Re: Hatching Brine Shrimp

[BigJohnW@webtv.net (John Wubbolt)]

Hello Randy
I am very fortunate that i have been getting good hatch rates out of my
cans, im not sure of the brand name, but i get them through my killie
club.   UNYKA buys cans by the case and sells them to club members,
where ever we can get a good deal in bulk numbers is where we've been
getting them from.   In the past i have had a few cans that were not
very good hatch rates. I've always found that adding a little extra salt
helps me get better hatch rates.   I dont know if im being overly
cautious but i use marine salts for my hatching salts, ive found this to
be the best.   People say that salt is salt , but this isnt so.
Several years ago a former member of my Killie group, Jeff Bilbrough,
ran a test on hatching brine shrimp.   He found that if you use regular
salt to hatch bbs, that the pH in the jar was ok ( alkaline around 7.8 )
until they eggs hatched then the pH went down alot to around 7.2 or in
that range.   Using Marine salt, pH before hatching was around 8.0 and
stayed higher after eggs hatched, above 7.6.    What ever reasons, Using
Marine salts helped life span of baby brine shrimp and helped hatch
rates.   I cant be specific of all details as Jeff passed away awhile
ago.   But i know he was a very good aquarist, one of the best i've ever
known.   What he did worked and has worked for me since.    So my
recomendation is to try using marine salts.   Costs me $30 for a big 5
gallon bucket and i've been using it for around a year now!!   For the
10 or 15 cents a day , why not , considering the cost of eggs now!

John



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