Brine shrimp eggs.

[daninthesand]

Hi gang.

I have no experience with brime shrimp. I thought I'd start getting ready for learning how to raise them etc. so that I would have them handy for when my fish start breeding. (I hope lol!) I' ve seen a lot of info. on raising them, hatching etc, but not a lot on how to store the eggs.

Regarding the eggs themselves, I was planning on ordering some but I am a little concerned that they might not keep very well. This will affect how much I buy at first. Buying in bulk seems to be a bit cheaper. Do the eggs keep really well? How long can you store the eggs before the hatch rate starts to go down? What is the best way to store the eggs? In the freezer maybe? Any info you can share will help me decide how many to buy the first time around.

Oh, and where do you recommed I get them?

Thanks in advance.
Daniel

[EthanCote.com]

Hi Dan,

A friend of mine brought his brine shrimp eggs in bulk and he kept it in his fridge (not freezer). He has it for over a year now and the eggs still hatches. As for the decrease in hatch rates, hard to tell since there are no real way of keeping track of the quantity.

HTH.


Cheers,

Chi.

[daninthesand]

Wow. a year. That's pretty good. Thanks Chi.

I know brine shrimp eggs were designed by mother nature to withstand long periods and still stay viable, but the more I know about the conditions they are kept in the better. I'd assume they also need to be kept dry and in a sealed container. Is the container (tin) they come in enough as long as the plastic lid is kept on tight? And then kept in the fridge? I have an older fridge and it is a bit humid in there most of the time. Or I could keep the eggs in my garage in the winter. Its gets down to minus 35 in there in the winter! ha ah.

Daniel

Dan: order directly from
http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com
Don't buy them from the LFS. The hatch rate is almost zero. and you'll waste your money. Order 1lb can. The breeder's special is fine. Good hatch rate even they say is only 70%. I just order 24 cans and the hatch rate is over 90%. One Can will last you for years, depending on how much you breed. Cost $132 US. per case of 12 if I recall correctly and about $19 per can. They have the instructions how to hatch them in their website. You can either call directly or order through e-mail. HTH
Jimmy.

[EthanCote.com]

And Dan,

Yes keep them dry.


Cheers,

Chi.

[daninthesand]

Jimmy.
A whole case? Maybe you could spare a pound and send one to me!LOL Thanks for the link.

Has anyone used decapsulated BBS eggs? The website above that Jimmy sent me talks about these as having MORE nutritional value than newly hatched BBS. AND the best part is there is no need to hatch them. Fry can eat the eggs. Better still, a pound of these decapsulated eggs is less money than the eggs themselves. Seems like a no briner to me (lol get it? no brainer - no briner). You get to feed BBS, without hatching and at less cost! I'm suspiscious. What do you think?

Daniel

[fcdiscus]

Daniel, I keep them in the freezer and they last a very long time. One pound cans are you best bet! Frank

Hi Daniel.....

I, like Jimmy order from http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com.

I keep a small amount in an empty fish food container and the large can in the refrigerator and they've kept for a good year without a decrease in the hatch rate

I've never tried the decaps, but what I have read about people that have used them..... they say it's better to start the fry with the live bbs and gradually switch them over to the decaps :-\

Good Luck

Beth

[arpanlib]

hi,
i have the decapsulated brine shrimps from NEW TECHNOLOGY LABS www.ntlabs.com

their hatch rate is superb and they also grow fast with their special food for brine shrimps.

i have been using their products for over a year now and the eggs still hatch.

the decap BS are in a fluid and so i dont need to worry about their storage.

hope this helps.

arpanlib

[daninthesand]

Sounds like BBS is the only way to go. i guess i better at least experiment with hatching em at least a small amount before i get a spawn happening.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Daniel

[BLUEKNIGHT]

Hi Daniels first thing to do is to get them for a good source and usally u can store them in the fridge and this works fine. also now they have decapsulated eggs which you can hatch inside the tank in a special hathcery usually they cost about 15-20 bucks depending on the seller. ;D

I usually get smaller batches from brine shrimp direct and buy a 90 percent grade of the regular eggs and a smaller amount of the San Francisco strain, which are smaller. This gives the smaller fry something to nibble on as well. I raise rams and they can be tiny. Then I mix them in a coffee can and keep them out in the fish room. When I run low, I order fresh.

[daninthesand]

edibill

Buying smaller orders makes sense to me. I contacted birneshrimpdirect and they (Deb) told me that if kept in a tightly sealed container in the fridge, they only guarantee the hatch rate for 3 months.

But then again the cost of shipping makes buying larger quantities attractive.

So I guess it depends on what the experience is with lowering hatch rates for older stock.

Daniel