San Francisco Bay's Brine Shrimp Hatchery

Having 3 saltwater tanks and a great love for taking on new projects, I recently purchased a brine shrimp hatchery. Now, you can make one of these yourself by using a few simple things from home but the brine shrimp hatchery I got from San Francisco Bay Company was just $5.00 and came with three packages of brine shrimp eggs.

The lower black box is four inches square and five high. The clear vial is 1 & 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 high. The vial has a white, snap-on lid with a 1/4-inch hole in the center. This unit is called "The Shrimpery." The instructions say to fill the bottom with water, and add the contents of one of three identical packets sent with the hatchery. (Each packet contains eggs, salt, and something to correct the water's PH to above 8.0.) The clear vial is then filled with plain water, capped, and pushed down into a holder in the top of the black box. A bright light over the entire unit attracts any brine shrimp that hatch into the clear (non-salty) water in the vial. After 24 hours, depending on temperature, the clear vial is removed and the water, with baby brine shrimp, dumped into the fish tank. No decapsulitzation, eggshells, washing, or straining necessary!

So, with much excitement, I set up my hatchery! I set it on a table under a bright light that stays on most of the day and evening until bedtime. Approximately 10 hours later, I had tiny brine shrimp swimming in the collection tube! They are miniscule but alive and swimming around. I collected a tube full and poured it into my tank and refilled the tube and placed it back into the hatchery. I couldn't resist opening the top and seeing what was going on. I had thousands of eggs in there that weren't hatched yet so I'll check again tomorrow.

What's great about this hatchery is that it's inexpensive and a very educational way of doing things. I can imagine any kid who has a fish tank loving this way of getting food and it's much cheaper and fresher than buying it frozen.

The hatchery will pump out shrimp at a steady pace until the eggs are depleted. Then you simply rinse out your hatchery and collection tube, and start over. The hatchery is clean looking and much nicer than some of the hatcheries I've seen before. Not to mention the price. To be honest, I can't resist going back and checking my collection tube every so often. I just love seeing the new shrimp swimming around inside the tube. If you have tanks, you'll love this inexpensive little contraption that makes feeding something fun and educational all at the same time.