Best Brine Shrimp Hatchery: Product Review

A brine shrimp hatchery is a very simple device. Since all it needs to do is provide a home for tiny brine shrimp eggs to hatch, many brine shrimp hatcheries are little more than a plastic water bottle.

Yet this deceptively simple piece of equipment is a treasure among aquarists the world over. Being able to hatch your own brine shrimp at home provides your aquarium with a steady supply of healthy nutrients and can help save a ton on fish food while improving the overall health and quality of life for your fish!

While basic brine shrimp hatchery setups are a common DIY project, there are many brine shrimp hatchery kits available on the market. These include just about everything you need to get started, from a container to serve as the hatchery and the shrimp eggs themselves. In many cases, these kits are “just add water” designs that require minimal setup.

What are brine shrimp?

Brine shrimp are teeny tiny little creatures that have a few nifty abilities. Their eggs can be easily dried out for long periods only to rapidly spring to life when added to water and given a bit of warmth.

For anyone who owned a Sea Monkeys kit as a kid, you might even have affectionate memories of brine shrimp as a pet. Though many of us might not be entertained by the antics of a shrimp so small you have to squint to get a good look at them, fish are endlessly fascinated by the delicious little shrimp.

For small aquatic organisms of all sorts, brine shrimp provide a source of protein and fatty acids.

Introducing the live, freshly hatched brine shrimp into your aquarium at feeding time also gives all the critters in your tank a very natural and exciting way of getting their calories that closely mimics a natural aquatic environment.

Brine shrimp eggs take around 24-48 hours to hatch, meaning you’re not left waiting long before your investment in the hatchery starts paying dividends. You can feed the shrimp to your fish immediately after they hatch.

Getting the Most from your Brine Shrimp Hatchery

I’ll examine a few specific brine shrimp hatchery kits in a moment.

But first, let’s go over a few simple tips that will help you get the most from your brine shrimp hatchery regardless of which kit you decide to go with.

• Keep It Clean: Always wash your hatchery before hatching. Dump out all brine, wash completely, and rinse thoroughly between every use. Never use soap or detergent! Use approved aquarium cleaning products or a light vinegar solution. This prevents the build-up of microorganisms like mold and algae which can cause problems for your shrimp and your tank.
• Keep It Warm: Brine shrimp eggs are most likely to hatch around 82-86° F. At those temperatures, it should take roughly 24 hours for your brine shrimp to start swimming. While they can hatch at temperatures of 70° F or lower, this can take upwards of 36 hours. For best results, shoot for 82° F and never exceed 86° F. In colder climates your hatchery will require a heat source such as a heat lamp.
• Keep It Sparse: Trying to hatch too many eggs at once can lead to wasted shrimp and poor yields. Stick to the manufacturer’s recommended amount of eggs for your hatchery kit.
• Keep It Clear: Always use clean water to hatch your brine shrimp. In most areas, fresh tap water is suitable. However, in some locations with poor water quality, unusual pH, or excessive levels of disinfectant in the water, you may need to filter your tap water or opt for purchasing distilled water to get better results from your hatchery.

Best Brine Shrimp Hatchery Kits 

San Francisco Bay Brand Brine Shrimp Shrimpery

This brine shrimp hatchery kit from San Francisco Bay attempts to simplify the process of hatching your shrimp but may have gone a bit too far. In many ways, this hatchery is more of a toy than a functional part of an aquarium setup, but it can be put to use feeding your fish with a little effort.

Unlike other shrimp hatcheries which rely on an air pump to keep things moving or suggest using a light to attract the shrimp for harvest, this San Francisco Bay kit tries to do everything on its own. Included with the kit is a small tank that serves as the hatchery, a collection jar, and a packet of shrimp eggs and brine. 

The hatchery has some dark paneling to keep out light, while the collection jar sits atop it exposed to the light. The idea being that the brine shrimp – who are naturally attracted to light – will swim upwards after hatching. Since the shrimp are swimming up into the freshwater in the collection jar, this also saves you the trouble of rinsing the brine off them before feeding.

