Directions/Specifications
Read this article with step-by-step instructions.
Hatching Tips:
— Use Aquarium Co-Op Brine Shrimp Eggs with salt water to make live baby brine shrimp. For the best hatch rates, use Easy Brine Shrimp Salt.
— We recommend using the Ziss brine shrimp hatchery as the hatching container.
— If your water contains chlorine, it is not necessary to use a dechlorinator, as the chlorine will help dissolve the egg casings and will also gas off by the time the shrimp have hatched. If your water contains chloramine, we recommend using water that has been dechlorinated.
— Hatching the eggs at 75–80°F will allow you to harvest 36 hours later. Use a lamp to provide a heat source if needed.
Harvesting Tips:
— Once you have your brine shrimp hatched, remove your air source and let them settle.
— Baby brine shrimp are attracted to light and will move towards it, so we recommend shining a small lamp or flashlight at the bottom of the hatchery to make collection easier.
— Egg shells will float to the top and brine shrimp will go towards the light. Set a timer for 10 minutes, and then open the valve on the hatchery to drain out the live brine shrimp.
— From there, you can rinse your brine shrimp with a brine shrimp net or sieve to remove the salty wastewater. Or you can feed with the salt water to give your plants a boost of nutrients. (Keep an eye on water parameters when using this latter method as regular water changes are recommended.)
— Thoroughly scrub the hatchery and lid with hot water (no soap) before hatching the next batch of eggs. Leftover residue may cause you to have a lower hatch rate next time.
We all have different starting water from our tap, so it is expected that a bit of trial and error is required to reach peak hatching technique with your water and your temperatures. It's a bit like cooking — you can have all the ingredients, but there is a bit of experience needed to achieve the best results.
Storage in Freezer:
It's best to store eggs where they'll be exposed to the least amount of oxygen, humidity, and heat. Eggs need moisture, oxygen, and warmth to start hatching. Most hobbyists keep a small portion of the eggs in a resealable container for easy accessibility and store the rest of the eggs in the fridge or freezer for the long term. If you leave your brine shrimp eggs out, they'll still hatch, but you can see the hatch rate go down over time. In our own testing, eggs sitting in a fish room for months still hatched great, and eggs kept in a fridge for years also hatched well.
At Aquarium Co-Op, we store the cans of eggs in a cooler and ship them this way to help ensure freshness. While not required, we go the extra step. We only want to help prevent them from getting far too hot in a mailbox, which can get well over 100°F. Prolonged exposure to temperatures above 80°F, oxygen, or moisture may start the hatching process. This is a non-issue while shipping, but once you've opened them, the best practice is to store them in the fridge.