decap. brine shrimp egg question

[scott]

can decap. eggs be hatched the same as regular eggs. i have seen a product called life-a that is a kind of decap brine shrimp eggs and claims to hatch just like regular eggs. the reason i am askingthis is because i have 2 batches of cac fry that won't eat anything thats not alive. also my experience with microworms is that the fry don't grow as well as with bbs. on another unrelated topic i have been having problems with the quality of CBW's from my supplier and i am looking for a new, reliable source. any thoughts?

[Apistt_ed]

I have been using decapsulated brine eggs to feed my community tanks for a long time now, and they are supposed to be far better nutrition wise than the brine shimp itself (supposedly). What I've noticed is that fry do shy away from it because it doesn't wiggle and wobble like bbs but with some patience I have gotten them to take it. Also, from what I have heard, decapsulated brine shrimp eggs WILL NOT hatch because their shells were chemically removed. There are some eggs inthe market that boast a quicker hatching time because they've somehow not fully "decapsulated" the shells, but I haven't tried them because I also hatch my own and do fine with the coffee-canned brine shrimp eggs sold in bulk. My apistos don't seem to care too much about the decapsulated brine but my altum angels and scalare love them! I have also come to find out that with a strict diet of decaps. brine eggs, my angels have colored up pretty nicely too. I'm not sure if this is a direct cause of the diet, but the colors that are showing are more of a gold/orange tint so I have a good hint of where it might come from. I'm sorry I can't give you sources to a better CBWs culture because I get them from a local shop here and they've always been top notch.. I'll ask them as soon as I get to go there and I'll let you know where they get it from... hope this helps..


john

[depthc]

I discussed this in another forum two or so weeks ago. http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23251&highlight=decapsulated+brine+shrimp+eggs

Im still unsure if they hatch. I ordered some Life A eggs and havent really fed them or even attempted hatching them. They claim right on the box that the eggs will hatch, but im unsure this is the case. They are in a bottle of salt solution so maybe they do hatch? Anyone have first hand exp. with the Life A product?

Andrew B

[scott]

thanks for the info. i suppose if i had started the fry that i have now on decaps instead of live they might have taken to them better. the thing is i just got a 1/2 lb of decaps and don't want them to go to waste. i think that the next batch of fry i get i will start with the decaps instead of live. maybe i'll get better results. about the cbw's, i have noticed what look like leaches mixed with them and i have had 2 unexplained deaths in separate tanks in the passed week(that's 2 more deaths than i've had in the last 6 months) could be coincedence but if i could find a reliable source for cbw's it wouldn't hurt.

[LyreTail]

They do not have to be hatched and I do not think they will. There is some info about them at www.brineshrimpdirect.com

One thing that is important with these is that you really need to let them soak in water for 10 to 15 min before feeding or your fry will explode - trust me it's ugly when you get too zealous like me :-)

[T_om]

They do not have to be hatched and I do not think they will. There is some info about them at www.brineshrimpdirect.com

One thing that is important with these is that you really need to let them soak in water for 10 to 15 min before feeding or your fry will explode - trust me it's ugly when you get too zealous like me :-)


First, they will indeed hatch.

Second, your fry will not explode. Had this been the case, I would have had thousands of exploding fry to tell you about.

Tom

[depthc]

Tom,

you mentioned they will indeed hatch, are you reffering to the Aquamedic Life A product or dry stored decaped cysts?

Andrew

[tjudy]

I use a lot of decap now... easier and cleaner than hatching, with the same results (for the fish I keep anyway). I have never seen the 'exploding fry' phenomenon. I hydrate for about as long at it takes to suck a suspension of decap cysts into a syringe and then inject into the fry cloud.

[T_om]

Tom,

you mentioned they will indeed hatch, are you reffering to the Aquamedic Life A product or dry stored decaped cysts?

Andrew


I am referring to eggs I decapsulate myself. I buy the lower hatch rate (cheapest) eggs in one pound cans.

I have not bothered to hatch any out for a long time, no need to. But one of the benefits I noticed when I DID hatch them was that the hatch rate was better with decaps than with regular shelled eggs. With an added bonus that you did not have to strain out all the empty shells.

Tom

[LyreTail]

I have exploded fry on several occasions. The stomach gets real bloated after / while eating, the fish lose balance and then the stomach bursts open with BBS oozing out.. This does not happen in the first weeks, but later when they can get to food real fast. I have lost angelfish and swordtail fry this way - swordtail's are really bad because they scoop up the DCAP BBS from the surface of the water

so poo poo my experiences all you want. I have killed fish every way imaginable

I did not know you could hatch decaps - do they take the same amount of time to hatch as encased BBS ?

