how long?


----------



## epicfish

Betowess said:


> Glad you folks found the pics helpful.
> 
> Epic, one does need to rinse the hatchery with a mild bleach wash before each hatch. I didn't do that the first hatch, but did the second and (anecdotal) it seems I had a greater hatch rate.


Ahh, thanks for the tip. Forgot all about that. 


spypet,

1. Yes, you can gut-load the BBS with other nutrients so your fish will benefit, but BBS are most nutritious when they are just hatched, so I usually just feed them to fish right out of the hatchery.

2. When I feed my fish BBS, I feed them with a pipette. I net them and then re-suspend then in a little container of tank water. Then I spot feed them away from the intake on my canister. I don't like overfeeding, so I like this best. The fish usually eat all of them before they have a chance to get away.

In my former fry tanks, I only used to have sponge filters. I just dumped in enough BBS for a day's feeding. The filter wasn't strong enough to suck up the BBS...or at least, not enough BBS to make it noticeable.


----------



## Betowess

spypet said:


> I'm loving this idea, and may buy one soon. but for now, just 2 brine newbie questions;
> 
> how do you deal with your tank filter? do you turn it off while feeding? if so, for how long?


Yeah, I turn my Ecco (smallest one) off for about 10 minutes. But they have yet to eat all the BBS I put in there. I think I'll start putting some in with my bigger tanks until the fry get bigger. Because I imagine most Tetras and White Clouds will love them too.


----------



## Betowess

You know, this is well over two days and although smaller quantities, they are still hatching from the last batch, and its more than enough to feed 25 two week old fry... So one batch could last a fry tank at least 3 plus days, so one can revise how often you need to start a hatch.


----------



## Khandurian

I use the 2 liter bottle method with this. I use 1/4 teaspoon of eggs, they all hatch in 28 hours. 

After they hatch, I just remove the tube from the air, and then strain them with a coffee filter. It overwhelms the fry tank, so I usually just feed the rest to the bigger fish.

When I feed them, I turn off all filters for about 10 minutes. By that time all the shrimp are gone, and all the fish have nice big fat bellies!


----------



## fredyk

new toy!








more pices








'nother picture








just want a simple easy clean solution for BBS
Thanks, Betowess


----------



## Betowess

LOL, maybe we should start an Artemia/Nauplii club. These things work great and are so simple. My Black Neons go crazy when I drop in a load! Glad you got one. roud:


----------



## spdskr

I purchased one of these units plus a 1lb can of brine shrimp cysts from Brine Shrimp Direct over a year ago. I have been satisfied with the device. Very clean and space efficient. Just make sure you keep the cysts in the refrigerator until ready to use as this greatly prolongs their lifespan.


----------



## spypet

I have a question for all you brine shrimp hatcher's:
_my dish shipped out today, so I'll be joining you soon_

I've read that some people experience Hydra blooms
in their tanks when using live brine shrimp for feeding.

can someone explain how this happens,
and what ways there are to avoid it?


----------



## Khandurian

I never had a hydra bloom in any of my tanks. I always make sure that there are no bbs left before turning the filters back up. 

I would say if you make sure that you dont have more than your fry can eat you should be ok.


----------



## spdskr

*RE: hydra blooms*

Spypet,

I have had hydra blooms in fry tanks that I feed bbs. Since I now have a population of red cherry shrimp in each my tanks, I no longer have hydra outbreaks. I assume the shrimp are eating them before they get established. Speaking of RCS, I also find they are great disposers of dead bbs that collect on the bottoms of fry tanks.....takes the worry out of overfeeding.

As far as where the hydra come from, some suggest their cysts are present with the bbs cysts, but I do not know if this is correct. Others believe the hydra are already present and proliferate due to the new food source. There are a couple of chemical cures for hydra also, but they tend to kill snails (which I also keep in fry tanks) and are usually not great for plants.

Best of luck with the new shrimp hatchery.


