Live Mysid Shrimp

[Samina]

Hi all,

So wanted to find out if what I’m thinking is a good idea or not.

I was thinking about buying live mysids (100 count) like as a treat for my herd. They are all trained to eat frozen mysis and all are eating well. Do you think if I put live mysids in, there’s a chance they may no longer eat frozen again? Thanks for the input!

 

[rayjay]

Always a chance, but I would place the chance at slim.
I have always fed enriched live adult brine shrimp to my seahorses, usually about one feeding a week, sometimes two. I also used to feed mysids some years back when I was culturing them. Never had a problem with mine.
I would think you would have to be feeding them mysids pretty regular to get them to not eat the frozen foods.

 

[Samina]

Always a chance, but I would place the chance at slim.
I have always fed enriched live adult brine shrimp to my seahorses, usually about one feeding a week, sometimes two. I also used to feed mysids some years back when I was culturing them. Never had a problem with mine.
I would think you would have to be feeding them mysids pretty regular to get them to not eat the frozen foods.

Thank you! Do you know of a place online that I can purchase adult enriched brine? Just want them to have some fun and a bit of variety. Thanks!

 

[rayjay]

Brine shrimp don't get shipped as "enriched" because the enrichment would be lost before you got them. You can order from https://www.livebrineshrimp.com/
I have been growing my own for several decades because no one ships to here in Canada. It is a PITA though, but worth it for me.
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/brineshrimp.html
Best enrichment IMO is Dan's Feed from seahorsesource.com
Some people use Selco or Selcon but I personally don't like emulsions as they spoil too fast whereas the powders last a LONG time, especially if kept in freezer. The only downside to the powders is that you have to put them in a blender with water and blend on high for a minimum of two minutes.

 

[vlangel]

I have fed my ponies live ghost shrimp which are cheaper than mysis. I also have never had trouble with them going off their frozen but they sure enjoy the hunt.
You can feed the frozen in the morning when they are most hungry and then a day or 2 a week offer the live food as the 2nd or 3rd meal.

 

[Samina]

I have fed my ponies live ghost shrimp which are cheaper than mysis. I also have never had trouble with them going off their frozen but they sure enjoy the hunt.
You can feed the frozen in the morning when they are most hungry and then a day or 2 a week offer the live food as the 2nd or 3rd meal.

That’s a good idea! I didn’t even think of ghost Shrimp for some reason. Do you know of where I can get them online? I am now debating over the three, but I think feeding them enriched brine would be both a great and also good for them.

 

[Samina]

Brine shrimp don't get shipped as "enriched" because the enrichment would be lost before you got them. You can order from https://www.livebrineshrimp.com/
I have been growing my own for several decades because no one ships to here in Canada. It is a PITA though, but worth it for me.
http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/brineshrimp.html
Best enrichment IMO is Dan's Feed from seahorsesource.com
Some people use Selco or Selcon but I personally don't like emulsions as they spoil too fast whereas the powders last a LONG time, especially if kept in freezer. The only downside to the powders is that you have to put them in a blender with water and blend on high for a minimum of two minutes.

Thanks for the info. And I didn’t realize that about them loosing their enrichment if they where shipped. I wonder how long it would take for them to loose it if I went that route and put some in the tank.

 

[vlangel]

That’s a good idea! I didn’t even think of ghost Shrimp for some reason. Do you know of where I can get them online? I am now debating over the three, but I think feeding them enriched brine would be both a great and also good for them.

My husband orders them for me off of ebay. Just type in live shrimp freshwater and there are differing amounts shown with a penny for size. Tell him its for seahorses and he will try to send the smaller size.

 

[rayjay]

Thanks for the info. And I didn’t realize that about them loosing their enrichment if they where shipped. I wonder how long it would take for them to loose it if I went that route and put some in the tank.

If you are talking about putting the enrichment in a tank with brine shrimp or ghost shrimp or any other live shrimp, it's best NOT to do that but rather put a portion in a pop (soda) bottle enricher the day before you want to use them and just feed the main supply on phyto or greenwater made using spirulina powder in a blender for two minutes.
Enrichment benefits are lost quite rapidly such that not much if any remains after ~4 hours.
Adult artemia can be gut loaded in around 4 hours but if you go to 8 and more, they will also be assimilating the nutrition into their flesh, making them even more nutritious.
livebrineshrimp.com ships Palaemonetes vulgaris https://www.livebrineshrimp.com/ShrimpJanitor.htm for seahorse keepers as well as ghost shrimp (in qtys 48-100-250)

 

[Samina]

If you are talking about putting the enrichment in a tank with brine shrimp or ghost shrimp or any other live shrimp, it's best NOT to do that but rather put a portion in a pop (soda) bottle enricher the day before you want to use them and just feed the main supply on phyto or greenwater made using spirulina powder in a blender for two minutes.
Enrichment benefits are lost quite rapidly such that not much if any remains after ~4 hours.
Adult artemia can be gut loaded in around 4 hours but if you go to 8 and more, they will also be assimilating the nutrition into their flesh, making them even more nutritious.
livebrineshrimp.com ships Palaemonetes vulgaris https://www.livebrineshrimp.com/ShrimpJanitor.htm for seahorse keepers as well as ghost shrimp (in qtys 48-100-250)[/

Oh I meant dumping the enriched brine into the tank. Yea I would definitely enrich them in a separate container of some sort. That site you shared is great! I will definitely be ordering from them. Thank you so much for the information, very much appreciated!!

 

[rayjay]

Rinse before adding the brine to the tank and only put in what they can eat within about 15 minutes. Might take some experimenting to know just how much. Also, rinse the brine shrimp before adding to the tank.
Best and cheapest way for me to enrich is to use a pop bottle hatcher. Works great for me for several decades. http://www.angelfire.com/ab/rayjay/Hatcher.html

 

[Lucie]

I have wc seahorses that I converted myself to frozen. Sometimes they have only live food for weeks then only frozen and I never had a problem about that.

 

[Seahorsekelly69]

You are not the average aquarist though!