IFAS FA-18, Decapsulating Brine Shrimp Eggs

IFAS# FA-18

Decapsulating Shrimp Brine Eggs

Craig Watson

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Brine shrimp eggs are used throughout the world as a food for small fish in hatcheries. These eggs are really cysts which can remain dormant for years before hatching if they are kept dry. As soon as the eggs are exposed to water, the hatching process begins. When hatching brine shrimp eggs, we not only produce baby brine shrimp, but also the empty shells out of which they came, along with unhatched eggs. These are mixed in the hatching jar. The unhatched eggs and shells from the hatched eggs, must be separated from the baby brine shrimp since they are not digestible if eaten by small fish. If a small fish eats just a few of these shells or unhatched eggs, the fish's intestinal tract may be blocked causing its death. The process of separating the shells and unhatched eggs from the baby brine shrimp is quite time consuming, and sometimes hard to do effectively.

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