Artemia salina: growing and feeding the gill-footed crustacean

Brine shrimp, or Artemia salina, are small crustaceans that have gained popularity among aquarium hobbyists. Because of their high nutritional content, fish and other aquatic animals frequently eat these tiny organisms live. They can be a convenient and affordable way to feed aquarium inhabitants, and they’re also easy to grow.

Salty lakes are Artemia’s natural habitat, and they are renowned for their capacity to endure harsh environments. They are a great option for both novice and seasoned aquarists because they are easy to grow at home and require little equipment. You can maintain the ecosystem of your aquarium by cultivating a robust brine shrimp culture with a little care.

Brine shrimp are very beneficial to fish and are very easy to feed. They are perfect for a wide range of species, from young fry to adult fish, because of their small size and ease of digestion. Knowing how to grow and use Artemia salina correctly will improve the inhabitants of your aquarium’s health and vitality.

Characteristics of the crustacean

The branchiopod crustacean Artemia is a member of the subphylum Crustacea. Males are distinguished from females by the claws on their heads. The female’s abdomen contains an egg-laying sac.

Habitat

Due to their preference for heat, crusaders are mollusks that are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates. Artemia is found naturally in salt water bodies that are composed of carbonate, sulfate, and chloride.

Description and life cycle

An adult crustacean has three eyes and eleven pairs of legs. Individuals who identify as bisexual can grow up to 15 mm long. Depending on the amount of oxygen dissolved in the water and the food the mollusk consumes, its body color can range from a greenish tint to a bright red color.

Nauplius juveniles have a single eye. Unlike adults, who shy away from direct light, they have good vision and swim toward it.

There are two ways that Artemia salina reproduces:

• Separate;
• parthenogenetic, etc. e. without the participation of a male.

The female deposits her eggs in a designated egg sac on her abdomen following mating with the male. The most eggs it can hold, under ideal circumstances, is 200. The average quantity, though, is between 50 and 60 pieces. The moment the egg enters the brood sac, it starts to develop embryonically. From them, nauplii hatch.

You cannot see a single nauplii with the naked eye because they are so tiny. The body weighs less than one gram, at 0.01 mg, and is 0.45 mm long. The hue ranges from a light pink to a vivid red. Ten to twelve hours after birth, newborn nauplii actively move in the water and start feeding. This is when the first molt takes place.

The molting process takes the future crustacean through fifteen stages in the first eight days of its maturation. On days 18–30, full maturation takes place.

Be aware that Artemia salina can live for up to six months on average. On the other hand, the adult perishes in two hours if there is no oxygen in the water.

Application

Crustaceans classified as Artemia are very important to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and fishing industries.

When using crustaceans:

1. For feeding aquarium fish. Nauplii serve as nutritious starter food for young fish and fry, for older individuals they give adult crustaceans. Used for food in dry, fresh, frozen, sublimated or liquid form.
2. Mud therapy. Dead crustaceans are stacked in layers and accumulated on the bottom of reservoirs. During the process of rotting, they mix with silt and salt. As a result, mud is formed that has medicinal properties. People who have visited mud spas successfully treat diseases of the musculoskeletal system, joints, and urinary system.
3. In cosmetology. For the prevention and treatment of skin diseases, they produce products with a rejuvenating effect, for example, "Diamond" (Italy).
4. In medicine. Artemia is used as a dietary supplement (for example, "Kavesan"), they make drugs that normalize metabolism in the body.

Methods of breeding at home

Even for novices, growing Artemia salina at home won’t be too tough if you adhere to all the essential guidelines.

Future crustacean eggs are bought from pet stores. They can be regular, from which crustaceans will emerge in 7–10 days, or decapsulated, from which they will hatch in a matter of minutes. 160 thousand people are produced from one gramme of eggs. First few days of life are when most of them pass away.

Crucial! The percentage of nauplii that hatch from eggs that have been stored for more than a year is very low.

The eggs of the Crusaders need to be ready to hatch. Pour them into a 0.5–1 liter container, top it off with settled water, and let it sit for 10–20 minutes to accomplish this. Once the time has elapsed, remove the husk that has gathered on top. Following that, cover them with a 35 g/liter saline solution and freeze for one to two months. In this manner, the eggs are triggered to hatch further.

A simple option

The simplest method for raising brine shrimp at home to feed aquarium fish is this one. Use a biotope, or small container, with a capacity of two to three liters, for hatching. These could be miniature aquariums or tall glass vases. It is set aside on a windowsill that receives plenty of light and solar heat. On the bottom are several pebbles and broken pieces of clay from flower pots. Eventually, green algae will grow on their surface, providing brine shrimp with natural food.

Take note: In addition to being food, algae are involved in the natural process of gas exchange. As such, their attendance is required.

Using a spoon, add the prepared brine shrimp eggs to the container filled with salt water. Put a lid on it to keep dust out of the surrounding air.

In an incubator

Crustacean hatching and breeding take place in specialized incubators, like the JBL Artemio set. It is rectangular in shape, with an internal beveled end and an inverted conical flask.

Complex incubators, such as TOM Aquarium Hatch N’Feeder Brine Shrimp Hatchery, are used on an industrial scale. These incubators are connected to aquariums and automatically supply hatched brine shrimp.

You can hatch and breed crustaceans at home by creating a homemade incubator. You’ll need the following for this:

• 2 plastic bottles with a capacity of 2 liters;
• a compressor for an aquarium and a tube for connecting it to the incubator;
• a tube with a sprayer;
• a flashlight or a table lamp for lighting and heating the incubator;
• sea salt and brine shrimp eggs.

