# Brine shrimp - Ok to feed on regular basis?



## CatG

I was wondering if it was ok to feed brine shrimp on a regular basis. I found a thingie that hatches the shrimp, plus allows them to migrate up a tube and into the aquarium (supposedly without the brine water getting into the tank). I keep hearing that live foods would be good for my fish and thought this might be a good idea, however I was wondering if there were any drawbacks to this. Will the fish over eat if they have a constant supply of brine shrimp? Do I still need to supplement with flakes/pellets? If so, what and how much/often? Will having a constant inflow of shrimp mess up my tank, or is it generally better than putting commercial food in there?

The fish I have are 4 cardinal tetras (will be getting a total of 10 or 11 in a couple of weeks), and these are the fish that the shrimp will mainly be for. I have a siamensis that may eat them (not sure, but he eats the little worms). I also have 4 albino corys and 4 otos, plus I plan on getting 2 to 4 Bolivian rams somewhere down the road. Are the brine shrimp good for these fish?

Here is a link to the hatchery thingie: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+7954+10692&pcatid=10692

Any info is appreciated.
Thanks,
Cat


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## joshvito

> Do I still need to supplement with flakes/pellets?


you definitely want to feed a variety of foods. 
Brine shrimp is a great supplemental food source for most fish.
I would be leery of a constant supply though. Depending on the rate of the hatching, the hatchery may cause more problems than it is worth.

If you aren't already hatching and feeding brine shrimp, I suggest getting a can of cysts/eggs and hatch some in a used mason jar or 2 liter. You can get fair priced eggs at http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/

-they have great information on the subject, if you need more.


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## Franzi

I don't think brine shrimp offer high nutritional value. That and whatever hatches will be tiny baby size. I don't think you feel like raising them to adulthood. I too think it's more trouble than it is worth.

I buy live ones from time to time. The fish definitely do love them.


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## Brilliant

Check out my brine shrimp hatchery.

I use live brine shrimp to feed baby fish or new fish. It is on special occasions not daily.


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## CatG

Thanks for the info guys! I will skip the live brine shrimp.

Cat


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## Gordon C. Snelling

No reason to skip on the brine. BBs has great nutritional value. The only potential problem I see would be fouling of the tank if the hatchery provided more shrimp than the fish can handle and they go bad.


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## James He

Shell-less brine shrimp egg is another good choice.
I fed my baby angel with live baby brine shrimp, then switch to shell-less brine shrimp egg. very good for small fishes. also shell-less brine shrimp egg has better nutritional value then live baby brine shrimp, as energy been saved without hatch them.

You can find shell less brine shrimp egg from brineshrimpdirect at above link as Joshvito provided.

James


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## CatG

Sorry for the delay. Thanks for the info! I got some frozen brine shrimp, so I will start with that.

Thanks again,
Cat


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## geeks_15

I feed live baby brine shrimp almost every day. I also feed flake food as the staple and occasional other live foods.

My fish are doing very well and I've had great breeding success since starting my brine shrimp hatchery. I breed mostly dwarf cichlids.

I wouldn't run the shrimp directly into the tank. A BBS hatchery can be setup very easily with minimal maintenance.


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## CatG

I think I fed too much of the frozen shrimp/bloodworms, so now my nitrate levels are 20+. Oops. I've got 4 corys, 4 cardinals, and a siamensis that eat them. I also have 4 otos, but I don't think they eat the stuff. I've been dropping in 1 cube at feeding time (maybe once or twice a week as a treat), so should I cut the cubes in half? Maybe in quarters? I am also switiching to feeding every other day as opposed to every day.

EDIT: Just for clarification - I'm not feeding one cube of each, but one cube of either shrimp OR bloodworms.

I'm not able to do water changes at this time as I am medicating the tank for ich, and the meds say not to do water changes. I plan on mixing up new ferts and NOT including KNO3 to try to get those down a bit, but is there anything else I can do to get the levels down?

I guess it's going to take some trial and error to get the feeding down correctly. 

Cat


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## Six

Baby brine are excellent for fry and other small fish. Adult shrimp aren't much more than an exoskeleton and water. If you get frozen, I'd get baby brine or at least enriched adult brine. Another great frozen foos is Cyclopeeze.


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