Is there a way to store live baby brine shrimp?
Absolutely! Read on....
Reason for Storing Live Brine Shrimp
Storage, or holding live brine shrimp at cold temperatures, is a way of preserving the nutritional quality while maintaining a live food.
Preparing Baby Brine Shrimp for Cold Storage
Harvest the baby brine shrimp (BBS) into a fine mesh net and rinse with fresh water. Divide the harvest from 1 gram of brine shrimp eggs into 3 or 4 shallow dishes (petri dishes) with a saturated brine solution. Place the dishes in the refrigerator.
The BBS should remain alive for 2-3 days for later feedings.
Advantages of Storing Baby Brine Shrimp
Cold storage of live BBS saves time and eliminates the need to maintain daily hatches of brine shrimp cysts. When newly hatched brine shrimp are stored at 4°C, their metabolism is slowed down considerably, conserving essential nutrients, lipids, and fatty acids that many fish and invertebrate larvae require. A lower metabolism will also slow down growth and maintain a smaller feed particle size for smaller larvae and fry.
Later feedings of stored BBS is easy. Simply pour the BBS into a fine mesh net, rinse with fresh water, and feed.
Storing Live Adult Brine Shrimp in the Refrigerator
Can you store live adult brine shrimp? Yes! In fact, many pet stores hold live brine shrimp in the refrigerator. They put about one quart of live adult brine shrimp in one gallon of clean salt water. To maximize surface area, a flat shallow container, like a kitty litter tray, is used. Aeration helps but is not absolutely necessary.