----------



## fredyk

so I have wigglers that wants shrimp and go to start a culture and the packet that I received is dried fish food  

"For a limited time, comes with 1.75 oz. jar of Grade A brine shrimp egg (enough for about 100 cycles)"

so I sent an email and they are following up with some brine shrimp eggs. grr~


----------



## spypet

fredyk said:


> "For a limited time, comes with 1.75 oz. jar of Grade A brine shrimp egg (enough for about 100 cycles)"


don't scare me! I'm tracking the same deal on it's way to me now.
damn, this vendor must use the slowest UPS service they offer...
UPS UnderGround


----------



## fredyk

but 22 hours after starting brine shrimp eggs from lfs,...


----------



## Betowess

fredyk said:


> but 22 hours after starting brine shrimp eggs from lfs,...


Equals Happy Tetras! :smile:


----------



## KnaveTO

Thanks for this bit of info... going to see if my LFS has these in stock and if not turn them on to them  

Yeah yeah.... don't want to have to pay the shipping if I don't have to


----------



## spypet

please enjoy my first brine shrimp dish harvest only 18 hours since egg.










note: brine shrimp are clearly visible to the naked eye.
a lens was used here to only help my camera focus.
the original MOV file was much clearer but myspace
pixelated it into a blur. PM me if you want a copy
emailed to you of the original 3mb file.

*Now for the World Premier of:








SpyPet's Shrimpy Meal Deal! *  <--click here


----------



## fredyk

that's groovy, spynet. 

I 'm trying to figure things out. if it takes a day for shrimps to hatch. then for that day, the frys are not getting fed.


----------



## spypet

brine shrimp fry don't work like that. you see brine shrimp are born carrying around a food reserve that was in the egg with them, that they absorb as they grow. so you don't feed them, they feed themselves. technically you could feed your fish brine shrimp eggs directly, but that's a lot less fun, and the egg shell husks could keep that food reserves nutrition from getting digested by your fish. that's why it's important to feed the brine shrimp to your fish as soon after they hatch, since it's only then that the brine shrimp are most nutritious for your fish. if you waited till they were adults, they would be mostly fiber, not protein - no matter how much you tried to _fatten them up_.


----------



## hooha

I think he means the fish fry aren't being fed for a day (while waiting for the brine shrimp to hatch.....). The solution - have two sets of hatcheries going at once, starting each on alternating days....


----------



## Betowess

They grow so fast, one could feed them Hikari first bites on alternate days and get a couple of days out of one of the hatcherys. Or like Hooha said, have a tandem set running. 

Nice movie, Spy! Looked like a swarm invasion.

So whats the consensus here guys? Are these little guys attracted to light and thats why they end up in the middle? I believe that I've noticed I get more there if a lights on, but I'm not certain. I haven't really tested it out.


----------



## fredyk

I don't have any light bulb going.


----------



## spypet

hooha, thanks for catching my foible, gosh what a dope I can be.
fredyk, any ambient room light is fine to attract them to the hole,
that's why I generally harvest them for feeding in the morning.
fredyk, betowess, we might be able to keep hatching going by
simply opening up the dish top and adding more eggs, so two
dishes may be overkill since many fresh eggs hatch in as little as 
18 hours, so if you time it right, you can manage a daily feed with
only one dish. just a tip for everyone; try using a medicine dropper
to get the shrimp out of the center cup, instead of lifting the cup
out each time. I find this is less disruptive, easier to distribute
shrimp for feeding, may prolong or increase your yields since you
avoid the mistake of reseating the cup improperly which seems
to keep the shrimp from migrating on mass above it's center.
At hour 40 since my original egg batch I'm still harvesting about
25% quantity live brine shrimp then I was just 24 hours ago. later 
today I'll rinse the dish, fill it with new saltwater and eggs and by
tomorrow morning have a whole new batch ready for feeding.
another tip; do not follow the instructions on using 500mL of water,
rather just fill it to the line indicated on the inside dish rim which
is actually over 600mL of water. it is better to use too much water
than too little, since the water evaporates over the day or two the
eggs are hatching, and if the water gets too low the shrimp won't
be able to make it over the lip of the center cup for collection.
when you fill it to the line, eyeball the line in all three sections as
that way you'll instantly know if you are keeping the dish level.


