Help! Brine shrimp not hatching

B

BrianC

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Got San Francisco hatchery and eggs. Been almost 4 days and still just tiny orange eggs. Tested salinity and that is with par. It's RO/ DI water.
 
I've raised brine in RO with driveway salt for years, never had a bad batch.  A little light helps, and I assume you have a gentle flow from an air pump? 
 
I have 100 watt grow light near it, marc's recipe from Melev's reef, the base, the coke bottle, and of course bubbles. :)Day4 and nothing... :( Should I dump it and start over or is there a chance these will hatch?
 
You should dump it and start over.1) What salinity are you targeting?2) Possible (seems unlikely, but I've got nothing else) that you had a bad batch of eggs.
 
1.) http://melevsreef.com/brineshrimp.html - I just followed Marx's recipe. No salinity target.2.) Seems unlikely the WHOLE thing was bad, I had 0% hatch.... Must be me...
 
EDIT: It looks like the SF Hatch Mix packets already have salt in them.  If that is the case, and you added it to Mark's recipe you may well have been at double the target salinity .  You might try significantly diluting it and seeing what happens, although I'm not sure what shape the eggs will be in at this point.  Aim for 1.018.The recipe I use is below (source: http://www.brineshrimpdirect.com/res-hatching-c169.html).  I also get my brine shrimp cysts from them.  Have been using the same container for years, kept in the freezer long term, then moved to the fridge which I pull from.  My hatchery also came with the SF eggs, I remember a very poor hatch rate, but not nothing.  I can give you a batch of known good eggs if you want.Recipe:1  2/3 tbsp salt, 1L water, 1/4 to 1/2 tsp water.  My house temp is 78-80, so I don't worry about temperature.  My hatchery is a 2L bottle with the airline coming in the bottom.I would rinse (tap is fine) your 2L bottle just in case soap or something got in it.  Between batches I wash mine with dish soap, then rinse with tap water until clear.  I would also make it from scratch rather than using tank water.  It seems pretty unlikely that there is an issue in the tank water, but it is another variable.
 
I spoke with the SF rep at MACNA this year and he advised me to use Tap water for a better hatch rate. I have also had success using RO but RODI has never worked for me... I asked him why and he provided me his opinion to use dirty water to gain a better hatch rate and not too much air either. I have also found that my phyto does better with just RO water.
 
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