Re: Decapsulated Brine Shrimp

["Daniel McMonigle" <Mcdaphnia at msn_com>]

The original instructions that I saw a long time ago did not include the vinegar step. I haven't decapsulated eggs for a long time but never pH-shocked them with vinegar when I used to. I remember seeing this step added in an article in a club pub, but I don't remember which one. It sounded pointless and useless then. The process worked fine without adding another chemical to the menu. Why would vinegar neutralize bleach? Bleach = chlorine. Vinegar neutralizes baking soda. Wouldn't using a dechlorinator be logical? All I can think that vinegar would do is to inhibit the ability of the human nose to smell bleach. Any chemists who could answer this question please!  

Decapsulating eggs is for when you have eggs that won't hatch well. You decapsulate them and feed them directly unhatched to the fish. Mixing them with some normally hatched bbs may get the fish accustomed to what is not quite a live food.  

It's important to soak the eggs in plain fresh water for a while before decapsulating. This allows the bleach effect to work evenly on the eggs. I always freaked out when I saw empty brine shrimp shells in the fry tank. Then I heard a guy at a fish meeting say, "Brine shrimp shells are like rocks. Any fish dumb enough to eat a rock shouldn't be allowed to grow up and pass on its genes for low intelligence."
  
----- Original Message -----
From: LeeH920226 at aol_com
Sent: Thursday, September 12, 2002 12:10 PM
To: killietalk at aka_org
Subject: Re: Brine Shrimps
  

In a message dated 9/12/02 10:41:30 AM, jazz001 at di-ve_com writes:

<< I heard of a method of hatching brine shrimps in bleach or chlorine, >>

There may be two connections to this thought. First, there are those who  
maintain that a few drops of bleach will aid in the hatching and longevity of  
the hatched shrimp because it inhibits the bacterial growth. My water supply  
from the tap has the equivalent of a couple drops of bleach and I don't use  
it. Second, the decapsulation of eggs by immersion in strong bleach before  
hatching is used by many to reduce the presence of egg cases. I also don't do  
that because it is a lot of extra work. The decapsulated (egg case is  
dissolved by the bleach) can then be hatched normally or fed unhatched to  
fish. In either case the bleach needs to be rinsed and neutralized with  
vinegar before using.

Lee Harper
Media, Pa
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