----------



## dufus

sweet invention, thanks for the heads up betowess. You should get some kind of prize for a sales commission, i bet you sold about 10 of these.


----------



## RachPreach

so will the unhatched eggs that you dont use go bad after a while?

also, if i want to hatch my own, should i buy a kit or is there a way to just buy the eggs and hatch them some other way? Im very new to the whole live bbs thing.


----------



## RachPreach

what about this kit? any good? 
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18326/si1381031/cl0/sanfranciscobayshrimpery


----------



## fredyk

1.4 liters water 2 tbl salt 1 tsp epsom salt. add eggs. the tricky part is getting the bbs. refrigerate unhatched eggs. There's a very good article in Tropical Fish Hobbyist in the past few months, was it May? also many websites with DIY contraptions. : )


----------



## Betowess

Brine Shrimp Direct told me (on the phone) to add 5 teaspoons sea salt (Instant Ocean) to mix in a quart, then pour to the fill line. There is a little bit of extra water this way. I had lost my directions having purchased it a couple years earlier. 

I might try adding the Epsom salts and see if I get a higher yield.


----------



## Khandurian

RachPreach said:


> what about this kit? any good?
> http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18326/si1381031/cl0/sanfranciscobayshrimpery


I have that product. I was not happy with the results at all. After 36 hours, I had maybe 100. The results were just too low for me.


----------



## RachPreach

well i ordered my hatchery dish from brineshrimp direct! Im so excited! It comes with 50 grams of free brine eggs too! 

I do have a question though. Once I do my first hatching, how long can i leave the bbs in the container before throwing them out?


----------



## fredyk

Way to go! Brine shrimp hatchery pimp club!? 
Don't have an answer for ya about shrimpspan


----------



## Betowess

I would use the live hatchers up in the first two days (max three). Then toss and start a new batch. There will be a zillion leftover cysts in there, or un hatched ones. :icon_cry: 



fredyk said:


> Brine shrimp hatchery pimp club!?


Great idea fredyk!

Being the humble person I am, I nominate myself Prez of our BBS CLUB. :icon_bigg fredyk is VP emeritus. Everyone else can decide who is a secretary/treasurer and all others could be our most honored members, all right?

Good, I am glad that is decided. :icon_roll LOL 

Also, please refer all questions to VP fredyk.


----------



## epicfish

Hahaha. Can I be Secretary? 

In all seriousness, think we could do a group buy from Brine Shrimp Direct for these units?


----------



## milesm

sorry to hijack, but how is it pronounced? NOW plea eye? or NAUP lee eye? or...? :icon_redf thanks.


----------



## Betowess

epicfish said:


> Hahaha. Can I be Secretary?
> 
> In all seriousness, think we could do a group buy from Brine Shrimp Direct for these units?


I dunno. I don't answer any questions. I'm just the club president. 
But remember, you'll have to speak with VP fredyk. He answers all questions. :icon_redf 

But i think its between spskier and spypet to be secretary, maybe Kandurian or Hooha. I don't remember - Maybe you ought to cause your epicfish and thats as good of name as possible for a fish forum club's secretariat...


Seriously, If you want to organize a group buy, I am sure they would accomodate, but discounted, who knows? Perhaps just shipping.


----------



## Betowess

milesm said:


> sorry to hijack, but how is it pronounced? NOW plea eye? or NAUP lee eye? or...? :icon_redf thanks.


Good question... like your second pronunciation...

Naw (as is saw) plee ( "e" as in pee) I (as in eye) according to Webster's.


----------



## dufus

if oyu do a group buy, LMK, i wants won.


----------



## spypet

Betowess said:


> i think its between spskier and spypet to be secretary, maybe Kandurian or Hooha.


I'd rather be official thread club Videographer,
at least until someone uploads a better one :wink:


----------



## milesm

Betowess said:


> Good question... like your second pronunciation...
> 
> Naw (as is saw) plee ( "e" as in pee) I (as in eye) according to Webster's.


i got websters on my google bar :icon_wink and it says No plee eye or No plee e. 

was your websters published in the south? naw as in paw?


