# feeding frozen brine shrimp



## suesue (Dec 18, 2010)

I have had aquariums for years (since 1976) and I still am not sure of the best way to feed frozen brine shrimp. 

Just break off chunks and put in tank? Is it bad for the fish to be eating it that cold and/or eating off of frozen stuff??

Letting it thaw? 

I know one store told me to put it in a fine net dip net and run water over it. That thaws it and "washes off the nasty stuff". But does it also wash off the nutritional value?

What is the best way to feed???

I would love to feed live, but there are no places around where I live that sell live. And I tried raising my own, with no luck at all. :icon_frow


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

Either way, throwing the frozen cube into the tank or thawing works fine.

I thaw mine in a small container of warm water and then dumping it in the tank so all the fish have a chance at getting to eat.

Try raising daphnia.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I just hold the cubes in my fingers in the tank and let them thaw there. I really just hold them in my fingers to make sure the shrimp get spread out as they thaw so that everyone gets fed. Otherwise the cubes tend to sink to the bottom too fast.

I stick with Hikari brand frozen food since they use a purification process on all their frozen foods, unlike some other brands.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

I thaw the cube in room temperature water and dump it into the tank with a net so, the fish associate the net with feeding time. That comes in handy sometimes.


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## Noahma (Oct 18, 2009)

I have two little jars, I put a tad bit of tank water, then the cube. Let it thaw, give small amounts of my other foods for various species, then dump the container in. With things smaller such as cyclops for my Dario Dario, I use an eye dropper to "push" some of the cyclops into the plants, then a general squeeze in front of the filter outlet. 

They love to hunt the cyclops lol


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

warm water and a cup.


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## MlDukes (Nov 24, 2009)

I had been holding the cube in my fingers and letting the fish eat right from my hands. I started having surface scum build up and after talking to my LFS owner his first advice was to start rinseing/thawing it in a brine shrimp net. Been doing that every since, My fish actually swim into the net trying to snatch up the food. Like Bosman said, that can come in very handy. 

As for the surface scum, The way he explained it is that the frozen water around the shrimp contains proteins that can cause surface build up. 

Another way he discribed was to drop it in a glass of water, as it thaws the food stays at the bottom. You can use a turkey baster to suck it out for feeding.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I put it in tea cup, put some warm aquarium water over it and let it thaw, then I suck it up into a syringe and feed it in drops/squirts (this way I can wander around and feed all the betta quickly and easily).


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

You people are butler's for your fish. I pop the gumdrop of frozen food in without ever touching it and let the fish fend for themselves.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Guilty as charged, LOL! But honestly, when you’re feeding one fish, you really don’t want to just drop a big old chunk in the tank (a betta would eat till it exploded).


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

boringname said:


> You people are butler's for your fish. I pop the gumdrop of frozen food in without ever touching it and let the fish fend for themselves.


x2 That about sums up how I do it too :tongue:


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## mmelnick (Mar 5, 2010)

suesue said:


> That thaws it and "washes off the nasty stuff". But does it also wash off the nutritional value?


Brine shrimp have next to no nutritional value to start with, so nothing to worry about there. They are great for protien, but are very low in nutrients.

They work best if fed as part of a rounded diet (here I am sounding like a breakfast commercial)


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