[Killietalk] RE: Killietalk Digest, Vol 5, Issue 5

["Koran, David HQ02" <David_Koran at HQ02.USACE.ARMY.MIL>]

RE:  Killie live food comments

Brine shrimp cyst supply:  The last report from Utah Division of Wildlife
Resources indicates that the harvest this year will probably be only in the
3 million pound range.  While the harvest season can extend into January, it
appears that the permittees have pretty much determined that further
harvesting is a losing proposition.  Their (UDWR) sampling data indicates
that no young are being produced (not hard to figure out why) and the
density of cysts (110 per liter) is in excess of the 21 per liter cut off
point to end the harvest.  I can only guess that cold weather is attributing
to the decision and possibly the "rafts" of cysts do no exist so harvesting
becomes very difficult.

What impact this will have on cyst supply/availability and long term price
trends I can't speculate.  Remember once again that following our last
disruption in cyst supply and spike in prices we were fortunate to have 3
record harvest (15-23 million pounds); however, the quality of the cysts in
each of those years has varied.  The 2000 harvest produced very small cysts
and nauplii, the 2001 harvest produced larger nauplii but hatch yields were
poor and the last record harvest, 2002, produced cysts that were initially
difficult to process.

I bit the bullet last February and bought several cases of the 85% hatch
2001 harvest cysts.  While initially I was pleased with the size of the
newly hatched shrimp, processing was a bear and I had to change what I did.
Recently I built a brine shrimp hatching stand to accomodate 12 hatching
jars and changed the location from a floor based 8 jars inside 4 gallon
buckets near an exterior basement wall to an internal location.  My
observations on the 2001 cysts which seem to be at the heart of everyone's
problems are they need a cooler temperature to produce a better hatch.
Without heat in the hatching jar I would see varying results (since the 8
jars were paced out from the wall to a door leading to the furnace room).
Only when it was really cold outside did production from the jars nearest
the wall drop off.  At that point the abient heat near the door end rose and
shrimp were ready much earlier (hatching time shortend almost 24 hours).
But I suspect the hatching temperature was in the mid to lower 60's and
hatch times were about 80 hours.  I also discovered that I needed to cut
back on salt by about 25% in the hatch solution.  Even when I transferred
hatching to the new stand, it was during the summer and the location was
near the steps to my main level and return air to my AC system flowed near
enough to the stand to keep the area much cooler than the rest of the
basement.  Hatches varied but the new stand produced conditions similar to
my old location except for the very top level (tier 4) which is about 3 feet
off the ground (warmer air, faster hatch rates).  It was still a condition I
could get around until my AC broke in mid-October.  With warmer
temperatures, hatching times decreased but so did the window for harvest and
so did the hatching rates.  The amount of unhatched cysts skyrocketed and
efforts to increase rates with longer times at the density I was used to
hatching only provided many more "dead" hatches.  It was not uncommon to
only have one marginal jar harvested every other night even doing 3 jars
(3/8 of a cup of cysts) each night.

What was the solution...an expensive one.  I purchased premium grade cysts
from the 2002 harvest.  I started using them near the end of October and the
harvests are so huge I am cutting way back on the amount of cysts I hatch.
This isn't a great help to those of you stuck with the '01 cysts but
considering the grief you are going through in harvesting and preparing
shrimp for feeding sit down and calculate how much extra time and effort you
are going through to use these puppies.  I have 30 cans of this stuff myself
and it is just going to sit there until an emergency comes along or I use it
to compliment my main efforts.  If you are purchasing cysts, talk to the
seller and make sure you are getting '02 harvest.  A month into the '03
harvest Sanders saw the harvest amount would be low and jacked prices up $2
a can but at $25.50 per 15 ounce single or $300 per case of 12 (all plus
shipping) for premium grade it is definitely worth it in less time and
hastle.

Early last year our club picked up almost 3 cases of cysts (the 15 ounce
cans) from the North American Brince Shrimp (NABS) company and they appear
to be problem free but I couldn't tell you the harvest year.  If you are
simply buying shrimp eggs off the internet, you may be getting dumped on.
Check out the website by Utah Divison of Wildlife Resources
http://www.wildlife.utah.gov/gsl/brineshrimp/brineshrimp.html for
information on harvest and licensees/permitees.  See if your seller is a
harvester or just a reseller.  Utah passed a new law directed at brine
shrimp cyst harvesting in the last year.  While on the surface it appears
that not much has changed, the new law tightens things up and tidies things
up a bit as the state has realized this a major business in the state.

Daphnia cultivation:  Finally, in my effort to cultivate daphnia I generate
greenwater in large volumes.  Several years ago I ran across an article on a
system to produce daphnia where there was 3 stages.  In stage 2 you produced
euglena to feed the daphnia.  While my single stage green water tubs
probably produce euglena, they are also dense with green algae.  Folks like
Joe Bultermann had suggested various concoctions for growth of the algae
(crushed Navy beans and dried powdered milk -- lovely oder indoors!!) and
George Davis uses goldfish to generate organic matter to produce algae.  I
purchased Super phosphate (0-20-0) and granulaur Urea (CH2NH) from
Mellinger's (a source of peat pellets also ($62/1000) and sphagnum moss
http://www.mellingers.com/) and have been using that to produce the algae in
waste water from my fry containers.  Phosphate is the main culprite in
causing algae blooms in streams and rivers and should be the driver in algal
growth in the tubs.  Urea is a a synthetic fertilizer but becomes your
carbon and nitrogen source without any other additives and is a lot less of
an issue than working with cow manure.  I add this to 100 gallon stock tanks
with 2 x 2 tube fluorescent lights overhead and two small recirculating
pumps in the tanks.  At water temps of less than 50F, I am getting bright
green algea stew to stimulate blooms in my Daphnia pulex and magna and Moina
cultures.  Its not down to a foolproof science just yet but after tinkering
with it a bit more I hope to be able to write this up for JAKA.

Dave Koran

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