----------



## Betowess

spypet said:


> I'd rather be official thread club Videographer,
> at least until someone uploads a better one :wink:


All right, Spypet is official media director and club videographer. And our technical information liaison. :thumbsup: 

Unless someone comes forward soon we'll leave the sec/treasury position up for grabs.


----------



## epicfish

I got some rough numbers on a group buy from them...the discount will only be ~$5-6 per dish for 20+ dishes so I think a direct order from them would be better. I'll see the interest though and if we can get more than 20 dishes, it might work out. I could ship out via First Class to save on shipping. We'll see.


----------



## Betowess

Look at the pronunciation of the a. If it had a dot over the "a", its as in saw. But the dictionary was purchased in either Texas or Indiana. Must have been in Texas. LOL

This is from Dictionary.com

nau·pli·us /ˈnɔpliəs/ 
pronunciation key: /ɔ/	all, or, talk, lost, saw 

-pli·i pliˌaɪ

Pronunciation Key -plee-ahy] 

[ee]	eat, see, need ...[ahy]	I, ice, hide, deny 

So I get: *Naw*- (as in ma) *plee* (as in need) and *eye* as in (ice).


----------



## fredyk

I'm not sure if it's allowed, but make a post "group order of brine shrimp hatchery" then get people to sign up, count numbers, haggle for discount {for example, call on phone and ask, if I have 10 people can i get a discount. second call say I have 10 people can I get a better discount-have to use a combination of sympathy and tact-and you might want to emphasize the advertising appeal of this group order-and also the possiblity of repeat business, buying bbs eggs}.:iamwithst VP director of operations


----------



## fredyk

I know it's not as much fun as just buying it, but with a little shrewd-ness, may be get a good deal on hatcheries.


----------



## epicfish

I'll try for it. 

So, what position do I get?


----------



## Betowess

epicfish said:


> I'll try for it.
> 
> So, what position do I get?


VP Sales. or Sec Treas or both. you choose.

BTW. Good work Epic!


----------



## briandmiles

Betowess said:


> So whats the consensus here guys? Are these little guys attracted to light and thats why they end up in the middle? I believe that I've noticed I get more there if a lights on, but I'm not certain. I haven't really tested it out.


Did anyone ever have Sea Monkey's as a kid? That's all they were is brine shrimp. I had them when I was a kid and you could shine a light at the tank they were in and make them do loopty loops and what not. So, yes, they are attracted to light.

Brian


----------



## Betowess

briandmiles said:


> ... So, yes, they are attracted to light.
> 
> Brian


Good to know! Thanks Brian. Congrats on the BCK!


----------



## mascencerro

I know it has been a couple weeks since any posting, but I saw this thread a while back and finally ordered one of these contraptions. I must say I am impressed.

I started a culture at noon before I went to work, put a desklamp over it, and by the time I got off work at midnight I had a big basket of BBS to feed.

I figured it would take at least a day, but so far I have fed every tank I have twice with it, except for my PDFs of course, and everybody seems to like it, especially my false perc, gourami, and pristellas.

Definately an A++++ product.


----------



## AlGee

spypet said:


> *Now for the World Premier of:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> SpyPet's Shrimpy Meal Deal! *  <--click here


nice. but what's up with the porno music?


----------



## spypet

what wrong Algee?
was *Mr.Softee* your
old porn star name? :icon_mrgr


----------



## ZLewis

I just received one of these to feed my endler fry and my celestial danio fry. I have not used it yet and was wondering what kind of salt is best to use and if there is salt to avoid. I would imagine any sea salt would do but I read someone is also using Epsom Salt. Please share your experiences and any other tips you have.


----------



## fredyk

I use about 5 tsp table salt and 1/2 tsp epsom salt
tips? I've found to add a small bit of eggs every day for a daily batch of fresh shrmps...going on a week, but about time to change the water.

note: i had wanted to get a better price for a group order, and the best I could do is $2 off, which does not make it worthwhile for the cost or reshipping and handling etc.


----------



## spypet

fredyk said:


> I use about 5 tsp table salt and 1/2 tsp epsom salt


that's 50% more salt than the instructions direct you to use.

