Newly hatched larvae get rotifers until they are large enough to eat just-hatched brine. You have to be careful not to introduce the brine too soon, or the larvae will choke on them and die. Then as the larvae grow, I offer them slightly larger brine. In the meantime I also feed powdered flakes. The sooner you introduce these, the sooner they will recognize them as food. Any time you switch food, though, you should always overlap the new with the current type until they are taking the new, and then wean them off the old.
Right now the babies are just about weaned off the live brine completely, and they are eating a variety of crushed flakes and cyclopeeze. I first started giving them three-day old frozen brine left over from my hatches (along with the live) to get them used to the non-living foods, so when I introduced the cyclopeeze, they immediately investigated and found them etible. As the juveniles grow, they need more protein and less fat, so newly hatched brine is too fatty. So then I grow the brine out for a few days before feeding, as then they contain a larger percent of protein and less fat. Flakes offer more protein, also, and so does cyclopeeze...though I will only feed the cyclopeeze a few times a week.
