# Brine shrimp... can I use as a food suppliment for tads?



## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, I am wondering if I can feed live brineshrimp to tads, I have heard of dried brineshrimp being fed to tads with good results.
Anybody here culture brine shrimp? I also have a pair of betta that the eggs just hatched, so I am trying to figure out how to culture brineshrimp for food for the betta.
If anybody could tell me how they culture brine shrimp and your results I would be thankful.

Thanks, Curt.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

There's not much nutrional value to adult brine shrimp. BUT, newly hatched baby brine shrimp are full of nutrition. Also, decapsulated brine shrimp eggs are just as good, some say even better, if you don't want to go through the hassle of hatching brine shrimp eggs.


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, are brineshrimp eggs dry brown and smaller then sand? I am working on getting culturing them, I just started it earlier today. Anybody have any tips? Thanks Gary, is it logical to breed brine shrimp to feed tads, and fish? Or is there a dry food for betta fry?

Thanks for the info, Curt.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Brine shrimp are usually brownish in color and are small like grains of sand.

If you want to feed brine shrimp I would feed the unhatched DECAPSULATED brine shrimp eggs. Those are the brine shrimp eggs with the harder outer shell removed. YOU DO NOT WANT TO FEED REGULAR BRINE SHRIMP EGGS.

You can find them at http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

I use brine shrimp to feed my axolotl tads. They are pretty easy to culture, but I think that they would be too salty for tadpoles. My axies eat them like mad. After a few minutes they have bulging pink bellies. It's pretty funny. But yeah, I use brineshrimpdirect as well. Get a kit, the bubbler is awsome. I add a tablespoon of seasalt to a scoop of brineshrimp eggs fill a liter of water and add a bubbler. They hatch in 24 hours. I can send you picks of the set up if you want.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

Dave,

Do you think for pdf tads that the feeding the decapped eggs would be just as good as feeding the hatched baby brine shrimp without the fuss? I don't think there's any advantage to feeding the hatched eggs. And, like you said, with the hatched eggs you have the salt to worry about.

I've got some left over decapped eggs from my tropical fish days. I think I'm going to give them a try with my next clutch of azureus eggs that just hatched.


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## KeroKero (Jun 13, 2004)

I've used brine shrimp for fish and juvie salamaders before... while there are some tadpoles particularly well known for loving some mosquito larvae (vents come to mind) I don't really think of Dendrobatid tads as being predatory, but rather detritus eaters. Tadpole wise (I'm being rediculously general here) the anuran (frog, treefrog, and toads) tadpoles are detritus/vegetation eaters, while caudate (newts and salamanders) are predatory. I'd vote for trying the decapped eggs rather than the hatched and active shrimp. I'd probably prefer those, if they are eaten, over the freeze dried adult shrimp if they have a better nutritional value.


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

> I've got some left over decapped eggs from my tropical fish days. I think I'm going to give them a try with my next clutch of azureus eggs that just hatched.


That's a good question Gary. I wanted to try it too. It couldn't hurt. I was told to be wary with shells when feeding my axolotls as they can get caught in their throats. I have no idea about the validity of this claim or not. PDF tads are way larger than axies tads so give it a try. Let us know what you think.


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Hey, I had something weird happen to me, the bowl that I have my betta fry in had a few brine shrimp eggs, the petstore owner said it couldn't hurt to toss a few eggs in. Well about 36 hours later I have tiny brineshrimp swimming all over the place in the glass bowl that does not have a bubbler on it. If they hatch this easy why don't people do it this way unstead of a bubbler? (just eggs in a glass bowl at room tempature)

How are the frozen brineshrimp not salty but the live ones are?

Hey, yes ED I would love to see some pictures of your set-up.

Thanks, Curt.


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

Set up


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## Curt61 (Jan 16, 2007)

Thanks for the pics Ed. I just have a one gallon tupperware continer full of water with water and eggs in it with the end of a bubbler stuck into the water. I have been so busy lately that I think I messed up the culture I had going, I will retry when I get less busy.

Thanks again, Curt.


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## EDs Fly Meat (Apr 29, 2004)

You can use a 2 liter bottle (Like from soda) add an air pump and some tubing and you're set. The key element is a filter to collect brine shrimp.
Brineshrimp direct sells them as well. I am happy with my new one.


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

ED's_Fly_Meat_Inc said:


> > I've got some left over decapped eggs from my tropical fish days. I think I'm going to give them a try with my next clutch of azureus eggs that just hatched.
> 
> 
> That's a good question Gary. I wanted to try it too. It couldn't hurt. I was told to be wary with shells when feeding my axolotls as they can get caught in their throats. I have no idea about the validity of this claim or not. PDF tads are way larger than axies tads so give it a try. Let us know what you think.



I don't think this is of concern to tads, but small fry like baby sea horses getting caught in the mouth drowning the fish. Though I've never fed brine shrimp eggs to anything and don't condone doing so for dart tads.

Brine shrimp can be cultured using an old fashioned glass fish bowl w/ an open top, the don't need any ventialtion. Surface exchange of gas is enough for them. If you wanted to culture a huge concentration of them in a small space it may help, but not really neccessary. I used to have a bowl of them in my North window (North not South) and rarely had to feed them just keep the water toppped of and when it gets older you have to add a little more salt. Surprisingly algae was able to grow on/in the bowl, must have something to do w/ the salt varieties because you could never get a freshwater to grow under the same amount of light. Don't go Southern exposure on them or they will cook and there's a possibilty of catching your house on fire by having a round fish bowl full of water on your counter.

I've never fed brine shrimp to tads, but I have used their freshwater cousin the fairy shrimp, some tads really go for them and can be quite a chase watching them swim after the red tail. Very difficult to culture yourself though as they do need a dry dormancy period for their eggs to hatch, not at all practicle. One my favorite crustaceans to culture and feed are daphnia, very easy, just as easy as brine shrimp but w/ one less detail, no salt, no rinsing, just fill up the eye dropper w/ the culture water and all and add it to your tad container. They don't get the attention from the tads as do fairy shrimp but if their hungry they'll try. Amphipods etc. are just as easy and can be fed the left over daphnia and pretty much anythings, make sure you crush them dead before giving to tads. Also these must be fed as a TREAT, not an everday addition, once every couple weeks is plenty. But things such as daphnia can be
present in the tad container all the time and will even start to culture themselves if kept under lighted/'dirty' conditions.


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## gary1218 (Dec 31, 2005)

stchupa said:


> Though I've never fed brine shrimp eggs to anything and don't condone doing so for dart tads.


Why is that???


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## stchupa (Apr 25, 2006)

gary1218 said:


> stchupa said:
> 
> 
> > Though I've never fed brine shrimp eggs to anything and don't condone doing so for dart tads.
> ...


Just because I've never tried it myself and never heard of anyone else doing it. Never *needed* to fed anything shrimp eggs That's not to say it's 'good' or 'bad', I just don't know. For all I know they could be the wonder food everyone has been looking for. I'm not in need of trying it, but I would be interested in hearing people who have/do.


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