Decapsulating Brine Shrimp Eggs

[Len]

The items you will need to decapsulate brine shrimp eggs are:

bleach (Chlorox/Javex or whatever non-scented bleach you have)
vinegar (to neutralize the bleach later)
Plastic coffee filter
A regular cereal bowl
2L soda bottle or whater you hatch normal bbs with already (with air line amd pump)
brine shrimp eggs
Table salt



Deacpsulating the eggs
Fill a brine shrimp hatchery with about one litre of tap water and add the amount of shrimp eggs you want to decapsulate. I use a few table spoons but you can use more or less depending on your needs. Next add your air line and let the eggs churn for about 15 mins just as you would if you were hatching them minus the salt. This is just to rehydrate the eggs. pour in a cup or so of bleach and let it keep going watching the colour. The colour will turn first an ashy grey, then will turn orange. Once the eggs are mostly orange turn off the air and pour the solution through the plastic coffee filter to strain them. Give them a decent rinse under running water, and then place the coffe filter with eggs in it in your cereal bowl. Pour vinegar on the eggs until they are covered and let them soak for a few minutes stirring them around with your finger. take the coffee filter out of the bowl and discard the vinegar. Run the filter and eggs under running water again rinsing away all of the vinegar and that's it -- They are decapsulated


Storing the eggs


You will need to store the eggs in the refridgerator in a saturated salt water solution to keep them dehydtared. To do this just add enough ordinary table salt to water until no more salt will dissolve. It doesn't matter if you end up with some salt sitting on the bottom.


Hatching the eggs


To hatch the decapsulated eggs as you need them, just rinse the salt water from them using the plastic coffee filter and hatch them as you would normal eggs. I use about 2 Tablespoons of odinary table salt per 1L water and about 1/2 teaspoon of eggs. It will take them 12 -16 hours hatch, and then you can feed them as per normal. There will be no shells to worry about so you can just pour them through the strainer, rinse and then give them to your fish. Any unhatched eggs can also be eaten.


As a side note, decapsulated eggs can be fed to the fish without hatching them first if your fish will eat them.

[Trevor W]

Great write up, Thank You!
I am looking forward to trying this out.

[timmy82]

Very good article thanks

[Bill63SG]

What's the advantage to this.Not having to deal witht he shells,Quicker hatch time?

[nwehrman]

Both Bill they hatch quicker and no worries about separation - I use this method also ... But I just buy the hatchable decap brine from brineshrimp direct. Because I have way more going on than I have time to do it myself.

[Len]

Bill the advantages are that the hatch time is reduced, no shells, any eggs that haven't hatched are still able to be eaten by the fish and supposedly because the bbs don't have to expend the extra energy breaking free of the shells, the nutritional value is higher. For me, th emain thing is that I can spend 15 or 20 mins preparing the decap eggs upfront then it's less time consuming collecting the hatched shrimp.

[Altum Nut]

Nice read Len...your the man.
Makes sense if your hatch rate on regular BB eggs is poor...this is the way to go.

...Ralph

[Bill63SG]

Both Bill they hatch quicker and no worries about separation - I use this method also ... But I just buy the hatchable decap brine from brineshrimp direct. Because I have way more going on than I have time to do it myself.

+1 to that,Il'll have to check that out next time I order.

Bill the advantages are that the hatch time is reduced, no shells, any eggs that haven't hatched are still able to be eaten by the fish and supposedly because the bbs don't have to expend the extra energy breaking free of the shells, the nutritional value is higher. For me, th emain thing is that I can spend 15 or 20 mins preparing the decap eggs upfront then it's less time consuming collecting the hatched shrimp.

Learn something new everyday.Thanks!

[Poco]

Learn something new everyday.Thanks!

+1

Thanks for sharing Len.

[T_om]

Plus, you can buy the cheaper, lower percentage hatch rate eggs. Decaps have been the way to go for years and years now.

Tom

[CrazyAngels]

Len, as for the vinegar, are you using white vinegar or will any vinegar do the job.. Thank you

[Len]

just plain white vinegar.

[CrazyAngels]

Thank you Len, I That is what I was going to use, but being i also have apple cider vinegar, it was best to ask.. Going to try it this weekend since i'm raising a few spawns of angels presently.

[AQUARAMA]

How long can u keep the decapsulated bbs fresh?

[Allwin]

Good read, thanks..

The items you will need to decapsulate brine shrimp eggs are:

bleach (Chlorox/Javex or whatever non-scented bleach you have)
vinegar (to neutralize the bleach later)
Plastic coffee filter
A regular cereal bowl
2L soda bottle or whater you hatch normal bbs with already (with air line amd pump)
brine shrimp eggs
Table salt



Deacpsulating the eggs
Fill a brine shrimp hatchery with about one litre of tap water and add the amount of shrimp eggs you want to decapsulate. I use a few table spoons but you can use more or less depending on your needs. Next add your air line and let the eggs churn for about 15 mins just as you would if you were hatching them minus the salt. This is just to rehydrate the eggs. pour in a cup or so of bleach and let it keep going watching the colour. The colour will turn first an ashy grey, then will turn orange. Once the eggs are mostly orange turn off the air and pour the solution through the plastic coffee filter to strain them. Give them a decent rinse under running water, and then place the coffe filter with eggs in it in your cereal bowl. Pour vinegar on the eggs until they are covered and let them soak for a few minutes stirring them around with your finger. take the coffee filter out of the bowl and discard the vinegar. Run the filter and eggs under running water again rinsing away all of the vinegar and that's it -- They are decapsulated


Storing the eggs


You will need to store the eggs in the refridgerator in a saturated salt water solution to keep them dehydtared. To do this just add enough ordinary table salt to water until no more salt will dissolve. It doesn't matter if you end up with some salt sitting on the bottom.


Hatching the eggs


To hatch the decapsulated eggs as you need them, just rinse the salt water from them using the plastic coffee filter and hatch them as you would normal eggs. I use about 2 Tablespoons of odinary table salt per 1L water and about 1/2 teaspoon of eggs. It will take them 12 -16 hours hatch, and then you can feed them as per normal. There will be no shells to worry about so you can just pour them through the strainer, rinse and then give them to your fish. Any unhatched eggs can also be eaten.


As a side note, decapsulated eggs can be fed to the fish without hatching them first if your fish will eat them.