Brine Shrimp for Fish: How to Hatch and Feed
Published: 2026-10-27 · FishyKart Blog
Brine shrimp (Artemia, most often Artemia salina and A. franciscana) are tiny saltwater crustaceans whose dried eggs, called cysts, can sit dormant for years and hatch within a day in salt water. Newly hatched larvae, nauplii, are about 0.4 mm long and are the standard first live food for fish fry; adults reach about 0.4 in (1 cm) and are sold frozen or live for adult fish.
Photo: Hans Hillewaert - Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
| Parameter | Value |
| Scientific name | Artemia spp. |
| Nauplius size | About 0.4 mm at hatching |
| Adult size | About 0.4 in (1 cm) |
| Hatch time | 18-36 hours |
| Hatching water | About 1.5-2 tablespoons (25-35 g) of salt per litre (25-35 ppt) |
| Hatching temperature | 80-82°F (27-28°C) |
| Best for | Fry, small fish, picky eaters, bettas |
How to Hatch Baby Brine Shrimp
- Fill a bottle or hatchery with dechlorinated water and add about 1.5-2 tablespoons (25-35 g) of non-iodised salt per litre.
- Add a strong air stone so the cysts keep tumbling; still water lets them sink and fail.
- Keep the water at 80-82°F and under constant light.
- Add about half a teaspoon of cysts per litre and wait 18-36 hours.
- Turn off the air, shine a light at the bottom: the orange nauplii gather there, the empty shells float.
- Siphon the nauplii, rinse them in a fine net with fresh water and feed.
Feed Them Fast
Nauplii hatch carrying a yolk sac that makes them most nutritious in the first hours. Their nutritional value drops noticeably within a day, and in fresh water they weaken within hours, so hatch small batches daily rather than one big batch a week. Decapsulated cysts (shells removed chemically) can be fed directly to fry without hatching and leave no indigestible shells.
Frozen and Live Adult Brine Shrimp
- Frozen: easy, safe and widely available; thaw a cube in tank water first
- Live adults: trigger a strong feeding response in picky fish such as bettas and wild-caught species
- Adult brine shrimp are mostly water and protein; use them as a treat or variety food, not the only food
Which Fish Benefit Most
Fry of livebearers such as guppies and mollies grow faster on baby brine shrimp than on powdered food. Small adult fish such as ember tetras, endlers and bettas take adults or frozen brine shrimp eagerly.
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