Here are my babies

These are my babies. I had about 28 eggs and 22 of them hatched. They started hatching the 18 July. They are eating BBS morning and night. I have no idea about their parents. The babies have black eyes and look to be a dark grey colour. What do you people think????
Like I mentioned in another post I to have a U shape baby and you can see the little fighter in the second photo.(she has a home to go already if she makes it).

SO CUTE! they all look melanoid to me. Thats exactly how my U shapes one looks! does it swim round in a circle?

it sure does. It is kinda cute. She battles her way through to get some food. she also swims in circles. I dont think she is going to make it tho but she will have a good life. She will be moved to her tank soon so she doesnt have to worry about getting chomped on

Ah, they're beautiful - you clever thing!

So THAT'S what hatched BBS look like!!

Do they eat them all, or are you having to clean them out of the water after each feed?

Can't wait to see how mine will do once they're actually eating the right thing :wacko:

you will have to change the water, they never eat them all!

They are tiny little orange dots.........I do daily water changes. BBS is messy.
While I think about it.....How does everyone move their babies around when it is water change time??? I gently tip them into a net at the moment but I must say Im scared Im going to hurt them...

I have the same fear. At the moment I am individually netting each of the 21 of them.. Takes a WHILE. I did the pour into a net trick once but it was scary..

I have many questions:
Do I need to feed them twice daily or is once enough?
How do I 'harvest' the BBS once hatched?
How long can I leave the BBS with my babies for them to be munched, before I need to clean them out? I am doing daily water changes and try to time them with a few hours after feeding..


THANKS!

LOVE the third picture! Exquisite quality! Congrats!

Oh and some of my BBS are white.. strange huh? I did 2 tubs with the same eggs (only difference was the amount of salt) and one tub has orange, the other tub white.. Curious huh?

hey! I have been feeding my babies once a day, only because my brine shrimp manage to stay alive in the tank for 24 hours. As soon as they die its recommended to clean them out and put new ones in. Another factor... my babies get HUGE, their bellies are so full they can't move sometimes. So i leave it, i fear they might pop if I feed them twice a day! It entirely depends on your conditions, you will eventually figure out what suits your babies best!

i have found the best way to harvest the brine shrimp is using a turkey baster (a necessary tool for raising babies, you can get them in kitchen shops) and some paper coffee filters, they are the only thing fine enough to filter the shrimp.

- Fold the edges of the paper filter over a tall drinking glass or jar or mug or whatever container it fits over. It has to stay in place.

- Let the BS hatchery settle for 5 minutes so the shrimp sit at the bottom. Then get the turkey baster and suck up the shrimp at the bottom, trying not to get any eggs.

- Squirt it into the coffee filter on top of the glass. This will filter out the shrimp from the salt water. Keep adding as much shrimp as you would like as the salt water drips into the glass. It gets full quickly so you will have to separate the paper filter and empty the glass sometimes, carfeully putting it back on the glass after.

- make sure all of the water doesn't filter out from the shrimp, we don’t want them to dry out and die. Once you have the rite amount of shrimp keep topping the filter up with fresh water, to dilute the saltiness. Keep adding fresh water until the brine shrimp/water mix no longer tastes salty (yes stick your finger in there and lick it!).

- turkey baste or pour the fresh water brine shrimp mix in with your babies!

i drew this picture, if it makes sense

That's brilliant! Thank you, I'll be using those harvesting instructions soon!

I was wondering about the water changes too - it seems to stress mine out to move them (I scoop them up on a little flat net I made out of wire and a stocking, and put them straight in their new water), and it occurred to me to wonder how they coped with the water quality in the original dirty ol' lake/river, with their tendency to sit still so much of the time.

What is the issue with water quality and babies - is it that their gills get clogged when it's stagnant and there's uneaten food around? Would this be improved if the water was filtered - should I move the babies to a tank with their original filter, or keep using the shallow unfiltered containers and daily water changes? I don't want to sacrifice any of them by experimenting (a few have died on me already and it's quite traumatic over time, fishing out the little ones that didn't make it) so I'm trying to follow instructions closely.

Any suggestions would be very welcome!

Thanks so much Rach! Time to go buy coffee filters. Umm.. but I guess harvesting was the wrong word.. I meant how/ what do I use to take them out of the hatchery when they are hatched.. and where do I put them (fridge?) ? So that I can start hatching new ones.. Well I mean.. I don't need specifics I just have a few questions.. If I pour the solution of hatched BBS along with left over unhatched eggs, into a container with airholes, and then fridge it, will that work? And if so, how long will they last before they kark it.. and also do i need to feed them?

Thanks, sorry about the confusion!

hey! I just keep them bubbling in the hatchery. They will die after a few days and you will need to start another one. Apparently you can feed them and keep them alive (they eat anything smaler than themselves, algae pellets, spirrulina, yeast, flour) but its a pain it the butt. You have to filter the shrimp and the water to keep it clean and replace the water. Also they are at their highest nutritionally after they have hatched, so its recommended to feed them after they have first hatched and discard them after a few days. you will not be able to use all of the brine shrimp, they are just so small and there are so many. Its a process where you will hatch many and only use a few in comparison. If you feel there is too much waste don't put as many eggs in the hatchery at once, it will not matter because they will condense at the bottom hen you let them settle. A day before you discard the current hatchery make sure you start another so there will be a constant supply of food.

you have to keep the unhatched BS eggs in the fridge and hatch them when you are ready.

Water quality is important to babies, the brine shrimp are very messy and quickly release ammonia when they die, and the babies have a much higher surface area sitting in and absorbing the bad water. Lakes might seem more dirty, but they also have a constant supply of flowing water, in a natural ecosystem that can clean and heal itself to sustain life. We have to simulate that the best we can in a tank through water changes or filtration. Filters can suck up babies though because they are so small, and if you keep them all in the same tank they can eat each other, so its not recommended until they get bigger. I have been doing water changes in the same way, i pour them through a net and put them in their new water. They are strong and they can handle it, even though theey wiggle and look a little confused afterwards there will always be a few caualties when raising babies, and its nothing you can avoid. there can be unseen genetic issues, they are a very inbred species after all. Allthough its sad try to remember its probably not anything you have done.

Sorry, I have had a sick baby(human one) at home and I couldnt find the time to get on and check things out. Thanks for the comments. I think Im pretty clever and they are sooooo cute.
I do the same harvest procedures as yellowpebble except I use a kitchen cloth instead of a coffee filter. I feed my babies morning and night and do a 100% water change a couple of hours after they eat. I have 2 hatcheries going so they have fresh BBS, I also find that the BBs stay alive longer in the tank doing it this way.
The babies are so cute with their little orange bellies after they feed, mine stuggle to move.

haha mine cant moove after they eat either! It looks exactly how you feel after christmas dinner