Brine shrimp (hatching)???

Question

I dont get it... i got a 50g pack of brine shrimp eggs harvested in 2007. They've been in the fridge for about a month now. I dont get how the eggs stay 'alive' till I hatch them. Are they still gonna hatch? So theyll hatch whenever I want them too?

Answer 1

I know it's hard to believe, but brine shrimp eggs can lay dormant for years.  It's a miracle of evolution.  In the wild, brine shrimp live in places where droughts are likely to take place often.  When a drought occurs, all of the adult brine shrimp die, leaving behind eggs that can lay dormant until the next rain.  Once the eggs are hydrated, they hatch and the cycle continues.

I've never kept my brine shrimp eggs in the refrigerator.  Did it say to do that on the package?