No more sea monkeys?

[AhVy]

I used to see a lot of sea monkeys for sale at many LFS. But recently like all disappeared. Anyone knows what happened?
Or is it seasonal?



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[stormhawk]

You mean those hobby kits for children to learn about brine shrimp aka sea monkeys? Or the eggs themselves?

[astro]

At LFS means brine shrimps. I don't see boon as well

[VSGenesis]

LFS brine shrimp eggs are not the brine shrimp that folks keep as novelty. Those are for feeding. It's hard to keep and raise such brine shrimp to adulthood.

Sea monkeys are another species of the brine shrimp. (Please correct me if I am wrong) The word engineered is used though it has been debatable. The sea monkey which are sold as novelty if I remember correctly comes in 3 packaging.

Packet 1 is water purifier...I think that's just salt or something.
Packet 2 are the eggs
Packet 3 the food

Cannot find anymore here. Buy online.

[doppelbanddwarf]

Sea monkeys seem to be just adult brineshrimp.

[AhVy]

Yesyes. The brineshrimp as feeder. I dont see those anymore!!

They make quite good feeders!



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[tetrakid]

Brine shrimp hatching is meant more for dedicated fish breeders to feed fry on a regular basis. For this purpose, a daily hatching routine needs to be setup and followed, which can be cumbersome for the average hobbyist with not that many fry to feed. Moreover, brine shrimp eggs are not cheap.

[astro]

It's such a hassle hatching them. I still have a huge bottle of eggs since 2yrs back

[AhVy]

It's such a hassle hatching them. I still have a huge bottle of eggs since 2yrs back

So true astro... I also bought a big bottle a few months back. After trying to hatch 1 time... I gave up.... Lol

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[tetrakid]

If one is an ardent and prolific fish breeder, it will be a pleasure to hatch brine shrimp daily, since the hatching process is simple and ensures a nutritious food source for all the fries.
And the eggs are easily available all year round.

[stormhawk]

With good quality eggs stored in the right conditions and proper hatching method, they are very easy to handle. The key problem is just storage, especially in our climate.

AhVy, those disappeared probably due to supply issues. Majority of people also don't buy these unless they are alive and moving. Those sold previously at the LFS were mostly on their 1st moult aka Instar II. That basically means they have lost the majority of their nutritional value for fry since they have begun to form mouth parts. Even the adults were mostly dead near to night time. Oddly I ever kept some adults alive for 2 weeks in a small pail and they were producing live young, but not many. Hatching them yourself ensures that your fry get the most nutrition out of the newly hatched BBS.

As for "boon", the supply seems to be dependent on the weather. A long time ago a supplier once said that if it rains heavily, specifically in Malaysia, the supply will be cut or reduced. They are reared in the millions in duck ponds. Which also explains the stinky water.

[astro]

thanks for sharing, stormHawk! So today will not have boon cause it rained heavily

[AhVy]

Thanks for the detailed explanation stormhawk! Now i understand better. I'll keep trying!!


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[stormhawk]

One tip, do not buy BBS eggs at the LFS, if they:

1) do not come in airtight containers
2) stored in the open with a source of light
3) kept close to a source of heat

I did buy eggs once in those small plastic containers with a white cap, not very good hatch rate, in fact it was abysmal. I gave the eggs from San Francisco Bay Brand a try, the one that comes in a small glass vial. Those hatched out decently. Not the best but you don't need to hatch a lot if you have few fry to feed. FYI, my gf bought that vial for me from a marine LFS at Sin Ming called Reef Depot. I could not find the ones in the glass vial elsewhere. At C328 they have another brand called Ocean Nutrition, which comes in sachets. My attempt at hatching out eggs from a Sera Artemia sachet didn't work very well either. Hatch rate was poor. I think it's due to how the LFS stores these sachets. In the open with our tropical heat, the eggs will deteriorate slowly within.

[astro]

I kept my bbs eggs in the fridge

[gregyeoh]

C328 sells brine shrimp eggs in small cylinders with a white cap at the cashier.

[Leow Lih Yenn]

How about daphnia, where to get them in Singapore ?
How to get rid of green water ?
Thks.

[Leow Lih Yenn]

how to tell between platy and molly ?

[AhVy]

I got the one with the white cap in plastic container. And i did manage to hatch. But ya loh... Hatch rate not so successful. I thought it was my problem. Haha



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[Jeremy747]

As a young boy , I was breeding bettas and had poor results until used brine shrimp. I DIY a set of 1.25 litre bottles hung inverted with the bottom of the bottle cut off and then used as a cap to prevent salt water from flying out. Air supply through the bottle cap with a one way check valve to prevent back flow.

A very successful setup, that uses very little salt water to produce lots of shrimps.

Two if these hatchers will be sufficient for daily supply. One will be bubbling with tap water and a drop of Chlorox for disinfection.

The biggest culprit for poor continuous hatching is dirty equipment. The salt water I prepare once a week and keep in a big plastic bottle. I use just enough fill the conical portion of the DIY hatchery.

Hope this helps those who are trying to get good hatch rates. I hang mine near the windows where they get some sunlight, not direct. The light and the strong churning motion from this hatchery gave me very good hatch rates. Harvesting is also very easy.

I was able to harvest, feed, clean and restart the next batch in under 10 mins.