How to Raise Brine Shrimp: Getting Started
If you want an indoor pet that is less work and expense than a dog/cat/hamster/fish but a bit more interesting than a plant, brine shrimp (aka sea monkeys) are a decent way to go.
Things you'll need:
My brine shrimp tank is a glass terrarium that can hold 2 qt / ~ 2 L of water and has a removable lid. It also conveniently fits snugly on top of my glass Ikea desk lamp to keep it warm. I'll probably start putting it on a windowsill to begin growing algae soon, but for the hatching I wanted to keep it near a heat source.
Mix the Salt Water
Add brine shrimp!
Brine Shrimp Hatch!
After about 20 hours or so the brine shrimp will start hatching, and you'll see small white dots darting about in the water. They will hatch sooner if the water is warmer, ideally between 25-30°C/77-86°F (according to this site). Initially they'll be fed from the yolk sac in their egg. This is also called the "umbrella stage" because they look like little umbrellas, with the shrimp hanging down from the egg above them.
Twenty-four hours after hatching, the brine shrimp will lose the yolk sac and be swimming around freely. Brine shrimp are basically the goats of the sea-- they'll eat anything that they can fit into their mouths. This means any particle small enough to get taken up by their legs as they swim, shrimp-like, around constantly.
Feeding Your Brine Shrimp
Feed your brine shrimp either brine shrimp food, powdered spirulina, yeast, or some people make their own and go for ground up egg yolk. Feeding is easy, just put the powder into the water and I like to stir it up to distribute it more evenly. Just make sure not to feed too much-- whatever fits onto a knife tip, or just the end of a matchstick. Overfeeding brine shrimp is like overwatering a plant, one of the easiest and common ways to kill them. Feed the shrimp about once every five days.
Aerate Your Brine Shrimp
Brine shrimp breathe dissolved oxygen in the water. You can add oxygen by putting in an air pump or manually mixing air into the water. This can be done in a few different ways:
Algae Growth
The other thing you can do is put your tank in direct sunlight for one hour a day to promote algae growth. This is the perfect food for brine shrimp and if you have enough algae one day (after several months) then you may not even need to feed them with your own food.
Good luck!
Things you'll need:
- tank: glass or plastic container that can hold 1-2 L/qt of water (glass vase, mason or other jar; make sure to wash out all food particles thoroughly with hot water)
- de-chlorinated water: either water that is boiled and cooled, or bottled or distilled water
- sea salt: must not contain iodine, check the label! Regular Morton's salt is no good here, go for organic untreated salt with no additives
- baking soda (just a pinch will do)
- brine shrimp eggs
- brine shrimp food
- something to stir and aerate the water
My brine shrimp tank is a glass terrarium that can hold 2 qt / ~ 2 L of water and has a removable lid. It also conveniently fits snugly on top of my glass Ikea desk lamp to keep it warm. I'll probably start putting it on a windowsill to begin growing algae soon, but for the hatching I wanted to keep it near a heat source.
Mix the Salt Water
- Pour the water into the tank.
- Add the salt at the following concentration: 1 2/3 tb salt / 1 L water
- Add pinch of baking soda (this raises the pH level in case you have soft water)
- Stir the water to dissolve everything.
Add brine shrimp!
Once the water is ready to go, add a tiny bit of brine shrimp. I would say as much as could cover the top of a pencil eraser. Then stir the water in the tank to aerate the water. This hydrates the eggs so they start hatching.
Brine Shrimp Hatch!
After about 20 hours or so the brine shrimp will start hatching, and you'll see small white dots darting about in the water. They will hatch sooner if the water is warmer, ideally between 25-30°C/77-86°F (according to this site). Initially they'll be fed from the yolk sac in their egg. This is also called the "umbrella stage" because they look like little umbrellas, with the shrimp hanging down from the egg above them.
Twenty-four hours after hatching, the brine shrimp will lose the yolk sac and be swimming around freely. Brine shrimp are basically the goats of the sea-- they'll eat anything that they can fit into their mouths. This means any particle small enough to get taken up by their legs as they swim, shrimp-like, around constantly.
Feeding Your Brine Shrimp
Feed your brine shrimp either brine shrimp food, powdered spirulina, yeast, or some people make their own and go for ground up egg yolk. Feeding is easy, just put the powder into the water and I like to stir it up to distribute it more evenly. Just make sure not to feed too much-- whatever fits onto a knife tip, or just the end of a matchstick. Overfeeding brine shrimp is like overwatering a plant, one of the easiest and common ways to kill them. Feed the shrimp about once every five days.
Aerate Your Brine Shrimp
Brine shrimp breathe dissolved oxygen in the water. You can add oxygen by putting in an air pump or manually mixing air into the water. This can be done in a few different ways:
- Stir the water somewhat vigorously a few times a day
- Pour the water in the tank between two containers 3-4 times
- Getting a pipette or well-cleaned turkey baster and pumping air into the tank a couple times a day
Algae Growth
The other thing you can do is put your tank in direct sunlight for one hour a day to promote algae growth. This is the perfect food for brine shrimp and if you have enough algae one day (after several months) then you may not even need to feed them with your own food.
Good luck!
