Hello everyone bbs collection problem!

[jibanoodleboi]

Ok i got hatchery bbs with the 2L coke bottle method.. right now it's all hatched after 30 hours... but there's so many eggs and/or egg shells floating AND sitting at the bottom i can't siphon the bbs??? isn't shells harmful? so whenever i try to take some out i get egg shells along with the bbs? HELP!

 

[The Banana]

The empty shells will be floating on the water surface, any un-hatched eggs will be at the bottom, and the BBS will be in the middle. This will be of coarse after turning the aeration off and letting it settle.

I would first scoop out any hatched eggs carefully, and dispose of them.
Shine a small torch and shine it on one side of the bottle. The BBS will swim over, they look orange. Then, use a syringe with a bit of air-line tubing on the end to siphon them out.

Hope this helps.

 

[siona]

That's always worked for me - but I used a turkey baster to get them out

 

[jibanoodleboi]

and... how long do i wash the bbs for??? @_@ i have a tub of fresh water but.. yeah.. as stated how do i know it's free of salt?

 

[siona]

hmm good question - you could always taste some!
Personally, I just filled the turkey baster up about halfway with freshwater and used that, just making sure that all the BBS got a rinsing

 

[The Banana]

Just give them a good rinse, it doesn't matter too much if a tiny bit of salt gets in. What is a few grains going to do in a big tank? Lots of people salt their tanks anyway.

 

[bayhicoach]

I siphon the eggs into a net designed for the purpose then dip the net into fresh water briefly (seconds) before feeding them to the axies. If you don't have a net use something like a bit of a nylon stocking as a sieve.