Is it possible to Raise and Breed Brine Shrimp in my Refugium?

[WheatToast]

This might sound stupid, but would it be possible to raise and breed brine shrimp in my refugium? The water parameters required by brine shrimp seem to line up with those in my marine system, I dose phytoplankton (Kent Marine PhytoPlex) four times a week, and my refugium is well sheltered with macroalgae. However, circulation is quite low in my refugium (which seems to be a good thing for the nauplii, though) and there are a bunch of live Mysis shrimp and Amphipods that might want to consume the brine shrimp. Am I missing something?

 

[fushi]

This might sound stupid, but would it be possible to raise and breed brine shrimp in my refugium? The water parameters required by brine shrimp seem to line up with those in my marine system, I dose phytoplankton (Kent Marine PhytoPlex) four times a week, and my refugium is well sheltered with macroalgae. However, circulation is quite low in my refugium (which seems to be a good thing for the nauplii, though) and there are a bunch of live Mysis shrimp and Amphipods that might want to consume the brine shrimp. Am I missing something?

Keeping them their might be a problem brine shrimp nauplii are very tiny and don't cling to things like pods do. The only thing i could think of is the egg shells are not great for fish to eat, so dumping some eggs in the refugium might not be the best.


I have used this and it works pretty well.
https://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/hatchery-dish-kit

 

[WheatToast]

Bump

 

[HeyLookItsCaps]

I love mine from a brine hatchery dish into a phyto-tank CL setup for pods. Then they can get a little bigger and are isolated

 

[californiarob]

if you put adult brine in the refugium they will breed if conditions are correct but most likely they will die off as they feed more on Micro algae then Macro so you would have to suppliment and most likely destroy your ref. i keep brine in one of my rotifer grow outs to experiment with, but this is supplimented only with greenwater and micro algae, they reproduce at a good clip and I feed my reef with this particular batch... hope this helps

 

[WheatToast]

Keeping them their might be a problem brine shrimp nauplii are very tiny and don't cling to things like pods do.

Flow in my refugium is pretty low so I don’t really see this as a problem (though I hear that Brine shrimp enjoy high circulation).

The only thing i could think of is the egg shells are not great for fish to eat, so dumping some eggs in the refugium might not be the best.

So I guess it would be best to dump in adults… but then they would go on to produce even more eggs…

I have used this and it works pretty well.
https://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/hatchery-dish-kit

Looking good! Maybe I will consider this instead!

if you put adult brine in the refugium they will breed if conditions are correct but most likely they will die off as they feed more on Micro algae then Macro so you would have to suppliment and most likely destroy your ref. i keep brine in one of my rotifer grow outs to experiment with, but this is supplimented only with greenwater and micro algae, they reproduce at a good clip and I feed my reef with this particular batch... hope this helps

I already dose Kent Marine PhytoPlex four times a week and do not run a skimmer; could this be enough?
And they can actually eat macroalgae ?! How quickly?

 

[Tamberav]

I would say no. The freshly hatched shrimp are like specks and would be swept away. At least not be able to breed or keep them to any significant extent.

Also the adult ones are not a nutritious. It’s very easy to just hatch and feed the next day in a shrimp hatchery.

 

[WheatToast]

Bump

 

[californiarob]

I agree with Tamberav... if you are looking at using brine and you are looking at brineshrimpdirect then get

E-Z EGG Hatching Brine Shrimp Eggs...​

these are the easiest to hatch and they have no shells, all you need is a 2 liter bottle, saltwater, air line and light... i use 24 hours of light and the yhatch with in 1 day with max yield by day 3, this will give you high protien and lipids, i dont like the dish as ther brine still push a small amount of eggs into the center and the yeild is not very good, its a great idea for small quantities

 

[Isopod80]

I agree with the others, you're much better off raising them separately. However, if you're worried about the egg shells simply decapsulate the eggs using bleach before adding them to the hatching container. I've been decapsulating the eggs for years and can't imagine not doing so at this point. No mess.

 

[vetteguy53081]

There's a reason for brine hatcheries or even a 2.- - 5 gallon tank. The eggs require good agitation and circulation from an airstone. Also needed is a higher temperature range than allowable for typical aquarium which is 78-86 degrees- warmer the better.
Another factor is the leftover shells from hatched eggs which you dont want in your fuge and last factor is harvesting them to feed them which is near impossible in a fuge area with constant flow rather than circulated environment

 

[HeyLookItsCaps]

I agree with the others, you're much better off raising them separately. However, if you're worried about the egg shells simply decapsulate the eggs using bleach before adding them to the hatching container. I've been decapsulating the eggs for years and can't imagine not doing so at this point. No mess.

Can you elaborate on this?

 

[WheatToast]

Thanks for the replies and the hatchery suggestions everyone! Mostly because of the potential egg capsule waste and the lack of circulation in my refugium, I will keep the idea of breeding brine shrimp outside of my system (though maybe it would be fun to experiment in the far future).

 

[Isopod80]

Can you elaborate on this?

Sure, fill a jar halfway with RODI water and add the eggs to soak for a few hours. This will rehydrate them and prevent them from absorbing bleach. Once soaked, fill the jar the rest of the way with bleach (roughly 50/50) and stir or aerate vigorously for roughly 5-7 minutes. You will see the eggs turn from brown to light orange. Once they are orange they are decapsulated and should be removed immediately. Strain them into a fine net and rinse them in the sink in lukewarm water until the bleach smell is gone then give a final rinse in fresh RODI before adding them to the hatching container. You can also add a drop or two of Prime to remove the bleach but I've found this to be unnecessary if rinsed well. From there it's business as usual just without the annoying shells. You'll notice the nauplii will be slightly smaller initially from decapsulated eggs but they also hatch much faster. I can hatch a batch in 12-14 hours with this method.

 

[vetteguy53081]

36 years in hobby and Never heard of soaking and bleach ???

 

[Isopod80]

28 years in and I've been doing it for probably a good 20+. Look up decapsulating brine shrimp. It's a well known practice. You can even buy decapsulated eggs for a ridiculous price from some vendors, but it's cheap and easy to do yourself.