Nick and Helen Bollmeyer, who have worked for Posaqua for three years, have taken over operations at the facility that has experimented with growing commercial quantities of a number of different fish in holding tanks and ponds.

Helen and Nick Bollmeyer at the
covered holding ponds where
the brine shrimp grow.

"There were always two sides to the business - the fish and the brine shrimp", said Nick.

"The brine shrimp have been so successful they are the business now."

Nick says Posaqua is the biggest producer of brine shrimp within Australia and the only company to sell Australian product in a blister pack.

Last year, Posaqua started producing baby brine (babies of brine shrimp) - microscopic particles of food for fry fish (baby fish).

"We are the only one which grows baby brine so that business has just exploded", he said.

"We supply aquarium fish and two seahorse farms - in South Australia and Western Australia. The WA site was using an imported brand but loved our food so much they recommend Posaqua on their seahorse care pamphlet now."

Posaqua manufacture 10 different diets in frozen fish food to suit a whole range of fish, including herbivorous fish, and also supply live brine shrimp.

They have distributors in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Auckland in New Zealand and locally, Peninsula Nursery stock the product.

"Orders are going through the roof. People love their fish and they go to great lengths to feed them well", said Nick.

"We have a 'vegie' diet and 'marine green' (cultivated seaweed) for plant-eating species. Fish love our brand of seaweed", said Helen.

As luck would have it, marine green was an accidental discovery.

"We used to pull the seaweed out of the ponds and throw it away because it was a pest when we were trying to harvest the brine shrimp - then we realised fish would eat it", said Nick. "Now we cultivate and harvest it."

Success has come from perseverance for the couple, who, with staff member, Mark Brown, originally came to Posaqua for work experience from Flinders University on their way to gaining a Bachelor of Technology (Aquaculture) Degree.

"Things just grew from there. For the three of us, this was our first job out of uni", said Helen. "There has been a lot of trial and error and it can cost a lot of money - but I think we have it right now."

With an abundance of salt water to supply the ponds they are in the right place for this type of venture but have found a natural enemy in birdlife.

"We were coming out in the morning and finding our ponds covered in ducks - they can clean out the brine shrimp in no time", Nick said.

As a result, the ponds are now covered in nets.

Nick says they regularly get feedback from people who buy their fish food.

"I had a guy ring me the other day who has 60 aquariums in his house. He told us to keep up the good work because he can't believe the colour of his fish since feeding them our food. The fish do well because the nutrition is so good from brine shrimp."

"We get that sort of thing a lot and it gives us confidence", said Nick.