can you do brine shrimp for freshwater?

Question

i was thinking about switching my flakes to a live food. I could do live worms but that is like 3 buvks a portion wich is nothing lol. So i was thinking about a hatchery of brine shrimp but i hear it is only for saltwater is that true? any ideas?

Answer 1

You must hatch the shrimp in saltwater, but that's easy and just in the hatchery. Once hatched you can feed them to freshwater fish. Of course, brine shrimp isn't the only thing that's cheap, fresh and good for your fish. Here's a link to an article I wrote about live foods that might give you some more ideas. Feel free to drop me a line with any questions.

http://freshwater.fanatics.googlepages.com/freefishfood

You should NOT completely do away with flake food in your fishes diet. Keep some prepared foods and just add in the live stuff.

MM

Answer 2

Easy to do with a soda/pop bottle, eggs (purchased in dry form from petsmart, petco and even walmart) dechlor water non iodized salt and an air pump (Brine shrimp are known better as sea monkey's). You can purchase a hatchery which comes with all of this included from Pet co for I believe $8.00-10.00. They are shrimp.

They hatch within 24-48 hours they will be small but are ready for your fresh water fish. They grow quickly. another option would be frozen brine shrimp. These can be purchased also at pet co or petsmart in as little or as much as you want. Just thaw in water. If you feed your fish a rounded diet, which includes vit. c there is no problem getting away from flake foods. (There is no flake food in the wild!) Just be sure to mix various live or frozen foods. If you are not sure if they are getting enough vit. c. Toss in a pea every now and then. Not only is it good for their digestion, but also contains vit. c.

I rarely if ever feed my fresh water tank fish flake foods. I use pellets, worms, oranges, peas, greenbeans, lettuce and brine for the pond fish however, no flake.

Wanted to add: DO NOT USE a sea monkey kit. These kits use dyes and other chemicals you really don't want in your fresh water tank.

Answer 3

Yes. Brine shrimp, or "brine" comes for the word salt. Brine shrimp are saltwater creatures. Also known as krill.

If you want to serve freshwater live treats, I'd suggest red worms. Many states now prohibit the sale of red worms, but you are not outta luck. In those states that prohibit such, you can buy the freeze-dried variety. Regardless of where you live, if you are a swimmer, you can easily find them in at your local lake. Simply dive down and grab some of the yucky bottom and you are sure to find them. You can put them into your tank and they will grow under your gravel filter.

Answer 4

The brine shrimp or eggs you see for sale are salt water and will not survive in fresh. THe salt water prep for them is pretty easy, though. There are fresh water shrimp, but I don't know of any commercial sources.

Answer 5

You can, but they don't live long. Don't overfeed them or you will end up with the same problems you get with overfeeding flake food.

Brine shrimp incubators are relatively cheap and are a very easy way to get live food to your fish. You only need to have saltwater for the incubator as you can use salt or fresh water to fill the collector and then put them directly into the tank.

*EDIT*
Nice writeup Magicman! Many people overlook the value of a stagnant bucket put out in their garden or in the shade of a tree. These are perfect for making live food for the tank. Just to add to your section about flies, one can also grow maggots easily by laying out a hunk of meat (fish works very well but beef does to... try to stay away from poultry and pork for obvious reasons) and putting it under a board. After a couple days just lift the board and harvest what you need. I've found that many fish really love them and respond well. They put my discus in breeding condition and 6 pairs of Cobalt's gave me years of fry with maggots as supplements.

Answer 6

I have not have been given any concept :) whether it is cool nevertheless. Brine shrimp are meant to be very choosy approximately their salt content fabric with the intention to stay to tell the story that long. I even have had them stay to tell the story that long in salt water yet no longer in sparkling. In sparkling they stay approximately 2 or 4 days tops for me.

Answer 7

You hatch them in salt water, but to feed them to your freshwater fish, you should rinse them in freshwater first. I feed mine frozen brine shrimp, which is easier and just as good as "live".

Answer 8

depends on the shrimp's true habitat