Alternative method to raise adult brine shrimp

[2poor2reef]

I can't find a source of adult live brine shrimp in my area and I have used the standard 2 litre bottle system to hatch live brine but I have not been sucessful rearing them to adulthood. I need small regular quantities so I would like to try rearing them in a standard 5g aquarium. My thought is to use a powerfilter to filter the water without regular water changes and to eliminate the hatched shells, a sand bed with infauna to provide additional filtration and process dead shrimp and unhatched cysts, and to feed them phyto, spirulina, etc. through to adulthood. Then I would gut load and feed.

Anyone have experience with something similar or have an alternative to trying to rear adults in a hatching cone? TIA.

[ July 19, 2001: Message edited by: 2poor2reef ]

 

[percula]

Using a powerfilter is out of the question. Just use an aquarium with two airstones. Works wonders. Feed High quality stuff.

 

[2poor2reef]

Hey perc, I assume that's because the powerfilter would eat the naupili, right? How do you deal with the water quality long term without using carbon? I don't want to do daily water changes. That's half the problem with long term use of the cones.

 

[percula]

The power filter would eat everything. ALthough if you got a huge tank and an itty bitty maybe 50GPH and put a sponge over the incoming water... it might work, I wouldnt try it... You odnt have to do daily water changes, more like weekly... or get lazy, last ttime I cultured, I got lazy, and no problems... 10G tank. Remember It wasnt more than a week and a half before water changes I wasnt that lazy... and that would be bad.

 

[danmhippo]

When you want to harvest your artemia, you should use a cup and scoop a couple cupfull of water with artemia out, strain the water through a net and discard the water. When you replenish water back to the 5G tank, you are already doing water changes.