[tjudy]

I am not saying that it does not happen, I am just saying that I have not seen it happen. Do you feed a lot at a time? I feed very small amounts.. a little seems to go along way. I am feeding about 40 .5 cm long Vieja fry right now. I feed about 1/8 tsp of decap once a day. They get live microworms at the same time. I also feed a crushed veggie flake.

[scott]

well guys, i guess i'll tryto hatch my decaps tonight. the fry still won't take them. i'll let you know what happens tomorrow.

[LyreTail]

Yes I did also get carried away with amount - I just noticed that the decaps expand a lot when you hydrate them. they at least double in size the first ten minutes as far as I could tell.

I am still curious about hatching times with decaps - I wonder how they compare with encaps

[tjudy]

Lyretail... I have been trying to PM you, but I cannot seem to be able to...

Will you please e-mail me? mesquito_ted@yahoo.com

I would like to discuss the possibility of getting an article from you for publication.

Ted Judy

[LyreTail]

well, My decaps still have not hatched - about 24 hours later

[JG]

I thought decapsulated brine shrimp isn't supposed to hatch?? I recently bought some from Kensfish a few weeks ago and am waiting for new fry before trying it. Here is the text, copied directly from Ken's site, about the DBS:

Non hatching decapsulated eggs are fed directly, without the necessity and downtime of hatching. Decapsulated eggs have a higher energy and nutritional value than a live brine shrimp nauplii. Since these eggs are non-hatching, no energy is consumed in the hatching process and lipids, amino acids, and enzymes are left intact. Simply rehydrate the decapsulated brine shrimp eggs for a few minutes in fresh water and feed directly to your baby fish or reef tank. (A little bit of these goes a long way).

Jay

[LyreTail]

That is what mine said from brine shrimp direct :-) but I have had several people tell me that they might hatch, so I am trying it out

[T_om]

well, My decaps still have not hatched - about 24 hours later


Did you do the process yourself or buy eggs already decapsulated?

If you control the process properly and do not leave the eggs in the bleach solution too long, viable eggs WILL hatch, and at a higher rate than non-decapsulated eggs.

Several places sell "non-hatching" decapsulated eggs. They were decapsulated in large masses just to sell as "decaps" and were killed in the process. Decapsulation is an exothermic reaction that produces enough heat to kill the eggs if not done correctly.

Tom

[LyreTail]

OK - that is what I was thinking when I saw the conflicting information on brineshrimpdirect's website - thye give you instructions how to decap, but it sounds like a real pain

[scott]

i got my decaps from kensfish also. coincidently they are located only about 20 min from me. anyway i tried hatching and they don't. ive been mixing them with microworms to try to coax my fry to take them. i will be decreasing the amount of micros and increasing the amount of decaps in the solution gradually. my yg cacs just laid eggs again today and i think i will start with decaps when it's time so they don't get used to live bbs that way i don't have this problem again.

[Greg PL]

If you control the process properly and do not leave the eggs in the bleach solution too long, viable eggs WILL hatch, and at a higher rate than non-decapsulated eggs.


Tom, would you be so kind and give your receipt for decappsulating the eggs?
I'm realy curious, as my wife doesn't accept the sound of bbs hatching (airing)

Thanks
Greg

[T_om]

Tom, would you be so kind and give your receipt for decappsulating the eggs?
I'm realy curious, as my wife doesn't accept the sound of bbs hatching (airing)

Thanks
Greg


Sure. Here 'ya go...

1 Liter water, one air stone (moderate to low flow), 10ml eggs (or whatever amount you want to decap)...

Set air going and dump eggs in water. Let soak 1 hour with aeration.

About 90ml (amount not critical, but do NOT use much more) of unscented household bleach or (what I use) swimming pool chlorine.

Watch reaction instead of a clock!. Eggs will turn gray, then brownish, then orange. When they turn orange, they are done. Strain through handkerchief. Rinse VERY well with numerous water changes. Last rinse add about 90ml of vinegar, then rinse again.

Use within a few days (as long as 1 week is OK) as is, or make up a brine solution by dissolving non-iodized salt in water until no more will dissolve then cover eggs with the brine solution. They will keep for months like that.

You can feed these directly without hatching them or put them in a regular hatcher and they will hatch just fine (usually with a better hatch rate to boot).

Works like a champ.

Tom

[LyreTail]

Mine never hatched. I lost a lot of my Ram fry probably because I was screwing around with different foods. They do not seem to want anything but the live BBS right now. The surviving 25 or more are eating well

[hedylogus]

I recently bought some DBS eggs? What is the best way to store them once you open the vacuum-sealed package?

In the refrig? In the freezer? Room temp?

[T_om]

I recently bought some DBS eggs? What is the best way to store them once you open the vacuum-sealed package?

In the refrig? In the freezer? Room temp?


Keep them refrigerated. They will last for months.

Tom