FAQ's:
Cool, dry storage is recommended. All our brineshrimp are refridgerated to maintain a long shelf life and sealed in airtight, nitrogen-flushed containers. The 30g and 150g tubs are only prepared whenever necessary. We strongly recommend you purchase quantities that you know will be used within a 4-6 month period from purchase and store in an airtight container.
To set up a new brineshrimp culture add 35g marine salt per litre and aerate the water to dissolve the salt. The rigid air tube should reach the bottom of the vessel to keep the whole water column in motion. Small 25w Visitherm heaters can be used to bring the water temperature towards 20-26 deg. C. be sure that rubber suction feet are used to mount the heater away from the hatcher sides to avoid damage to the plastic. Add 2.5 - 5.0g (half to one flat teaspoon) of brineshrimp cysts per litre and adjust the flow with the plastic air valve so that none of the cysts are resting on the base and incubate for 24-36 hours.
Switch off the heater at least 30 mins before you are ready to start harvesting. After this 30 mins stop the air supply and remove the lid and airtube to allow the egg cases and hatched shrimp to separate. After 8-10 minutes the egg cases will be at the surface and the hatched shrimp will have sunk to the base. Now using the beaker provided collect the hatched shrimp and if possible rinse them with fresh water before feeding to your fish. The remaining hatcher volume can be discarded to waste before rinsing the hatcher out (without using a detergent) and leaving to dry.
HUFA (Highly Unsaturated Fatty Acid) enrichment of newly hatched brineshrimp is a 24 hour procedure so that the HUFA enrichment has been consumed and is present in the gut before harvesting and feeding. This treatment is specifically important in the very early nutrition of marine fish species including seahorses. The HUFA's identified as important are EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and from extensive research these should be provided in a 2:1 to 3:1 ratio.
The new 2005 protocol for single dose HUFA enriched brineshrimp: 1. For each 1 litre culture set up with 1g cysts per 1 litre. 2. take HUFA out from the fridge one day before use (same day as culture setup). 3. emulsify 0.6 g or 1 ml of HUFA in 8ml fresh culture water using a clean pipette 4. add emulsion to new hatched shrimp and harvest after 24 hrs.
Hatcher cleaning & Disinfection:
Hatchers can simply be cleaned with warm water and a soft foam sponge. Use a Fishroom Disinfectant (see online catalogue) rather than detergents when cleaning to avoid unwanted residues or compromising the waterproof seals in the outlet valves. Rinse with clean water and leave to dry before reuse.
Cyst decapsulation is a chemical treatment to remove the outer shell of hydrated cysts so that they can be fed directly to fish with out the incubation process. The decapsulation process can also be used on older stocks of cysts to assist the hatching efficiency.
1. rehydrate the cysts in seawater for hour.
2. transfer the cysts to a solution of sodium hypochlorite solution containing 0.5g active product per gram of cyst.
3. oxidation begins immediately and last approximately 7-10 minutes.
4. collect, strain, rinse, and immerse in a 0.1% sodium thiosulphate solution for 1minute, and rinse with water.