I use 3 teaspoons of Kosher salt per 600ml of tank water, 
everything hatches between 18-36 hours,
then I rinse it out and start all over fresh.


----------



## bigstick120

Thinking about getting one. Is this the basic idea? Add dechlorinated water 500-600ml, salt, and eggs to the dish, wait 12-24 hrs, lift the white thing and feed fish. 
Do you rinse the salt water off before you feed them to the fish?


----------



## bigstick120

Also, this looks like a similar product for half the price, what do you think the difference is?
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18326/si1381031/cl0/sanfranciscobayshrimpery


----------



## fredyk

use tap water, chloramines don't seem to matter, and chlorine evaporates. lift strainer and siphon shrimp, don't rinse, feed to fish.


----------



## bigstick120

I was just at the LFS and the san fran bay shrimpery looks to be a similar device. The bottom holds water and eggs, the top is clear with a small hole in the bottom cap. When they hatch they swim into the clear part due to the light. I dont know if they would last longer in it then others.


----------



## RachPreach

I have a few questions. I have one of these hatcherys that i havent used yet. My angels laid eggs and now the eggs are in the second day of the wiggling stage. My questions are:

When should I start hatching?
What temp should the water be in the hatchery?
Can I use regular epsom salt to add to the water?
Can I put the hatchery under and regular lamp that goes on an end table?
Once the bbs hatch can I just suck them out with a syringe and feed the fry that way?
How long are the bbs good for until i should hatch more?

sorry for some many questions. I appreciate the help in advance.


----------



## daFrimpster

There is a person on Aquabid selling units just like this only a different color for like 4 bucks plus shipping. I got one but haven't tried it yet


----------



## fishscale

I have read that the San Francisco Bay Brand hatcheries are very inefficient. Everyone says they have ridiculously low yields per hatch. I'm guessing it has something to do with the fact that the eggs are not exposed to air in those.


----------



## Madfish

I had a San Francisco Bay hatcherie and it sucks half of the brine shrimp never swim up to the little container and then they die because they dont. Also I think you would get a better hatch rate if there was a way to put a air line in it.


----------



## RachPreach

ok dont forget about my questions! thanks


----------



## TheXman

RachPreach said:


> I have a few questions. I have one of these hatcherys that i havent used yet. My angels laid eggs and now the eggs are in the second day of the wiggling stage. My questions are:
> 
> When should I start hatching?
> What temp should the water be in the hatchery?
> Can I use regular epsom salt to add to the water?
> Can I put the hatchery under and regular lamp that goes on an end table?
> Once the bbs hatch can I just suck them out with a syringe and feed the fry that way?
> How long are the bbs good for until i should hatch more?
> 
> sorry for some many questions. I appreciate the help in advance.


Start hatching after the fry are free swimming, but look to see if the fry eat the bbs, if their bellies turn orange, you'll know they're eating them.
Water can be room temp in the hatchery, but the usable range is fairly wide.
You can use either regular table salt or marine salt (not sure about the epsom salts though)
A regular table lamp will work fine.
You want to strain the shrimp so that you're not adding salt water to the tank, but it's not necessary to rinse them.
I start a new batch every 48 hours, the first bbs hatch within 12 hours after set up, and I feed the same batch from 12-48 hours post set-up, but I made a hatcher out of an inverted 2L soda bottle siliconed to a flat plexiglass base with an air hose running to the bottom. In this with the air bubbling, the shrimp will last a few days, but I don't know how long they will last in one of these other hatchers. The sooner you feed after the bbs hatch, the better. They lose nutritional value the longer you wait after they hatched.


----------



## Madfish

Well I went over to the store where you all order your shrimp hatchery from. Wow what a set up. If you ever want flake food also get it from them. When I went in there I told them that I found out about it from a fourm. Plus they gave me tons of free samples too. I got some decapusalated brine shrimp eggs, beef heart flake food, earthworm flake, and some spirlena flake. Really nice people that work there. Well there is the owner and one enployee that works there. I would be getting all of my food from them in the future. Plus they are just right down the street from me.