How to construct a homemade incubator:

1. Cut off the top part with the neck of the first bottle, and the bottom part with the bottom of the second one so that they can then be inserted into each other, with the closed neck down.
2. In the resulting container, insert a tube with a sprayer connected to a compressor.
3. Pour in salted water (at the rate of 2 tbsp. l. 3 liters) and turn on the compressor.

Next, add the future crustacean’s eggs, and place a lamp close by to heat and light the incubator.

Crucial! At least +27–+30°C should be the minimum water temperature during the incubation period. In this instance, 48 hours will pass before the first crustaceans show up. The hatching period will be shortened to 36 hours if the temperature is raised to +29–+35°C.

In an aquarium

To grow, you have to get ready beforehand:

• an aquarium made of ordinary or organic (plexiglass) glass, with a volume of at least 10-15 liters;
• a thermometer for measuring temperature;
• a refractometer for measuring salt in water;
• a heater with a regulator;
• sea salt – 350-500 g;
• a water filter and a flashlight;
• buy brine shrimp eggs at a pet store.

After being drenched with boiling water, the aquarium is placed next to an electrical outlet. Pour the solution into the container after adding sea salt to the settled water at a rate of 35 g per liter of liquid. Install the heater, thermometer, and filter among the electrical devices. Stir the brined shrimp eggs into the saline mixture.

Crucial! It is required to measure the temperature and salinity of the water every 24 hours.

Favorable conditions for growth

Hatching conditions:

1. Suitable water for hatching crustaceans with a neutral reaction is distilled or boiled.
2. Salt concentrate in water should be at least 25-35%. To obtain this indicator, add 4 t. l. salts (sea or dining room sodium without adding iodine) with a small hill per liter of water.
3. An aquarium pump is used to saturate the water with oxygen and circulate. Oxygen is pumped into the biotope 2-3 times a day. If it is not possible to purchase it, then stir the water several times a day using a plastic stick.
4. Maintain an optimal temperature regime for reproduction +22…+25°C.
5. Egg density – 2.5 g per liter of water.
6. Lighting with a lamp until larvae appear – 24 hours.

Feeding – accelerating and increasing the yield of crustaceans

Adult brine shrimp raised at home are fed fish meal that has been finely ground, fresh yeast, detritus, egg powder, dry mixes made of plant parts, dry milk, and green microalgae. They can be grown on their own or bought from a specialized retailer.

Two to three times a day, small portions are fed. If you add too much, the food scraps will start to rot and spoil and the water will become murky. Refeeding should therefore wait until the first portion has been consumed.

Brine shrimp, or Artemia salina, are a common and nutrient-rich food source for fish and other aquatic animals kept in aquariums. All you need to grow these little crustaceans at home is saltwater, light, and the right temperature. It’s also very affordable. They can be used to feed fish, both young and adult, once they hatch, providing them with natural, live food that will improve their health and growth. To guarantee that the fish in your aquarium get the best nutrition possible, this article will walk you through the process of cultivating and feeding Artemia salina.

Catching and storage

Hatched brine shrimp or decapsulated eggs must be carefully removed in order to feed fish and fry.

Crustaceans and hatched nauplii

Disconnect the compressor from the power source before attempting to catch an adult. Then, draw brine shrimp to a specific location by using light (a lamp or a flashlight). Next, gather the remaining nauplii with a sieve with small holes after capturing large crustaceans with a sieve with large holes. The adult brine shrimp are cleaned with fresh water before being fed to fish.

Remark: The excess crustaceans are frozen in order to preserve them for use at a later time.

Decapsulated eggs

Within a few minutes of shutting off the compressor and light, the decapsulated eggs will drop to the bottom of the aquarium. Use a thin hose to trap them. The salt water is filtered through a dense cloth that lets water through after it is lowered to the bottom.

You have to let the water in the biotope evaporate on its own after you stop breeding brine shrimp. The eggs laid by the crustaceans will sink to the bottom. It will only take another pour of salt water into the container to bring them back to life.

Keep in mind that cysts are kept in a refrigerator. They are put in a dry, sealed bag or container to accomplish this.

Pros and cons of growing Artemia salina

There are benefits to raising Artemia salina at home for live aquarium fish food.

• nutritious food accelerates the growth of fish fry;
• increases the survival rate of fry;
• the process of growing Artemia can be made endless if you add salt water to the container as it evaporates.

• breeding crustaceans requires time and special equipment;
• if you give the fish fry too much food, then the remaining Artemia larvae, which quickly mature, will eat the fry themselves;
• if the cultivation technology is violated, bacteria, parasites, and infections form in the water, which can subsequently get into the aquarium.

Topic	Details
Artemia salina	Small gill-footed crustaceans, also known as brine shrimp.
Growing Conditions	They need salty water and temperatures around 25-28°C.
Feeding	They eat microalgae and yeast; feed them 1-2 times a day.
Hatching Time	Eggs usually hatch in 24-48 hours under proper conditions.
Benefits for Fish	Great source of protein for aquarium fish, especially fry.

For both novices and seasoned aquarium hobbyists, raising Artemia salina, or brine shrimp, is an easy and satisfying undertaking. Because of their hardiness and ease of growth, these tiny crustaceans are a great food source for a variety of aquarium fish.

An ideal environment is essential for successful cultivation. You can make sure that Artemia will hatch and grow properly by keeping the salinity, temperature, and aeration at the proper levels. They will also thrive if you feed them commercial food or microalgae on a regular basis.

Artemia is a wholesome choice for feeding your aquarium fish. Fish of all ages gain from the high-protein diet that Artemia offers because it enhances their health and fosters growth. A simple and efficient method to promote the health of your aquatic pets is to incorporate brine shrimp into your feeding schedule.

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