Ok, now what??? (brine shrimp question)

[Katra]

I put 3 cups of water in a widemouth quart jar with 3 tsp. of sea
salt..... and added a rather larger than intended pinch of brine shrimp
eggs two days ago.

Now I have teensy little pinpoint sized critters all swimming around in
there like little fairies. ;-)

WAY to small to feed to the Betta!

No aerator or anything, I guess I need to feed them to get them to grow
a bit. I remember my sister's "sea monkeys" getting to be about 1 cm.
long before they started to reproduce and then die. You could see the
females carrying eggs.

As long as she kept water in the plastic tank, the eggs that the adult
ones laid would hatch so she had an ongoing population for quite some
time! She did not put an air stone or anything in with them either, and
they did just fine.

So, what do I feed them and how much to make them get big enough to feed
the Betta, and how do I get them out? They seem way too delicate for a
fish net!

Looks like I overdid it. There are easily a few thousand in the jar. <G>

Please help?????

Thanks!
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

[Lilly]

Yes, a little will produce a lot!

Actually Katra, they'll be enjoyed a lot by your Betta. Think of them
like popcorn. He will spend a lot of time hunting them down.

What you are doing is called passive hatching (without aeration). There
are setups available commercially that will allow you to hatch/harvest.
Or after you get a look at one, you could make your own out of
odds/ends, like those plastic black salad dishes, some cardboard
sprayed black and something to strain.

I don't feed the BBS since I harvest them fast enough. But when I
don't, they survive for a while w/out help. Usually I rinse the
contraption out weekly and start over.

In the meantime, you can shine a bright spot/flash light at the bottom
of the container and they will gather there. Use airline to draw them
out and strain them thru a brine shrimp net. You can reuse the water
you collect, and even put the shells back in because not all of the BBS
have hatched out just yet.

Lilly

Katra wrote:
> I put 3 cups of water in a widemouth quart jar with 3 tsp. of sea
> salt..... and added a rather larger than intended pinch of brine
shrimp
> eggs two days ago.
>
> Now I have teensy little pinpoint sized critters all swimming around
in
> there like little fairies. ;-)
>
> WAY to small to feed to the Betta!
>
> No aerator or anything, I guess I need to feed them to get them to
grow
> a bit. I remember my sister's "sea monkeys" getting to be about 1 cm.

> long before they started to reproduce and then die. You could see the

> females carrying eggs.
>
> As long as she kept water in the plastic tank, the eggs that the
adult
> ones laid would hatch so she had an ongoing population for quite some

> time! She did not put an air stone or anything in with them either,
and
> they did just fine.
>
> So, what do I feed them and how much to make them get big enough to
feed
> the Betta, and how do I get them out? They seem way too delicate for
a
> fish net!
>
> Looks like I overdid it. There are easily a few thousand in the jar.
<G>
>
> Please help?????
>
> Thanks!
> --
> K.
>
> Sprout the MungBean to reply
>
> "I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell=8Byou
> see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain

[Katra]

In article . com>,
"Lilly" > wrote:

> Yes, a little will produce a lot!
>
> Actually Katra, they'll be enjoyed a lot by your Betta. Think of them
> like popcorn. He will spend a lot of time hunting them down.
>
> What you are doing is called passive hatching (without aeration). There
> are setups available commercially that will allow you to hatch/harvest.
> Or after you get a look at one, you could make your own out of
> odds/ends, like those plastic black salad dishes, some cardboard
> sprayed black and something to strain.
>
> I don't feed the BBS since I harvest them fast enough. But when I
> don't, they survive for a while w/out help. Usually I rinse the
> contraption out weekly and start over.
>
> In the meantime, you can shine a bright spot/flash light at the bottom
> of the container and they will gather there. Use airline to draw them
> out and strain them thru a brine shrimp net. You can reuse the water
> you collect, and even put the shells back in because not all of the BBS
> have hatched out just yet.
>
> Lilly
>

Ah, so even as tiny as they are, he'll enjoy them?
Ok, so now I need to go and purchase a brine shrimp net! ;-)
Siphoning them out, what a great idea!

I'd read they were attracted to light.

Ok, I'll give that a shot then and let you know what happens with him.
I'll have to get that special net first.

How long will they live in fresh water while he hunts them down?

Thanks!!!
Katra
--
K.

Sprout the MungBean to reply

"I don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell‹you
see, I have friends in both places." --Mark Twain