----------



## Madfish

Oh yeah I forgot to say that they also gave me a big jar of grade A brine shrimp eggs with it. Really nice everyone should order one from them.


----------



## fishscale

Just bought one of these on aquabid for 1.50, will be testing it out soon


----------



## Madfish

Im using mine now and its working great. If anyone needs to rase BBS I would get one of them they rock.


----------



## RachPreach

ok i hatched them and its great! It has been almost 48 hrs though since they hatched. what do i do about feeding the babies while waiting for the new batch to hatch??


----------



## fshfanatic

Betowess said:


> My Black Neons go crazy when I drop in a load!


Sorry but I spit my beer all over the monitor when I read that. LOL


----------



## RachPreach

thats so freaking funny!!!


----------



## RachPreach

i dropped a LOAD in my fish tank....opps i mean my toliet...ok I think I took that a little far....lol


----------



## dekstr

Hmm I might ask my cousin to get it for me in Hong Kong. :red_mouth , the perks of having relatives in Hong Kong is cheap aquarium equipment.


----------



## daFrimpster

The one they are selling on Aquabid has an airline...


----------



## fishscale

Just got mine from Aquabid, looks good. The idea is basically to separate the eggs from the hatched shrimp with those rings. It also looks like there is a ridge in the container to prevent eggs from clinging to the sides. And yes, there is an airstone included in the package, so you can run an air pump if you wanted to. These things are ancient, though. The package looks like it was made in the 70's. I just tested it out with the possibly 20+ year old hatch mix included in the package


----------



## RachPreach

i love my hatchery. its sooo incredibly easy to do and i get eggs within about 20 hours. Love it!


----------



## Madfish

Thats Im on my second batch on mine. Im loving it well my little fry are loving it.


----------



## dirkgent001

I just won this one on Ebay:











$9 shipped!

We'll see how it goes once it gets here. I'll try and reduce the amound of eggs I drop in as I'm only using it to feed my 4 clown killifish in my office nano.


----------



## fishscale

Ha! Same one I just got. Really old school.


----------



## RachPreach

my angel fry are doing so much better this batch since i got this feeder. I was feeding frozen bbs on my previous fry a while back and the batch this time always have nice big orange bellies!!


----------



## jrh

I've got one on the way to feed my multi babies.


----------



## Nano Nano

So how is the center removal cup working? I can tell in the pictures it has a screen/strainer bottom so they can swim up into it but how is it being closed off so you can pull the cup out and they don't fall out of the bottom?


----------



## fishscale

Actually, the sieve is fine enough for the shrimp not to be able to swim through it. The idea is that they swim into the cup from the top because that is where the light is.

My hatch rate has been pretty bad, but it is also pretty good considering I used the possibly 20-30 year old hatch mix included with the package 

I will be trying this with new eggs pretty soon.


----------



## Nano Nano

Hmmm, seems like this is a prime candidate for a DIY effort.

Those older tupperware dishes with the flip thingies in the middle for venting while in the microwave seems to be about the same as what has been shown?


----------



## fishscale

Perhaps, but when it is available for 4 dollars shipped, it might not be worth it.


----------



## Nano Nano

Doh, nice price... the thread starting post with the link was a little more than that.

But I guess I'm just old school and don't really know much about sending money online and stuff like that soooo if I can't find it local I'll raid the cabinets lol.


----------



## mistergreen

Nano Nano said:


> Doh, nice price... the thread starting post with the link was a little more than that.
> 
> But I guess I'm just old school and don't really know much about sending money online and stuff like that soooo if I can't find it local I'll raid the cabinets lol.


Yeah, i'm sure you can make this.. Just paint a tuper-ware and cut a whole on top, make those rings and make a sieve.


----------



## Madfish

You can order one from brine shrimp direct they take cards plus they give you a very nice size jar of grade A eggs for it.


----------



## jrh

I just got mine today. It also came with decapsulated brine shrimp eggs.


