harvesting BBS a little at a time?

It takes a about 36-48 hours for ALL of my BBS to hatch in my hatchery. I keep the water very warm though, so there are MANY that hatch after just 16 hours! I would like to make the most of that opportunity to already have BBS ready for my fry.

Here is what I have been doing To take advantage of that and avoid having two hatcheries going.

I am using the DIY soda bottle hatchery with bubbles. After about 16 hours. I turn off the air pump and after letting the empty shells raise to the top and the hatched babies to go to the bottom, I use a straw to suck up a small amount and I put them into a bowl that I have filled with a small amount of freshwater tank water. I usually end up with quite a few unhatched eggs in that bowl (to be expected after just 16 hours). But once I get the hatched BBS to swim to one area of the bowl using the light...I use that opportunity to suck up the unhatched eggs with the turkey baster and put them back in the hatchery (which still has many live BBS along with many unhatched eggs) Putting those eggs back into the hatchery also replaces the bit of water that was lost during the first harvest. SO, Now my bowl has mostly live BBS in it. I feed those to my babies using a turkey baster. I carefully suck them out of the bowl and put them in the fry tank. So yes...a tiny amount of salt is also getting into the fry tank. But 19 days of doing this I have had no issues due to that. We are talking a teeny tiny amount. The daily water changes surely help.

Anyway, so the BBS actually stay alive in this bowl for up to 2 days after being removed from the hatchery! (having some salt from the hatchery making it into the bowl probably has something to do with that). So, if I have more than I can feed that first feeding, I leave them in the bowl for the next feeding. Each time I harvest from the hatchery (which ends up being about 3-4 separate times) I use a fresh bowl with freshwater. I usually get my last harvest (and biggest harvest) at about 48 hours and then I start a new hatchery. This last harvest lives in the bowl for 24 more hours (at least) and by then, I am able to start my routine again with the new batch.

It has worked very well for me and allowed me to have just one small hatchery going.

OMG that got long. I am so sorry. But I really would like to know what people think of this routine!

So to sum it up, I harvest out of the same batch of eggs 4 separate times between hours 16 and 48. My process is listed above. (And for the record, I use 1/4th the recommended amount of eggs and salt as I only have 27 fry.) I have never done this before, so I am curious what the experienced BBS hatchers think about this!! THANKS ALL!!!!

 

Wow...... That is so cool...... Great setup you got going there!!

 

Wow...... That is so cool...... Great setup you got going there!!

You think? I am just worried that there is something wrong with my process. Even though I haven't had any problems, I worry. So many people insist on washing the BBS really well to get every last bit of salt off of them. I am not doing that. And I only hear of people harvesting a batch one time, not multiple times. So I don't know.

It is working for me anyway! I have almost completed 3 weeks feeding BBS to my fry using this method. But if anyone knows of any reason I should stop doing it this way, please let me know!!

 

If its aquarium salt (not marine) and really a little of it at a time I think it should not be a problem for the fry.... Besides your doing daily WC's aswel so I think your fine.... The older they get the more tuff they get so if that little bit of salt would have been a problem you would have known of it already

Sent from my Valencia2_Y100pro using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

I used to hatch BBS a while ago and tried to harvest them as soon as possible, because, I was told the nutritional value of live BBS goes down by the hour.

It was explained to me (and I don't remember things unless it makes sense) that the "embryonic sac" they have as soon as they hatch, will be the BBS's source of energy. Without the "sac", BBS are less nutritious for fry. Some people will store freshly hatched BBS in the fridge for few days, in an attempt to slow them down, conserving the sac.

 

I hatch them in a tuperware bowl sitting on my light in water from my brackish tank. I put the corner of the tuperware over the vent of the light to get them to move to the corner. The salt doesn't hurt the fry at all, but then again, they are rainbow fry.