# Instant BBS? hatchery



## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

would this be OK to use for fry? Instant BBS
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170535461311?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

if I have to hatch eggs, I was thinking of getting this hatchery:
http://www.amazon.com/Hatch-Feeder-...M0E4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316764602&sr=8-1

yay or Nay??


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## Mohan85 (Aug 27, 2011)

Tikibirds said:


> would this be OK to use for fry? Instant BBS
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/170535461311?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
> 
> if I have to hatch eggs, I was thinking of getting this hatchery:
> ...


hmm.. I'm not too familiar with instant baby brine shrimp but doesn't that mean they're already hatched? and dead? you would have to get unhatched eggs to use that hatchery. 

i use OSI bbs, something like this
http://www.amazon.com/OSI-BRINE-SHRIMP-EGGS-21OZ/dp/B0002APN4G
but mine came in a nice big can.. those are becomng harder to find.

and when i was new to this i almost bought that hatchery also.. but then i figured out how to do it myself with some airline tubing and water bottles.. lil cheaper if you don't mind the little work. here's the video that taught me if u wanna do it yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8sNx9zTOnQ


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## fightergirl2710 (Jun 9, 2011)

I bought OSI too, the big can (very expensive!) I haven't used it yet but I'll be using the water bottle idea.. The hatchery seems like a waste of money.. I think those instant bbs must be ded or maybe decapped?
Hey Mohan, can you tell me your bbs hatching timetable? I'm a bit confused about how many to start and at what times.. I'm sure Tiki would want to know as well.


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## Mohan85 (Aug 27, 2011)

fightergirl2710 said:


> I bought OSI too, the big can (very expensive!) I haven't used it yet but I'll be using the water bottle idea.. The hatchery seems like a waste of money.. I think those instant bbs must be ded or maybe decapped?
> Hey Mohan, can you tell me your bbs hatching timetable? I'm a bit confused about how many to start and at what times.. I'm sure Tiki would want to know as well.


by timetable do you mean how i do it?? my method of hatching?


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## fightergirl2710 (Jun 9, 2011)

Well kind of.. I read how you need to have multiple hatcheries going right? So I wanted to know how you manage the multiple hatcheries like for example when do you start one, harvest the other and how many you have going? Stuff like that.. It confuses me lol!


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## Mohan85 (Aug 27, 2011)

fightergirl2710 said:


> Well kind of.. I read how you need to have multiple hatcheries going right? So I wanted to know how you manage the multiple hatcheries like for example when do you start one, harvest the other and how many you have going? Stuff like that.. It confuses me lol!


Ah i see.. well I always have 3 hatcheries going on 24/7. so all my fry get 3 feedings of freshly hatched bbs everyday. I make my hatcheries to fit around my work schedule. so I make the first one at 4 pm, the second one at 11 pm and the 3rd one at 6 am. Every 24 hours of each hatchery, the hatchery is harvested, washed, and remade. I make a new hatchery right away after harvesting so it stays consistent.. so i get to feed them everyday at around 4 pm, 11 pm, and 6 am... and remember never feed your fry bbs that have hatched for longer than 8 hours, their yolk sac will be gone, they won't be so orange but more brownish.. their nutritional value will be gone


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## fightergirl2710 (Jun 9, 2011)

That makes it so much easier, thank you! So if I start one at 4pm, I have to harvest and redo it at 4pm the next day? What if it hatches earlier or later? How do you determine what time it will hatch the first time? How do you keep a tab on it?


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## titolatino1970 (Mar 11, 2011)

ok here my link i hope it helps newbie in the house from my fishey friends

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?foodbs&1316843441

i use 3 tablespoons sea salt and 3/4 teaspoon bbs


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

What i meant was can i use the instant ones INSTEAD of hatching eggs or do the fry need to have live ones? 
I can get the eggs fairly cheap off amazon.com

How do you set up the hatchery if you make it yourself?