----------



## cybernana

Hi, from distant New Zealand. I have been lurking on this forum for some time, and have finally joined up tonight.
After having read this particular thread, and finding it was gonna cost me $58 just for freight to get one of these, I decided to invent my own.
Working along the same principles, I got a double pet bowl, drilled a hole from one to the other and put a piece of clear hose to connect them. I put the eggs in one side, (filling both sides with water.) and put a lid over the side with the eggs in. When they hatch, the BBS swim through to the side that still gets the light.
I have had 2 very successful hatches now.


----------



## lauraleellbp

Welcome to the forum, and that's a clever DIY!

I just used 2L bottles, personally, with tons of circulation from an airstone... old school stuff LOL


----------



## FrostyNYC

The price of this device is now $24 plus shipping. I found the cheaper alternative on ebay, which goes for about $10 with shipping but doesnt come with the free brine shrimp eggs (no big deal). For those of you who used the cheaper yellow ebay version from the 70s (you'll know what I mean if you see it), have you had the same success as the more expensive version? Is an airpump required?


----------



## fishyface

is BBS a good all around nutritional food for all fish or only for feeding fry?


----------



## lauraleellbp

fishyface said:


> is BBS a good all around nutritional food for all fish or only for feeding fry?


It's good for any small fish, but larger fish can have a hard time seeing it to eat it. 

Another option over hatching BBS is feeding decapsulated eggs. There are many who claim that this is actually more nutritious than BBS b/c you are feeding the shrimp before they've had a chance to metabolize their yolks, and the yolk is full of nutrition.

If possible I'd never rely on feeding JUST BBS- fish also need some veggie matter. I've always also fed fry Green Water and commercially prepared fry foods to make sure they're getting balanced nutrition. Live foods like grindal worms, vinegar eels, and microworms are also excellent and fairly easy to culture.


----------



## notropis

Thank you for bringing this older post up...it is awesome! Now I'm going to have to look into one of these devices. I never did the pop bottle thing as my SO would never put up with another aquarium/fountain device in the house! But maybe I could sneak this one by him


----------



## fishyface

ok can someone please help me here. i've gotten one of these hatcheries but after trying 2 different batches of eggs, i'm still getting only very small yields. can someone tell me what i'm doing wrong.

-i add 2 tbsps pickling salt to tepid tap water and fill to the line in the hatchery
-add small pinch of baking soda to try bring pH up to 8 (tap water pH just under 7)
-1/4 tpsn brine shrimp eggs
-store hatchery under my tank with a light to provide light and moderate warmth

now i'm frustrated cause it's just a whole lot of unhatched eggs for the most part. i've also tried with an airstone, didn't seem to make too much difference.

what's up? can anyone spot the problem?


----------



## fishscale

Are your eggs still good? If they were bought in the last 10 or so years, they should be fine. They last just about forever, but I thought I'd ask, since my hatchery came with some packets of eggs from the 70's. 

Any reason you use pickling salt?


----------



## fishyface

i was using pickling salt because i read you could use that, kosher, sea, or marine salt. pickling was just what happened to be around, does it really make much difference since there's no iodine in it anyhow? eggs i purchased a few days ago...


----------



## fishscale

I just wasn't too clear on why, it should be fine. I don't even bother with kosher salt, I just use the iodized stuff and it gives me pretty good yields. Any reason you're adding baking soda? I don't think it's the cause, I just don't think you need to.


----------



## fishyface

i've tried with baking soda and without doesn't seem to make a difference. reason i used it was to boost pH to 8...


----------



## lauraleellbp

I never fooled with the pH, but water current (aeration) is really important. I just used empty 2L bottles, stuck an airstone in it turned up so that the eggs were constantly circling, and let em go. I usually had 80-90% hatch rates that way. 

If it's taking longer, are the hatchery temps dropping due to it being winter? You could possibly stick the hatchery under a lamp to keep it warmer and see if that helps.


----------



## gnod

bringing this back from the dead - anyone still using this?
i'm considering getting this or either making one.


----------



## chiefroastbeef

I've tried various hatcheries, while they work great, I hate the eggs mixed in with the bbs. This seems like a great solution and design. Too bad I can't find this in Kowloon, Hong Kong... where I am currently living...


----------

