Post by bunnie1978 on May 24, 2010 7:34:41 GMT -6
I have to hatch out bbs every couple of days for my angel, krib, and ram fry. Here is a step by step to how I do it.
Supplies:
1 or 2 two-liter bottles
Drill
Airline
Airstone stump (airstone, with the stone part broken off)
Air pump
Funnel
Brine shrimp eggs
Fine mesh net or coffee filter (net is way easier!)
Tall glass
Spoon
Bleach
Non-iodized salt (from the grocery store)
Baking soda
Declorinator
Preparation:
Clean 2L bottle.
In cap, drill two holes. One slightly smaller than airline, one as small as you have a bit for.
Cut the end of the airline at an angle to help get it through the hole. You want it tight, but it doesn't have to be airtight.
Pull the airline through and attach your airstone stump (the cheap airstones break on their own after a month or so of use, leaving a plastic piece, which is what we're looking for.) DO NOT leave on the airstone. The small bubbles can kill the brine shrimp and won't create the turbulance we need. You want the airline to hang all the way down the bottle, but not touching any part of the bottom. The bubbles coming out force the end of the line to bounce around a little which eliminates the possibility that anything will settle.
Make your solution: 2 tablespoons non-iodized salt, one drop declorinator, about 1/4 tbs baking soda. Fill to about two inches from top of bottle. I use a second bottle to mix the solution, you'll see why in a moment. I also use hot water half way to dissolve the salt, then add cold water. You want warm water.
Decapsulation:
Add brine shrimp eggs (I use about 1 tsp) to glass. Add water to about two thirds the glass volume. Stir. You need to rehydrate the eggs, which only takes about 5 minutes, but you should try not to let the eggs settle on the bottom. Notice the color of the water when all the eggsare swirling. Dark brown.
After 5-10 minutes, fill the rest of the glass with bleach. This is the fun part. Keep stirring. The more bleach you use, the faster it goes, but the easier it is to kill the batch.
Watch your egg color. they should turn white right away and aftera couple minutes start to turn orange. I let the eggs settle to see how many are still white every minute or so. Then, pour the entire contents of the glass into your net and rinse with tap water. I do one more rinse with water with extra declorinator also. Now you want to get the eggsin your bottle with the solution. This is why I have the second bottle... I pour the solution over the net to rinse it out into the 2L bottle. Put your cap in, hook up to air - enough that there is alot of turbulence, but not enough that the water is splashing out the small hole.
It takes 12-18 hours to hatch if they are kept in a warm room.
Harvest:
Rinse in tap water the entire contents. You should make a fresh solution to either store the bbs in or put them back in the bottle. Also, its not a bad idea to add a pinch of YEAST. I make a fresh solution and pour it into 1 oz cups, add a tsp of the shrimp directly after rinsing and put in the refridgerator. You have to use them within 2 or 3 days.
Supplies:
1 or 2 two-liter bottles
Drill
Airline
Airstone stump (airstone, with the stone part broken off)
Air pump
Funnel
Brine shrimp eggs
Fine mesh net or coffee filter (net is way easier!)
Tall glass
Spoon
Bleach
Non-iodized salt (from the grocery store)
Baking soda
Declorinator
Preparation:
Clean 2L bottle.
In cap, drill two holes. One slightly smaller than airline, one as small as you have a bit for.
Cut the end of the airline at an angle to help get it through the hole. You want it tight, but it doesn't have to be airtight.
Pull the airline through and attach your airstone stump (the cheap airstones break on their own after a month or so of use, leaving a plastic piece, which is what we're looking for.) DO NOT leave on the airstone. The small bubbles can kill the brine shrimp and won't create the turbulance we need. You want the airline to hang all the way down the bottle, but not touching any part of the bottom. The bubbles coming out force the end of the line to bounce around a little which eliminates the possibility that anything will settle.
Make your solution: 2 tablespoons non-iodized salt, one drop declorinator, about 1/4 tbs baking soda. Fill to about two inches from top of bottle. I use a second bottle to mix the solution, you'll see why in a moment. I also use hot water half way to dissolve the salt, then add cold water. You want warm water.
Decapsulation:
Add brine shrimp eggs (I use about 1 tsp) to glass. Add water to about two thirds the glass volume. Stir. You need to rehydrate the eggs, which only takes about 5 minutes, but you should try not to let the eggs settle on the bottom. Notice the color of the water when all the eggsare swirling. Dark brown.
After 5-10 minutes, fill the rest of the glass with bleach. This is the fun part. Keep stirring. The more bleach you use, the faster it goes, but the easier it is to kill the batch.
Watch your egg color. they should turn white right away and aftera couple minutes start to turn orange. I let the eggs settle to see how many are still white every minute or so. Then, pour the entire contents of the glass into your net and rinse with tap water. I do one more rinse with water with extra declorinator also. Now you want to get the eggsin your bottle with the solution. This is why I have the second bottle... I pour the solution over the net to rinse it out into the 2L bottle. Put your cap in, hook up to air - enough that there is alot of turbulence, but not enough that the water is splashing out the small hole.
It takes 12-18 hours to hatch if they are kept in a warm room.
Harvest:
Rinse in tap water the entire contents. You should make a fresh solution to either store the bbs in or put them back in the bottle. Also, its not a bad idea to add a pinch of YEAST. I make a fresh solution and pour it into 1 oz cups, add a tsp of the shrimp directly after rinsing and put in the refridgerator. You have to use them within 2 or 3 days.
