"Brine shrimp (Artemia, "BBS")
The brine shrimp you need for small larvae are NOT the ones sold alive and swimming at pet stores. Those are adult brine shrimp, which are a suitable food for adult newts and very large newt larvae. We are talking here about freshly-hatched baby brine shrimp (sometimes referred to as "BBS"). These are approximately 1 mm (1/16") in size. They are fairly easy to hatch out from dry eggs (cysts), which can be purchased at pet shops or online.
To hatch out brine shrimp, you will need: brine shrimp eggs (or "hatch mix"), non-iodized salt, rock salt, or aquarium salt (not needed if you use hatch mix), and a hatchery device. Many instructions can be found for hatching artemia (see links below). Briefly, here is the procedure I have used. I have made my own hatchery, as shown below. I put into the hatchery:
2 cups (500 ml) tap or bottled water (chlorine is OK, but chloramine and dechlorinating drops are not OK)
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon brine shrimp eggs
0.5 Tablespoon non-iodized table salt or aquarium salt
1/16 teaspoon baking soda (optional, if your water is acidic or soft)
This mixture is bubbled gently at room temperature, and shrimp are ready to begin harvesting in 2-3 days, depending on temperature. Some instructions for brine shrimp will insist that you need a strong light and warm temperature to hatch them. This is not true, in my experience. I routinely hatch them in 3 days at 65°F (18°C) without special lighting.
I use two hatcheries, with the batches staggered so that I have a constant supply. To harvest, I clamp off the airline tubing, let it sit for 1 minute, then I use a basting bulb to take out some of the liquid from the bottom and put it through a brine shrimp net. The empty shells of the brine shrimp float, and this part should be left behind. (NOTE: larvae will die if they injest the unhatched or empty shells of the brine shrimp!) If you don’t have a brine shrimp net, you can use a kitchen strainer lined with a piece of fabric or nylon hosiery. Be sure to rinse thoroughly with fresh water, as you do not want to add salt to your aquarium"
Quoted from the article I linked to in the earlier post...