Never mind. I watched the youtube video


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## fightergirl2710 (Jun 9, 2011)

Tiki, some fry eat it, some fry may not. :< I got a tip from a breeder here that if you want o get betta fry to eat non-live food put in 2-3 guppy fry of the same size, they'll eat the food and seeing them so will the bettas.. Again, may or may not work. X(


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

maybe the instant ones would be better to fed them when they are a bit older?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I made my BBS hatchery out of an old plastic peanut container-half gallon in size-I drilled a hole in the lid for the airline hose/airstone-

To make-add 85F water and 3tlb of pickling salt and 24h later-I have about 85% hatch.....

To harvest-I remove the lid with the airline hose and airstone and sit aside and place the container on top of one of my tank light so the BBS can settle....Once setled (about 10 min) I use airline hose I have attached to a couple of chopstick to make more ridged and siphon them through a brine shrimp net I have sitting over a empty container

Once I siphon off what I need-I dump the water back in the BBS hatchery container and rinse the BBS that are in the brine shrimp net under running water...very important-the BBS water is high in bad bacteria and you don't want this in the fry tank....big reason that causes Velvet and other bad pathogens in the fry tank....

Also, the chlorinated water will not hurt the BBS so don't worry about that.......rinse the container you used to catch the water under the net and fill with dechlorinated water and sit the now rinsed BBS that are in the brine shrimp net in this dechlorinated water....

Use an eye dropper and suck out the BBS to feed to the fry

I like to condition my fry to a feeding tap-I give the rim-(Not the glass)-a couple of taps as I add the BBS in the eye dropper-kinda target fed....In a few days the fry will be conditioned to the feeding tap and come running anytime they hear it....great to help get fry counts, feeding, observing and catching when needed....and you can say you train fish...lol.....well.....really its conditioned with food reward....still pretty neat teaching your fish to come when called....laffs......

Newly hatched BBS with the yolk sac intact have the most nutrition-as the BBS molt you will see more shell in the hatchery-Avoid as much of the shell as you can-when very young fry eat too many shell it can cause health problems...mainly buoyancy, floater, skimmers...some recover-most don't especially under 2 weeks of age.....

Poor nutrition can result in a fry starving to death even with a full tummy-you will see sudden death, twirlling-you will see the fry twirl to the bottom and die-the first 2-3 weeks are the most important-

Keep 2 hatcheries going 24h apart-hatch out small amount at a time.....one of the small OSI vials 6g-should last about 1yr with 1000 fry being fed every day-to give you an idea of how much this vial of BBS eggs will go/last

Newly hatched BBS should look orange or pink in color-this is the yolk sac and when the fry eat them-their tummy should be nice and round and pink/orange in color-just like the BBS....

Once the fry are older-3+ weeks-you can feed them older BBS that have been supplement in HUFA supplement-I use Silcon-this is a saltwater supplement (BBS are saltwater creatures) I get it at Dr Foster and Smith for under $12.00 and this will last forever.......you don't have to supplement the BBS if you are feeding of live food to meet nutritional needs for good growth/development

Another important factor beside good nutrition and water quality....is the labyrinth organ-this develops in the 2-4 week area and that first gulp of air is really important...it needs to be moist and warm-at least the same temp as the water or warmer-if not-you can see labyrinth organ problems-like-buoyancy, floaters, skimmers, sudden death, chronic health problems in general.......so....cover the top of the fry tank with plastic veggie wrap to help retain the heat and humidity....I do this once the eggs hatch to be on the safe side.....you should see water droplett on the plastic wrap to tell you that the air above the water is moist and warm enough.......you don't want the babies to catch cold.....lol.....


Rearing Betta fry can be so rewarding and you can be successful with a few simple step....even if you have failures...Don't give up......lots of ways to rear fry...its finding what works best for you and what you have on hand....

Happy spawning and fry rearing......


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## Mohan85 (Aug 27, 2011)

yea similar techniques, but i prefer to rinse them in a coffee filter myself


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## Tikibirds (May 26, 2011)

Thanks for all the info 

now if I can get them to spawn, without dad eating all the eggs this time :evil:


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