How to hatch brine shrimp eggs

You will find most of the fish keepers telling you that brine shrimps are excellent food for the fish fry. Brine shrimps are an amazing source of protein and nutrients for your fish fry. Brine shrimps do not make the water dirty. Brine shrimps are not only nutritious, but also stay alive in the water for a longer period of time and provide a long supply of live food for the fry. 

Brine shrimp cysts often hatch within 24 hours when kept at roughly 82°F (28°C). If the temperature is only 70°F (21°C), you may have to wait up to 36 hours for your eggs to hatch.

How to Setup a Brine shrimp Hatchery

All you need is a transparent container, fill it up with water and place it under a lamp with continuous flow of aeration. Add rock salt, baking soda, and brine shrimp eggs. The brine shrimps will hatch 24 hours later.

Find a container that can hold at least two gallons of water

This container needs to be kept under a lamp that gives enough light to the brine shrimp eggs and keeps them warm as well. 

Fill the container with enough water to be just 2 inches below the brim

You can add warm tap water into the container. The water needs to be filled right below the brim so that there is enough space for the brine shrimp eggs to circulate due to constant aeration taking place within the container. 

Find a Lamp

The lamp needs to be able to provide enough intensity of light for the whole container and keep it warm throughout the day as well. The lamp is not needed in case you have enough indirect source of light entering the container from another aquarium or sunlight. But having a dedicated lamp shows better and quicker results. 

Add 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon of water in the container

You can use any kosher salt, rock salt, canning pickling salt, or any table salt that is non-iodised. Add it into the water container and mix it well.

Add baking soda powder

you can just add 1 tea spoon of baking soda powder for every gallon of water. it helps in keeping the pH scale of the water stable.

Buy brine shrimp eggs (from online store or nearest pet store)

Make sure you buy brine shrimps with the highest hatching rate. This will bring about the highest yield for you to feed your fish fry. Add approximately 4 grams of brine shrimp eggs for every 1 gallon of water in the container. 

An air pump with tubing and an air stone for aeration

The air pump with air air tubing needs to be added into the container and kept on for the whole day. The aeration will keep a constant flow of water and facilitate the process of hatching the brine shrimp cysts. 

How to feed the brine shrimps to the fish fry

Turn off the aeration, use a ink dropper to collect the brine shrimps, and feed it to your fish.

Turn off the aeration

Once the whole process of hatching takes place within 24 -36 hours of aeration. You can turn off the aeration. The brine shrimp will be collected at the bottom of the container. 

Use a long ink dropper to collect the brine shrimps

The ink dropper needs to be at least 6 inches long. You can use this dropper and collect the brine shrimps from the base of the container. 

Add the brine shrimps into the feeder

Now you can simply add the brine shrimps into the feeder or the aquarium having fish frys in it. The brine shrimps will survive for up to approximately 12 hours in the aquarium and their wiggling movement will entice the fish fry to eat them creating a 12 hour supply of fry food.