Adding unhatched brine shrimp eggs to aquarium. What would happen?

[Perpetual Novice]

Everything says to hatch the eggs first then add the live brine a little at a time as food. But what if I want a constant food supply for picky fish. Can I add eggs directly to the tank so they can pick them off as they hatch?

I’m thinking of wrasses and filefish in particular.

 

[Topekoms]

your skimmer and filter sock will filter them out before they hatch

 

[Perpetual Novice]

your skimmer and filter sock will filter them out before they hatch

What if I add them to my fuge? Will they slowly make it into the display when they hatch?

 

[Topekoms]

Maybe but I wouldn't do it. The cysts will remain in the tank and foul the water.

 

[TriggerFinger]

There is a mix of food I came across recently that has decapsulated brine shrimp eggs in it. They claim the uneaten eggs will hatch in the aquarium. You may want to look at decapsulated eggs if you give it a shot.

 

[csb123]

There is a mix of food I came across recently that has decapsulated brine shrimp eggs in it. They claim the uneaten eggs will hatch in the aquarium. You may want to look at decapsulated eggs if you give it a shot.

I read the same. I think it was Rusalty.com. A lot of info there as well.

 

[Larry L]

There is a mix of food I came across recently that has decapsulated brine shrimp eggs in it. They claim the uneaten eggs will hatch in the aquarium. You may want to look at decapsulated eggs if you give it a shot.

I've tried adding decapsulated eggs to my refugium just to see what would happen, have never seen any babies but that doesn't mean they didn't hatch and then get eaten.

If you order decapsulated eggs, make sure you check to see if they are hatching vs non-hatching. The hatching ones usually require refrigeration.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

You can decapsulate the eggs yourself using household bleach, an air pump and a jug. It makes hatching baby brine shrimp easy.

 

[ichthyogeek]

You could also decyst the eggs, hatch them like normal, wash them, and then drip feed them into the tank. I haven't tried the method you talked about, but I really should experiment...maybe I'll try it this weekend!

Part of the reason we don't add the cysts to the tank is that they float and are unsightly. If you add them to the sump/refugium, they're going to get somewhere and be an eyesore. Decysting would help, but depending on what you've got CUC wise, the eggs might be eaten before hatching.

 

[MWinchell13]

I put regular brine eggs into my dwarf seahorse aquarium with really good results. However, it does foul up the water, so I made a small mesh insert where I could put the eggs and they could tumble in the current, without getting released into the water. After two days I would remove as many unhatched and hatched eggs as possible and let the baby brine go into the tank.

 

[Doctorgori]

You will end up with a brown line of “Egg floaties” around the water line ...
Heck the eggs hatch in 24hrs, I can’t see the upside esp given De-cap’d eggs and the fact BBS over 24hrs old are equivalent to feeding fish sawdust ...
You want a more zooplankton type nutritional food then I’d feed the BBS phyto first...