brine shrimp

[flaunt]

i'm trying to figure out whether it's beneficial to add live baby brine shrimp to my 10g. i've already done it just because i felt like trying something new... i also started adding dt's mainly because of my gorgonian but also for whatever else might decide to eat it.

 

overnight i hatched some brine shrimp, then about 5-6 hours later (this morning) i took some of them, rinsed them, and put them in a separate container with a thin layer of water. about an hour later i put about 1/2 a tsp of dt's in and stirred the mixture up. then about 6-8 hours after that i fed them to my tank (this evening). does this sound like a reasonble process for enriching the brine shrimp? also, since i'm adding dt's to my main tank would it be about the same if i just added the brine to the tank without first feeding them? i imagine they would eat some dt's in the main tank, but they might not get to eat as much before they're eaten by other things in the tank (i'm aware that they need about 6 hours after hatching to reach the point of where they filter food from the water). i don't have any fish, just several shrimp, some crabs, snails, a small clam, encrusting sponges, and some corals. my main question is this: will most corals benefit from having live baby brine swimming around that they may be able to snatch at some point? the corals were my main target in deciding to do this, so i'm hoping they will benefit from it.

[tinyreef]

i think it's a good idea. the brine might be a little too big after a while and a bit nutrient deficient but adds diversity. it'd benefit more aggressive corals like stonys but the gorgonian should definitely benefit.

 

slightly off-topic, i wanted to reply to this more to ask you on your 1g surge device and 1g refugium/sump. i didn't see your tank in the members forum or a site listed and i very curious to see that setup. so help a brother reefer out, POST SOME PICS MAN!

[Dave ESPI]

See my post on Seamonkeys are pets too ! there is a few good links there.. AFAIC, Baby brine os good for any tank, BUT decapsulated brine eggs are 10 X more nutritious. Try them too.

[flaunt]

thanks for the response tinyreef... i don't have too many corals right now but i do have a some stonies that were hitchhikers on a piece of rock. i think one type is called spaghetti something or other, i don't think it's an sps but the individual polyps aren't real big. i'm not too worried about the brine getting too big because that same rock has some other stonies that have larger polyps and should easily be able to consume an adult brine (i seriously doubt i'll have to worry about the babies growing up, but still). when i put the brine into the tank the gorgonian polyps weren't extended (seems like they're out more fully at night), so i couldn't see how they would react, but i think i observed some button polyps eating them when i squirted the brine over them, and possibly the spaghetti whatever that i mentioned earlier... either way i think the tank will benefit b/c i've got lots of bottom-dwelling creatures that should eat them if the brine just die and sink to the bottom.

 

anyway, you were wondering about my surge device... well i moved recently and decided it would be best to do away with the surge device, so i can't exactly just snap some pictures and put them up here. i could look around for some old ones though. there used to be some pictures in the diy section, but they may have disappeared with all the transition that was going on with this board. i still think i had a good idea and it might be something i'll try again in the future if/when i have a tank that would benefit more from it (like a tank with a lot of sps). the things i really liked about it were that it added water volume, served the dual purpose of refugium (the refuge was actually attached to the side of it by a pvc pipe), and obviously it made the current in the aquarium more chaotic and realistic.

[flaunt]

tinyreef,

well guess what? i found some old pictures of that surge setup that i had! i've got quite a few of them so i'll link them in here and provide some description... ok i can't get this thing to link the images in so i'll just provide a url to a web page with all the images:

http://www.geocities.com/flauntxls/files/aquarium/

 

let me know if you have problems with that link!

 

take note that i went through about three revisions of this system (i.e. 3 surge designs) before i settled on one that was completely reliable (i.e. would always surge). btw the device has an overflow pipe in case it doesn't surge. unfortunately i don't have any pics of the new design, the one shown is the original and based off some plans i found online. the one i found the most reliable involved a toilet flush drain (not the standard kind).. anyway, hopefully this gives you an idea of what i did and maybe some ideas about what you could do in your own system.

[Dave ESPI]

Im lost...... some clearification please?

 

WTF Is this Thread about?

 

EDIT: Okie Dokie I see now...LOL

[flaunt]

hrm well originally it was about feeding brine shrimp, but tinyreef asked me about my surge device so THAT'S what my last post was about... sorry for the confusion.

[tinyreef]

thanks for the link, very informative. sorry for going off-topic.

 

back on...i've seen brine shrimp get pretty big in an aquarium (length-wise about a 0.5"). i think it'd be pretty cool to get them like that. they're pretty quick and motile but that's probably at the end of their life cycle anyways :|

 

dave's correct about newly borns though, you may also want to gut-load them but i always find that tricky. a fine line between nutrition supplementation and soup. :x

[flaunt]

well last i looked all of the ones i put in the other day were gone, but who knows... i'm going to put some more in today. i'm not sure what you mean by "soup," maybe you can clarify. i'm just rinsing them and putting them in a small amount of saltwater and then squirting a bit of dt's into the container, waiting about 12 hours and putting them in the tank with a dropper. i read somewhere online (don't have a link) that feeding them to the tank 12-16 hours after putting food in the brine shrimp water ensures that they have eaten a lot of food but haven't yet digested it. supposedly after that 16 hour period of time they will have digested the food and won't be "gut loaded" as you put it. does that sound about right?

[tinyreef]

sorry, i meant 'soup' as to how my cultures usually end up. i never have the time and wherewithal to properly measure and culture supplemental foods (like you're doing properly )

 

that's why i setup the refugium and stay away from predatory corals. i've got three kids, now i have to feed my aquatic kids? forget it!

 

the setup sounds great if they're sucking up all the shrimp! the 16 hour window sounds a little long actually but what's a couple of hours between friends?