Can Selcon be added to phyto mixture for gut loading brine shrimp

[Karen00]

Hello fellow Saltines,

More often than not I hatch out more brine shrimp than what I need (it's only a 5g) so a lot of them grow out beyond their nutritious nauplii stage. After a day I feed them with phyto and continue to add them to my tank. Can a bit of Selcon be added to the phtyo to feed them for extra nutrients or would that kill them?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello fellow Saltines,

More often than not I hatch out more brine shrimp than what I need (it's only a 5g) so a lot of them grow out beyond their nutritious nauplii stage. After a day I feed them with phyto and continue to add them to my tank. Can a bit of Selcon be added to the phtyo to feed them for extra nutrients or would that kill them?

I do that with Selco, so I imagine Selcon would be similar. I'm thinking the Artemia needs to be at the fourth instar, maybe 18 hours post hatch? We feed them overnight, phyto and Selco, and then feed the artemia out after about 20 hours. You need to be careful, too much Selcon and the water fouls and you lose the Artemia.

Jay

 

[Karen00]

I do that with Selco, so I imagine Selcon would be similar. I'm thinking the Artemia needs to be at the fourth instar, maybe 18 hours post hatch? We feed them overnight, phyto and Selco, and then feed the artemia out after about 20 hours. You need to be careful, too much Selcon and the water fouls and you lose the Artemia.

Jay

Thanks so much Jay!! It would definitely be after 24 hours. I've had a batch going for three or four days (I added way too many cysts) and have been feeding phyto because I don't want to waste the adults. I would only add a wee bit of Selcon to my phyto so I'm glad to know this can be done. I haven't heard of Selco. I'm going to check that out.

 

[dedragon]

selco is on of the main ingredients of selcon

 

[Karen00]

selco is on of the main ingredients of selcon

Nice! Thanks! No need for me to go on a quest now. LOL

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Thanks so much Jay!! It would definitely be after 24 hours. I've had a batch going for three or four days (I added way too many cysts) and have been feeding phyto because I don't want to waste the adults. I would only add a wee bit of Selcon to my phyto so I'm glad to know this can be done. I haven't heard of Selco. I'm going to check that out.

SELCO, sold by INVE out of Europe is going to be an issue for you - it is sold in nitrogen packed bags and must be refrigerated after opening. Then, it only has a opened shelf life of about 3 months, and it is very expensive. That has always been a question for me then - why does SELCO need this special handling, when Selcon is sold, unrefrigerated, and with no expiration date? I stopped using Selcon because of that apparent disconnect. SELCO now sells a dry product, but I don't think it is really available to home aquarists: https://www.inveaquaculture.com/product/easy-dry-selco/

Jay

 

[dedragon]

Jay that new formula may be what allows for the more stable selcon product but maybe they were just selling it to them as an exclusive product before, not sure if there is any special handling or storage for the dry stuff though.

 

[dedragon]

I 100% believe that selcon should be refrigerated and has to have an expiration date of some sort due to the fatty acids(hufa)

 

[Garf]

For what it’s worth, I used to do a DIY cod liver oil emulsion, seemed to be ok.

 

[Karen00]

I 100% believe that selcon should be refrigerated and has to have an expiration date of some sort due to the fatty acids(hufa)

Oh geez. I guess I should've been keeping my bottle in the fridge! Yikeys. Maybe I better start unless it's too late now. Do you think the makers of Selcon tested it unrfrigerated to make sure it will last if kept that way?

 

[Karen00]

For what it’s worth, I used to do a DIY cod liver oil emulsion, seemed to be ok.

That's nifty. How did you make it?

 

[Garf]

That's nifty. How did you make it?

Cut a cod liver oil capsule, empty the contents into maybe 50mls Of cooled boiled water, in a small bottle, then shake the living daylights out of it, from memory. It was over 15 years ago though, so you may have to play with the quantities. Does make your arm ache though, it takes a while to fully emulsify, then a quick shake before each use. Refrigerate. Chuck away regularly and make a fresh batch. Cheap.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Mine is refridgerated and applied 3X as a soak for food. Other days I add a few drops of garlic extract

 

[Karen00]

Cut a cod liver oil capsule, empty the contents into maybe 50mls Of cooled boiled water, in a small bottle, then shake the living daylights out of it, from memory. It was over 15 years ago though, so you may have to play with the quantities. Does make your arm ache though, it takes a while to fully emulsify, then a quick shake before each use. Refrigerate. Chuck away regularly and make a fresh batch. Cheap.

Nice! Thanks!

 

[Karen00]

Mine is refridgerated and applied 3X as a soak for food. Other days I add a few drops of garlic extract

Thanks for this! Can it go bad of it isn't? I don't recall that it was in a fridge at the store I bought it so if it can go bad (or becomes useless) then it might not have mattered even if I had refrigerated it.