brine shrimp

[reefhunter]

can I add live brine shrimp to my refugium and have them naturally feed my tank?

[WaterDog]

can I add live brine shrimp to my refugium and have them naturally feed my tank?

 

I'm not a big refugium expert, but I always thought that was what copepods were for...

[bcjm]

I don't think they can reproduced well enough to feed the main tank.

[bluefunelement]

I was contemplating this for TigerPods or Mysis shrimp but havent done the research

[reefhunter]

so they dont reproduce quickly? can't I just add more so my refugium is loaded with them and then that will help with numbers?

[bcjm]

so they dont reproduce quickly? can't I just add more so my refugium is loaded with them and then that will help with numbers?

 

I tried to do the same thing when I was breeding clownfish. The adults stay alive in a bucket but I did not see enough babies.

[L8 2 RISE]

I haven't heard of anyone being successful with brine shrimp in the long run, however mysis are easy, just get some from another members sump and chuck 'em in- that's what I did and I see more every night (or so it feels).

[George]

The only hitch is that the nutritional value of adult brine shrimp is pretty much zero though I suppose you could feed your refugium thereby enriching the shrimp.

 

I read an interesting article on creating little in-tank refugiums by tying rock rubble bits in large hole mesh bags/baskets and placing them out of the way. The idea was to create little pockets where mysids, copepods, and amphipods could breed freely and thereby keep a larger supply in the tank for fish.

[paul b]

To answer your question, no.

Brine shrimp take about 4 weeks to mature if they have enough to eat. They are filter feeders and would not be able to find enough food in your refugium. They also don't take too well going through pumps.

I have raised many of them on yeast but you need enough yeast in the water to make it opaque.

It's not a good idea, it would not work, and brine shrimp are a lousy food anyway.

[davjbeas]

Aren't brine shrimp living in briney water not full saltwater.

 

David

[fry_school101]

They can live in a very wide SG. They don't have enough nutritional value unless they are gutloaded with something and no, they don't reproduce fast enough to be a primary food source unless you set up to culture them and even then most people think it is way too much work. Easier and far less mess just to keep a 5gal bucket of adults you get from any LFS for $1 and put some enrichment food in there for 24 hours.

[fry_school101]

Also. . . if they are in full salt water they produce cysts, if they are in a lower (brackish) SG they produce live young. . .

[paul b]

They actually normally live in saltier water than full salt water like seawater.

But they can live fine in regular sea water