When it works, it is a clever and cute design. Unfortunately, many of the little shrimp seem content to languish in the darkness beneath and don’t bother coming up into the collection jar. The lack of any aeration from a pump is also a likely contributor to low hatch rates. Some customers have reported improving yields by adding a light source focused on the collection jar, but overall this kit has very low yields compared to more advanced solutions.

Pros:

• All-in-one setup requires nothing but water

Cons:

• Low Yield
• More of a toy than a tool

Koller Products TOM Aquarium Hatch N’ Feeder Brine Shrimp Hatchery

This brine shrimp hatchery from Koller simplifies the entire process of hatching your shrimp and feeding them to the critters in your tank. Mounting to the frame of your aquarium, this Koller brine shrimp hatchery integrates your brine shrimp directly into your aquarium environment. Instead of growing them completely outside the tank, harvesting the tiny shrimp, then dumping them in your tank, with the Koller setup the shrimps simply have a safe place to hatch before finding their own way into your tank!

All you have to do is mount the Koller, fill it with water from your aquarium, hook up the aeration tube to your aquariums pump, and add eggs!

You’ll want to position a light over the aquarium. This will attract the phototactic shrimp larvae to the hatcheries Dispenser Port where they can find their way into your tank. Just like that, your fish have a steady supply of freshly hatched shrimp larvae as they wriggle their way out of the hatchery.

This is a great design that really streamlines the entire hatchery process. The only drawback is that it is really one tank, one hatchery design, so if you were hoping for a system where you can harvest your shrimp to feed multiple tanks with, you might want to look elsewhere.

Pros:

• The simplified design removes the need to harvest shrimp
• Great for added peace of mind when leaving your tank alone for extended periods – you’ll know there is a food source growing away!

Cons:

• Doesn’t give you the ability to harvest shrimp for use in other tanks
• Brine shrimp water can be dirty and loaded with ammonia and nitrates. You don’t want to add that to your reef tank.
• We also all know that suction cups often fail…good luck if this slips

San Francisco Bay Brand ASF66190 Brine Shrimp Hatchery 

This kit is very bare-bones. Included with the purchase, you get a bottle stand, an aeration tube, and three packets of brine and shrimp eggs. To start hatching shrimp, you’ll need to supply a 2-liter soda bottle, an aquarium pump, and a light.

Included with the kit are full instructions for getting it up and hatching. You’ll need a 2-liter soda bottle to serve as the hatchery itself. The aeration tube (which will double as a harvesting tube) feeds into the bottom of the bottle stand and connects to the bottle, which sits inverted on the stand. Add your water and brine shrimp eggs to the bottle, connect it to the stand, and connect the aeration tube to your aquarium pump.

After 24-36 hours, you should have a generous portion of brine shrimp. You can turn off the air pump. Now shine a light into the bottom of the 2-liter bottle until all of the shrimp have collected next to it. You can now drain them off through the aeration tube and feed them to your fish.

Overall, this is a very simple design with some assembly required. However, it is remarkably efficient and effective in its simplicity.

Pros:

• Affordable, simple product
• Gets the job done effectively

Cons:

• Some assembly required. It requires a 2-liter soda bottle, light, and an aquarium pump.

Brine Shrimp Direct Hatchery Dish

Reminiscent of the first San Francisco Bay kit we looked at, this Brine Shrimp Hatchery Dish is a very simple design. It doesn’t incorporate any aeration or artificial light sources. You simply add your brine shrimp and eggs into the included hatchery dish, put the cover on, and wait for the shrimp to hatch and swim towards the light, where they get trapped in a small collection spoon.

While the design does work, the hatch rates are much lower than a properly aerated hatchery system. The design is clever and could be well-suited for smaller tanks or to create an occasional treat for a larger aquarium.

Pros:

• Requires no external pump or light
• Very simple design for hatching and harvesting

Cons:

• High price tag
• Mediocre hatch rate compared to aerated hatcheries

Which is the best brine shrimp hatchery?

After exploring a few of the best brine shrimp hatchery kit options available online, here is my recommendation on which one is best.

My recommendation

I recommend the simple but effective brine shrimp hatchery kit from San Fransico Bay Brand

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Compared with the other options, this kit will allow you to make a larger volume of brine shrimp and help you keep the pollution from the hatching process out of your tank.