Easy brine shrimp production?
by: Jeff Richard
11-02-2000

Very simple ... you'll need 3 two liter soda bottles w/caps, an appropriate sized air pump, valves setup for at least 3 airlines, airline tubing, ridged plastic tube (fits airline tube … I believe 1/8 inch), sieve or brine shrimp net, stand for soda bottles, 18 gallon Rubbermaid tub, 50 gallon bag of feed salt (non-iodized), hydrometer, source of heat (needs to be 80-82 degrees).

Cut the bottom off each soda bottle. Tighten the cap. Invert the bottle. You'll fill each bottle with salt water. Connect a 12 inch piece of Rigid tube to an airline tube (which is connected to the air pump/valves. Place the rigid tube inside the bottle sitting on the bottom … no need for airstone. Aerate vigorously. Add up to 1 tablespoon of BS eggs per bottle. Let hatch for 36 Hours … harvest at that time. I set up 3 so I can harvest every 12 hours … feed 2x daily.

To harvest, disconnect airline from valve, but keep the rigid tube in the bottle. Let the shrimp settle for 10-15 minutes … they will sink to the bottom. Siphon the shrimp into a sieve (coffee maker filter is great … check out AngelsPlus if you want one) or brine shrimp net. Since the rigid tube is at the bottom of the bottle, the shrimp will be siphoned before the egg shells. Stop the siphon before the floating egg shells are siphoned out. Rinse the shrimp off and feed. DISCARD the water (don't try to reuse) and rinse the bottle out. Refill with salt water and add eggs.

The Rubbermaid tub is used to make up a quantity of salt water. Fill the tub and add enough livestock salt so the specific gravity is between 1.022 and 1.028. YOU NEED NOTHING ELSE … this salt works out fine. This way, you only have to dip and fill the bottle after each feeding … you only have to mix the water every 3-4 weeks.

If you do not have a warm fish room to hatch the shrimp, you can arrange the bottles in a ½ filled 5 gallon tank and use a heater to warm the water to 82 degrees. Just be careful to make sure the bottles don't tip (been there, done that).

Good luck