Caudata.org: Newts and Salamanders Portal

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!
Did you know that registered users see fewer ads? Register today!

BRine shrimp problem

Gregh

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Antigonish
So i figured I'd do the easy thing and raise brine shrimp from some little kit, unfortunately this particular kit only gows them to tiny proportions.

SB1111_99.jpg


is the problem in the eggs or in the container? Is there something I can rig up to start raising adults without getting into pump systems and the like? Thanks.
 

Jennewt

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
12,451
Reaction score
146
Location
USA
Re: Trying to make shrimp for the newt

It is very difficult to hatch brine shrimp eggs and raise them all the way to adulthood. It can be done, but it's not the kind of thing that a typical hobbyist would ever want to undertake. This kit won't do it. This page gives details on what is involved:
http://www.sfbb.com/growingoutofbbs.html

The kit you have is ideal for hatching b.s. eggs into nauplii, and these nauplii are ideal for feeding newt larvae. If you are trying to get b.s. to feed adult newts, the only real practical options are to buy frozen ones or to buy live full-grown ones at a pet shop.
 
Last edited:

Gregh

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Antigonish
ok, if you had to recommend the easiest water based thing to have for feeding the newt off and on without takign up much space and time, what would it be? I'm not looking for every meal, mr. hikari deals with that lol. Just something for him to chase and such, make him a little happier.
 

michael

2010 Research Grant Donor
Joined
Apr 12, 2003
Messages
3,406
Reaction score
156
Location
Ephrata,Pa
It depends on the size of the newt. Daphnia are good food. For larger newts grass shrimp, cherry shrimp, etc. work. I'm finding that in some of the tanks the shrimp are breeding explosively and not being eaten by smaller newts.
 

Jennewt

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
12,451
Reaction score
146
Location
USA
If you have any interest in composting your kitchen scraps, a worm bin is fairly easy. The baby worms can be given whole and make entertaining food. There are various discussions of this you can read in the worm section of the forum.

Michael - you must have the Midas touch with those shrimps. They aren't the easiest thing to breed, from what I've read. Are they the glass shrimp type?
 

Daniel

Site Contributor
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
664
Reaction score
26
Location
Germany
Yes, worms of all size are appropriate for aquatic feeding (of course depending on the size of your newts). A smaller type of worms that are easy to breed and okay for occasional feeding (not on a regular basis since they have a lot of fat) would be white worms (Enchytraea) which are very easy to culture.
 
Last edited:

Gregh

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Antigonish
Hmm, sounds like it fits the bill as long as they don't get out of control easily, I'll look around here for some kind of white worm manual.

Are black worms an easy choice?
 

eyrops

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
104
Reaction score
12
Location
Morrisville, Pennsylvania
If you are still interested in hatching brine shrimp eggs for food for larvae or for other reasons, you might try this type of setup. I find that it works well for me. I have tried the setup you pictured, and find that it hatches a few, but certainly not enough to feed anything. The part of my setup that I bought was the square base. The top is a cut off 2 liter pop bottle. Although I have not done this, I think the base could also be cobbled together if you couldn't find one in an aquarium store. I would make it from a piece of wood with a hole drilled to fit the pop bottle top. I would drill a hole in the pop bottle top to accommodate an air hose fitting, and the seal that fitting in place with silicone rubber caulk.

-Steve Morse

moz-screenshot.jpg
moz-screenshot-1.jpg
 

Gregh

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Antigonish
goo idea but i would be hesitant to use wood to hold back water of the longterm. maybe just put the bottle cap into a harness wit ha hole in that?
 

Daniel

Site Contributor
Joined
Aug 15, 2007
Messages
664
Reaction score
26
Location
Germany
For raising larvae by nauplia, I use a rather simple system. It is just a bottle filled with saltwater and seeded with artemia cysts. In there is an airstone connected to a membrane pump.
There is a very cheap system available over here where the tubing is fit into some kind of plug, tightly sealing the bottle but it should work with a simple tube, too.
The only disadvantage with this system is that you have to shake the bottle now and then when the cysts start to settle down in a spot with no water current.

artemiaflasche.jpg
 

eyrops

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2007
Messages
104
Reaction score
12
Location
Morrisville, Pennsylvania
I decided to make a brine shrimp hatching jar, and post instructions on how to do it. This will take the form (somewhat) of an "instructable" from the "Make" magazine web site:



