I have used decapsulated Brine Shrimps ( DBS ) when I ran out of live Baby Brine Shrimps ( BBS ). They are a good source of food for newly hatched free swimming fry ( be careful though that the fry are big enough or else you have to feed smaller food such as microworms or similar food ). I personally like the live BBS the one we hatch. It is important to feed BBS as soon as they hatch for the fry to have most of them. I love seeing the small fry running after the BBS to feed and having their bellies orange.

What are decapsulated brine shrimp eggs?

What are decapsulated brine shrimp eggs?

The hard shell, or chorion, that encysts the dormant brine shrimp embryo can be completely removed by short-term exposure to a strong hypochlorite solution. This procedure is called decapsulation. Decapsulated cysts offer a number of advantages compared to non-decapsulated cysts.

Advantages of Using Decapsulated Brine Shrimp Cysts

For one, cyst shells are not introduced into the culture tanks. When hatching normal cysts, the complete separation of brine shrimp nauplii from their shells is not always possible. Unhatched cysts and empty shells can cause mortalities in fish fry, as pieces of the shell or chorion can be lodged in the digestive tract of the fish.

In some cases, improved hatching percentages (by as much as 10%) can also be achieved from using decapsulated cysts. This is because less energy is required for the embryo to "burst" through the thin hatching membrane surrounding the embryo.

The decapsulated eggs are also thoroughly disinfected, thereby reducing the bacterial load of the hatching medium during incubation.

Lastly, the unhatched cysts (following incubation) are still edible and easily digestible by your fish. In fact, the energy content found in unhatched brine shrimp cysts is higher than that of a hatched, live baby brine shrimp. This is a very valuable course of action when brine shrimp cyst hatching quality is poor.

brineshrimpdirect.com/What-are-decapsulated-brine-shrimp-eggs

martin

I used Decapsulated without problems. The Livebearers just love it & when I use it for Corydoras, I just soak it in water for a few minutes & stir it well. I do this process, so the Decapsulated will sink immediatly when feeding.

I bought some decapsulated brine shrimps from e bay just to give them a try and my fish does not eat them at all, they look normal, Does this thing happened to anyone? I was giving live bbs the day before could that was my problem?, off course they prefer live bbs. I left the baby fish hungry for two days but still they did not eat them, they ate some powder food and left the dec/bs on the bottom.

 Is there an expiry date on these kind of fish foods Ivan ???

martin

I think that all foods must have expire dates.........

Yes agreed..... they must have..... but they do not always has. He said he bought them on e-bay and therefore one must be more attentive .

martin

You're right friends, as soon as i read your replies i went straight to the fishroom to check out for the expiry date and there is no expiry date because it's just a 20 grams small bag, i just bought it to give them a try and then buy in a bigger ammount but it seems that they could be old, that was the problem i guess!!!

 There you go Seracin. Better be safe then sorry.

martin

vassallomartin:

 There you go Seracin. Better be safe then sorry.

 

martin

Why Martin?. What did I saw wrong with what I wrote about the expiry date?.

I buy my Decapsulated from a reliable person & never had any problems. I get them well packed & the fish go crazy about them. I only feed Decapsulated to those fish that eat from the surface & when I'm out of time & I'm not hatching any "live" brineshrimp, I just leave the Decapsulated in a glass of tank water for a few hours & then pour it in the tank, for the bottom feeders...... that way it will sink easily.

I buy my Decapsulated from a reliable person & never had any problems. I get them well packed & the fish go crazy about them. I only feed Decapsulated to those fish that eat from the surface & when I'm out of time & I'm not hatching any "live" brineshrimp, I just leave the Decapsulated in a glass of tank water for a few hours & then pour it in the tank, for the bottom feeders...... that way it will sink easily.

Seracin, can you help me to buy some from this reliable person please? Because i have no idea from where i can find quality ones!

I'll send you a private message........

Ok thanks Jas.

 I read in an article that you have to wet the decapsulated Brine shrimp some 20 minutes prior to feeding them to the fry. Have you ever met such as statement ??? Do you normally feed these directly from the pot or do you wet them first ??.

martin

 I think that not all fry eat decapsulated brine shrimp. For example livebearers will accept it as they will accept flakes and other dry foods. But smaller fry like those of tetras and barbs will eventually want to chase their food/ or else they go after moving food, like live brine shrimp.