Hatching BBS.

[f250fisherman]

I thought I would put how I hatch bbs. I make my own hatchers. I followed the directions from BSD, and my hatch rate tripled. Here is just a few of the directions. I recommend reading their entire article.

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of salt per quart (or liter) of water.
A starting pH of 8.0 or higher is recommended.
Optimum water temperature for a 24 hour complete hatch is 80-82° F or 26-28° C
Illumination is necessary to trigger the hatching mechanism within the embryo during the first few hours of incubation.
Constant aeration is necessary to keep cysts in suspension and to provide sufficient oxygen levels for the cysts to hatch
Generally, the optimum incubation time is 24 hours.
Storing:
1. In a tightly sealed container
2. Free from moisture
3. In a cool environment at or below 50 F
(Refrigeration is ideal. Freezing can lower
metabolic activity and delay hatch-out.)
4. The above storage guidelines apply to all
brine shrimp eggs both opened and unopened
containers.

I'll post pics of my setup.

I'll post pics of my setup.

 

[f250fisherman]

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[f250fisherman]

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[f250fisherman]

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[f250fisherman]

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[f250fisherman]

I put 2 hatchers in a 5 gal bucket. I hang a small light in the bucket. This is my heat source, and the light needed to improve hatching. I cover the bucket with a towel to hold the heat in. I have a thermometer in the bucket, so I adjust the towel to control the heat. I use the air valves to shut off air 15 min before harvesting. This allows the eggs to rise and float, and the bbs swim down towards the light they see at the bottom of the hatcher.. I unhook the airline at the time I stop the air. By the time I go to drain the bbs out of the airline tubing, they have already swam into the tubing to get to the light. One big point to make. Don't get greedy and try to get every bit of the bbs. As the water level goes down, you might get some eggs if you go too far. I cut the bottom off a large plastic cup. I put a coffee filter on the lip of the cup, held with a rubber band. I drain the airline tubing into the filter. When I am done draining, I rinse the bbs under the faucet. I turn the filter upside down in a plastic tray with aged treated water for tanks. The bbs swim in the new clean aged water. I use a syringe to gather bbs to feed. I use a syringe for anything I want to measure. Feeding too much bbs causes sbd, not to mention fouling the fry tank with uneaten food. Just a tip. Feed some Micro Worms when you turn air off hatcher. This allows the fry to partially fill up on MW, and decreases the amount of bbs that is eaten. I know that fry eating bbs egg shells is the number 1 reason for sbd, but eating too many bbs can contribute as well.