1.Materials :
1.1.You will need a 2 liter bottle that has held a carbonated beverage. These are a little more heavy duty than bottled water bottles, so they should hold up better. This will probably cost about $2.
1.2.You will need some wood scraps for the base and its legs. The base needs to be at least 4 ½ inches wide (11.5 cm)so it is stable. Wider is fine. It doesn’t need to be a particular shape. Square is fine. Triangular, circular, etc. is all good. The legs need to be at least 1 ½ inches (4 cm) tall to provide clearance for the air hose so it doesn’t kink. You can probably find free materials for this part of the project.
1.3.You will need a length of aquarium air tubing and an aquarium air hose coupling fitting that’s is ordinarily used to connect two short pieces of tubing to make a longer piece. I bought a little kit that contained both of these items for about $2 at an aquarium store.
1.4.(Not pictured here. See picture 8.) You will need an air line “T” connector, and an air valve. I purchased a little kit that had a number of plastic connectors and valves for about $2 at an aquarium store.
1.5.(Not pictured here. See picture 8.) You will need an air line check valve to keep water from flowing from the jar into the air pump. I purchased one from an aquarium store for about $3.
1.6.(Not pictured here. See picture 8.) You will need an aquarium air pump or you can use some air from an existing aquarium setup if you have a little air to spare. I haven’t bought an air pump for a while and don’t know exactly what they cost. You don’t need a very big one. I’d guess under $20.
Actions.:
Remove the membrane lining from the inside of the pop bottle cap if it has one, and drill a hole of a diameter that allows you to fit the air hose coupling very snugly into the pop bottle cap from the outside.
Drill a hole in the wood for the base just slightly larger diameter than the pop bottle cap to allow the pop bottle to rest upside down in the base. For my bottle (Coke Zero, horrible stuff) this was 1 ¼ inches. I didn’t have this size so I bought the bit at a hardware store for about $6.

2. Inserting air hose coupling.
2.1.Insert the coupling into the hole drilled in the pop bottle cap from the outside. It should fit snugly enough that it feels like it might be watertight without step 3.

3.Glue the legs to the base. A wood glue works well for this, but just plain white glue also works fine. Apply a little pressure with C-clamps (or a stack of books) and let the glue set for a couple hours. Then you can proceed to the next step, but handle gently for about 24 hours.

4. Silicone the inside of the cap. Use plenty, but not so much that you plug the coupling. You don’t need to use special silicone for aquariums, but the silicone must be safe for use on food contact surfaces. Check the fine print! I frequently build aquariums and use a lot of silicone, so I buy mine in caulking tubes at a lumberyard for about $3 per tube.

5.Silicone the pop bottle threads. Run a little bead around them and smooth it with your finger. Now put on the cap, nice and tight.

6.Silicone the outside of the cap. Run a bead around it. Smooth it with your finger.


7. Insert the cap into the base. The bottle should stand upright, upside down. Let the silicone cure for about 24 hours.

1.Final setup. Attach the air line to the coupling on the cap underneath the base. Attach the check valve to the air line next. Then attach a small length of air line. Then attach a “T” coupling. Attach a small length of tubing to the part of the couple that is at a right angle to the rest, and attach an air valve to that. Attach a longer airline to the other part of the “T” coupling and attaché the end of the line to your air pump. Cut off the top of the jar. A single edge razor blade or a box cutter knife works well. Fill the jar with one liter of water, and mark the outside with a waterproof (Sharpie) marker. Turn on the air.

Note- The check valve prevents water from flowing into the pump. If no air bubbles up in the jar, the check valve may be in backwards. Reverse it and see if it works. The check valve would not be needed if the air pump was always higher than the level of the top of the water in the jar. But if it is lower than that water will flow into the pump right away when you or a power outage turns the pump off. This can’t be good for the pump! The purpose of the “T” coupling and air valve is to bleed off excess air. You want gentle to moderate bubbling, not an active volcano. Having the valve on a side line allows you to adjust the airflow without creating unnecessary back pressure on the air pump.

Done! If you have followed these steps you have built a hatchery jar. It’s for brine shrimp, but it’s similar to those that have been used to hatch fish eggs for more than 100 years. The fish hatchery jars I’ve worked with use a tube in the center of the jar to deliver water to the bottom, which then upwells and keeps the eggs moving and oxygenated. Yours uses air to do the same for your shrimp.
-Steve Morse
 

benw

New member
Joined
Mar 2, 2008
Messages
285
Reaction score
16
Location
Dorset
Great pics!!
Thats the same method i use, exept i use bottles that had Ribena drink in it, and has a moulded han handle, and if you get the bubble flow right, the hatched artemia cysts gather in the handle- rather handy- and i use a small spot light to heat the water, as its in a cool garage, have 2 bottles on the go, one started the day after the first, and it gives me enough nauplii for my baby salamandra.

I use marine tank salt in the water to hatch mine, as i find i get better reults.

