Sea monkeys

kirstyflash · Jun 28, 2018

Ok, so this may be a stupid question but then again, it may be quite smart. Since the sea monkeys sold in toy stores are brine shrimp, can I buy and grow them to feed to my marine friends?

ncaldwell · Jun 28, 2018

I would assume so but the mark up on those little packs would be much larger than buying bulk brine shrimp eggs from an online aquarium depot

Rakie · Jun 28, 2018

ncaldwell said:
I would assume so but the mark up on those little packs would be much larger than buying bulk brine shrimp eggs from an online aquarium depot

Exactly -- Not to mention brine shrimp are pretty lacking in nutrition, unless you gut-load them first. OR, just buy bulk eggs / Frozen spirulina brine.

When it comes to nutrition for fish I don't think you can have enough. Here's what I mix together --
- v20 Mini Mysis (my goto for getting fish to eat)
- v20 Spirulina Brine / Mysis (roughage for fish digestion)
- v20 Reef Caviar (eggs)
- OVA (eggs)
- LRS (for variety)
- Reef Chili (sometimes)

And then I add Selcon and Selco Boost for additional fat content/nutrition/vitamins.

A good base for your fish would be LRS, or RODS food. Then add to that, whatever your particular fish like. For example, I had a really picky sunburst anthias and he would ONLY take mini mysis swimming in Selco boost... After adding that in with the rest of the food for awhile, he started taking the spirulina brine, then some reef caviar, etc etc. Now I put in food, and he eats, regardless of what it is so long as it's not too big for his mouth.

I know this isn't what you asked about, but I feel strongly about fish nutrition for health, growth, and overall stability. So when any aspect of nutrition comes up, I tend to write out this same little spiel. I should turn it into a copypasta actually..

kirstyflash · Jun 28, 2018

Thanks for the info. They have a pretty varied diet. Hubby keeps trying to grow rotifers and copepods but kills them every time, and I know how easy it is to grow sea monkeys so thought I’d give that a go. Then they could have something to hunt for as well as the frozen and dried foods they already get. But will look into a gut load supplement for the brine shrimp too and not buying sea monkey kits

Servillius · Jun 28, 2018

Over time I’ve found Rod’s to be the only food that uniformly and very visibly improves fish health if I use it consistently and even if I don’t combine with anything else. I’ve also been able to mix several foods and get good results, but I swear by Rods now. Not saying nothing else works, just nothing else I’ve tried.

lapin · Jun 28, 2018

kajam said:
Ok, so this may be a stupid question but then again, it may be quite smart. Since the sea monkeys sold in toy stores are brine shrimp, can I buy and grow them to feed to my marine friends?

Yes you can but the hatch rate may not be good. When brine shrimp hatch they are very small and vary good as a food. De-capped eggs are easy to hatch and no egg casing mess. After a few days the egg sack is consumed (the best part) and they are not worth the effort to keep them alive. If you want live food you should look into white worms. They are easy to raise and even picky eaters love them. My lawnmower wont eat them but then she is a vegetarian.

Sorcha2 · Jun 28, 2018

So brine shrimp are actually quite nutritious as long as you feed them within the first day of hatching. It's when they're older that you need to gut load them. A lot of people use them as a feed source for Mandarins.

lapin · Jun 28, 2018

Sorcha2 said:
So brine shrimp are actually quite nutritious as long as you feed them within the first day of hatching. It's when they're older that you need to gut load them. A lot of people use them as a feed source for Mandarins.

In my hatch cone I feed the new hatched shrimp, phyto or powdered spirulina, 48 hours after I have added the eggs. Not sure if this keeps them alive any longer or is of any benefit. My cone full lasts about a week.

kirstyflash · Jun 28, 2018

lapin said:
...My lawnmower wont eat them but then she is a vegetarian.

As in Blenny? I thought they are omnivores. I have a lawnmower and bicolour and they eat algae as well as anything my clowns eat. Especially mysis...swims up to the syringe and eats it out the tip.

kirstyflash · Jun 28, 2018

We want a mandarin but want to make sure we have a stable food source available before accidentally starving the poor thing. We have a scooter dragonet and he’s happy to eat the frozen mysis and he isn’t shy either

lapin · Jun 28, 2018

kajam said:
As in Blenny? I thought they are omnivores. I have a lawnmower and bicolour and they eat algae as well as anything my clowns eat. Especially mysis...swims up to the syringe and eats it out the tip.

Mine told me "only green stuff". 2 week in QT, ate nothing. Wont touch anything but algae on rocks and glass.

Toofattofish · Jun 28, 2018

Brine shrimp are pretty easy to use as a food source.
I use old tank water and keep them in a miniature box. Aeration can be added but I find that it isn't necessary. They hatch at good amounts 24 to 48 hours later depending on the temperature. If you black out most of the box with paint or tape you can use a flashlight to draw them and suction them out with a pipette. Only the babies have a lot of nutrition and IME they are too small for many fish to see other than certain planktivores, though it's hard to tell if fish are eating them because of how small they are. You can wait a few more days and gut load them to feed to more fish.
Look up Paul B's DIY mandarin brine shrimp feeder for more information.
Like others said the eggs are much cheaper in bulk but may be worthwhile to buy a small vial to see if it's something you're interested in.