Hatching Brine Shrimp

If you decide to breed the fishies, you will need food for the babies. Regular betta food will not do - the fry are too small. Microworms are best for the first food – starting from day 2 to day 5. After that you need to feed them Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS).

If you go with microworms as a first food, you will have to get a culture from someone. So I won't cover that. Besides, I haven't done it before.

But I have hatched baby brine shrimp!

Quick BBS Hatchery

You can make a brine shrimp hatchery with materials you probably have around the house: 2 2-litre soda bottles with caps (get clear ones so you can see what’s happening), a small piece of rigid airline, a small amount of aquarium sealant, and regular airline. You can get fancier with an in-line shut off valve. And you will need to attach the airline to a pump or gang valve so you get bubbles.

  1. Cut the bottom off the very end of one of the bottles. Cut close to the bottom.
  2. Take the bottle cap and drill or punch a small hole in the center (just big enough to fit the rigid airline).
  3. Insert the rigid airline through the bottle cap.
  4. Use the sealant around the rigid airline to prevent leaks. Let the sealant dry.
  5. Cut the top off the second bottle. This will be used as the stand.
  6. Punch a hole towards the bottom of the second bottle large enough for the airline to fit through.
  7. Screw the bottle cap into the first bottle. Attach the flexible airline to the rigid airline on the outside of the bottle. Feed it through the hole in the bottom bottle.
  8. If you are using a cut-off valve, attach the other end of the airline to the cut-off valve.
  9. Attach the airline to an inexpensive pump or to a gang valve on your aquarium.

That’s it.

Hatching the BBS

I don’t get too particular about hatching my BBS. What I do is:

  1. Fill the first bottle about ¾ full with tap water
  2. Start the pump running so that it is bubbling
  3. Add approximately 4 tablespoons of aquarium salt
  4. Add ¼ to ½ teaspoon BBS eggs

In about 24 hours you will notice that the hatchery contents have an orange cast. This means that they have hatched. The darker brown stuff that floats to the surface when you turn off the hatchery to harvest is BBS egg shells. Don’t feed them to your baby bettas.

When it is time to feed your baby bettas:

  1. Stop the pump by either removing the airline from the pump or shutting off the air valve. Keep the lose end of the airline above the hatchery if you don’t use an air valve.
  2. Wait at least 10 minutes for the live BBS to settle to the bottom.
  3. Drain the BBS from the bottom of the hatchery into a shrimp net. The fry won’t eat too much, so don’t drain the hatchery in one feeding.
  4. Re-attach the airline to the pump or in-line shut-off valve.
  5. Feed the fry by turning the brine shrimp net inside out over the tank and swishing lightly on the top of the water.

For keeping a constant supply of BBS, I recommend making two hatcheries. Start one culture, then start another in 12 hours. When you have fed from the first container for 12 hours, empty it, clean it and start a new batch. That way you can have a constant supply of BBS.

Hints