Ben
 

pesco

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Location
London, England
So i figured I'd do the easy thing and raise brine shrimp from some little kit, unfortunately this particular kit only gows them to tiny proportions.

is the problem in the eggs or in the container? Is there something I can rig up to start raising adults without getting into pump systems and the like? Thanks.

The problem is lack of food - they simply starving to death.
Despite what you've read in this thread raising naupli to adulthood is vary easy. In fact, it happened few times that after harvesting naupli I put a jar on a side and forgot to clean it up. After a week or so there were adult brine shrimps swimming around! That was acciental :D, to do it properly you need small set up. A container, the bigger the better, 4-10L should be OK, I've got three 36 litres plastic rectangular containers. Two of them I'm using for growing shrimps and one to get some resting cysts and for experiments :D
Before you start hatching naupli fill up container half way with salt water, use the same salt concentration as for hatching naupli. Unlike for hatching you can use regular tap water - to induce hatching water should be soft, but as soon as they hatch, they don't care if the water is soft or hard. Now you should add air tube, turn on the air pump and put the container a side for at least a week. This is to establish protozoa and algae. If you buy some marine phytoplankton (what you should do anyway) then after adding few drops you don't have to wait - tank is ready straight away :D
After hatching baby brine shrimps, harvest the naupli and put them in you growing up container - they will feed on phytoplankton and protozoa. Every day add some more phytoplankton, just keep the water greenish. If you don't have phytoplankton you can feed them with yeast, but be careful not to overdose yeast.
Every day top up container with plain tap water. Brine shrimps need high salt concentration to hatch, but not to grow, so adding a bit fresh water every day prevents from "salinity-shock" while still diluting salt. If you feed them with phytoplankton salinity will raise over time. When it hits upper limit take out some water and start topping up with fresh water again. A bit every day to prevent form "salinity shock".
Such a culture can last for years :D


Youre brine shrimps are as good as the food you giving to them - the better the brine shrimp food is, the more nutritional brine shrimps are :D

If you get hold of marine phytoplankton (easy to get of eBay), you should culture it - its very easy to do so, all you need is a source of light, salt water, fertylizer and airpump - if you wish I could explain in details how to do it.
Great food source for brine shrimps are Rotifers - same as phytoplankton, you can get it of eBay and culture it at home.

Two things
1) make sure you dont take some empty egg shells to growing up container - they are a bit nasty
2) you can use regular table salt (even with antycaking agent) to hatch brine shrimps, but not to grow them; for culturing them use sea salt, don't have to buy expensive marine products, sea salt from supermarket would do (by example Maldon Sea Salt) as long as it doesn't cantain antycaking agent - read small print on a packaging
 
Last edited:

Gregh

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Antigonish
Thanks for all the advice guys, I think I'm goign to try black worms though, theyr'e better for caudates right?
 

pesco

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Location
London, England
Never tried them, they are not very popular here in UK.
Why don't you try fairy shrimp ? Its freshwater version of brine shrimp and as such are better suited as food for fresh water predators.
One of the best and easiest to culture is daphnia.
 

Jennewt

Administrator
Staff member
Joined
May 27, 2005
Messages
12,451
Reaction score
146
Location
USA
Thanks for all the advice guys, I think I'm goign to try black worms though, theyr'e better for caudates right?
As a staple food, blackworms would be better than brine shrimp. However, earthworms would be even better. Blackworms are a bit small for adult newts, and their calcium content is not nearly as good as earthworms. Thus for long-term nutrition, I wouldn't really recommend blackworms.
 

Gregh

New member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
78
Reaction score
1
Location
Antigonish
I was really hoping to avoid earthworms because I'm not the kind of person who can cut them up without hating it lol, but it soudns like maybe I should...

And can Daphnia be raised large enough for adult caudates?
 

Bellabelloo

Julia
Staff member
Joined
May 7, 2007
Messages
5,260
Reaction score
114
Location
Hatfield, England
I too hated the idea of cutting up worms, bur after a while it gets easier...the axolotl etc. do seem to love them.
 

pesco

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2008
Messages
30
Reaction score
2
Location
London, England
Try white worms, they are miniature versions of earthworms, around 2cm long. Easy to culture, easy to gut load and you wont have to cut them :D
Daphnia magna is up to 5 mm in length - large enough even for big newts.
Daphnia pulex is a bit smaller and more popular. Ideal for smaller newts and larvae.


BTW, when I was a kid I was often feeding my newts with worms nearly as long as the newts themselves and was watching the wrestling match :D Newts were winning every time, sometimes by "biting of" (more like ripping of) a bit of worm or simply by patience - few hours and whole worm was inside the newt :D My newts had always plenty of food of big variety, so they didn't have to wrestle worms - I guess either they enjoyed wrestling or the worms where exceptionally yummy :D
 
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Top