Looks like brine shrimp. Artemia. Appearance and gender differences

About 100 million years ago, a first-class food for aquarium fish appeared on Earth, and a little later, a component of medicinal mud and biological additives, an extract for the creation of medical and cosmetic preparations, as well as a pink dye for some salt lakes under the modern name "brine shrimp". At the moment, it is an object of scientific research. The resilience of these creatures makes them ideal organisms for test experiments.

In nature, Artemia lives and reproduces in salt lakes, most often located in resort areas.

Description and life cycle of brine shrimp

Artemia was first described by Karl Linnaeus in 1758, after it was discovered in England in the city of Leamington. Since then, scientists have not left the crustaceans alone, using their unique properties in their experiments.

In nature, Artemia lives and reproduces in salt lakes, most often located in resort areas. More precisely, resort areas with mud baths are located where Artemia lives. The studied habitats include:

• Marina - Salina - lake in the USA;
• "Salt Lake" in the Stavropol Territory;
• Lake Tengiz and Burlyu in Kazakhstan;
• Shira and Tus in Khakassia;
• Ajigol, Chongar and Saki Lake in Crimea;
• Lake Bear in the Urals;
• Bolshoye Yarovoe in Altai and many others in our country and abroad.

Artemia lives in Cyprus and Italy, Spain and France, the Philippines and Argentina. The area is very large.

Appearance and gender differences

Adult crustaceans can grow from very tiny to 15 mm in size. They have 11 pairs of legs, two pairs of antennae (antennae) and as many as three eyes. Artemia looks like a small shrimp. The color of her body depends on the concentration of salt in the water and varies from greenish to deep red. There is hemoglobin in the blood of the crustacean.

These primitive crustaceans are bisexual. The male has two copulatory organs: an enlarged second pair of antennae, resembling ticks, with which he captures the female during mating, and a copulatory organ for fertilization. During intercourse, the male takes a position behind and firmly grabs the female with antennae. The couple can stay in this position for up to several days, until an important process ends.

The female is slightly larger than the male. At the end of her body, an egg sac is clearly visible, where she stores up to 300 eggs - cysts at a time. She is able to give birth to offspring every 4-5 days. Under favorable conditions, babies appear in the mother's body already active.

When external factors change for the worse (drying, freezing, lack of oxygen, increased salt concentration), a protective coating forms around the cysts, and they "fall asleep", turning into cysts. In such a sleeping form, the female throws them into the water, where the cysts will wait for conditions suitable for further development.

Cysts as a way of survival

Under a strong protective shell, embryos can exist for decades, being in absolute rest. Artemia cysts are very small - 0.2-0.25 mm. They have a special structure that allows them to reliably attach to the feathers of birds and thus increase their range.

As soon as the environmental conditions become suitable, water penetrates through the cyst membrane. It makes the membrane swell and stimulates the awakening of the embryo. After a few days, the cyst ruptures and nauplii are born, the so-called newborn brine shrimp.

Adult crustaceans can grow from very tiny to 15 mm in size.

What a nauplia looks like

Outwardly, a newborn nauplia does not look like its parents. She has a small - only 0.5 mm - elongated body, two antennae (antennae), with the help of which she swims and pulls food to the mouth opening, and one single eye, which distinguishes only light. The eye helps to find food, indicating the most illuminated places. Nauplii eat algae, bacteria and detritus - a microscopic suspension of dead plants and animals, dispersed in water.

As they grow and develop, nauplii grow in size, with two true compound eyes, antennae, and a number of limbs. The third eye remains in place.

Young brine shrimp become miniature copies of adult crustaceans. As they grow up, they acquire gender differences and the ability to reproduce.

Industrial use of crustaceans

In nature, brine shrimp exists in lakes with different salt concentrations, which practically makes it the only inhabitant of water bodies where other similar organisms do not survive. It firmly occupies its niche and is of interest on an industrial scale.

The importance of brine shrimp for economic use is very high. Its chemical composition includes:

• essential amino and fatty acids;
• proteins;
• fats;
• vitamins;
• hormones;
• biologically active compounds.

Cysts are especially valued as a rich source of nucleic acids. The great biological value quickly found its application. Artemia is used:

• For food. In some countries, crustaceans are used to prepare a paste that replaces meat.
• In mud therapy. Mixing with silt, salt and minerals, the dead bodies of crustaceans form curative mud. It is used to treat a wide variety of conditions.
• In medicine. Cyst powder is found in some dietary supplements.
• In cosmetology. Extracts and extracts from Artemia are used abroad for the manufacture of external cosmetics and injections. Anti-aging and anti-aging products from leading companies in Israel, Spain and Germany are very popular.
• In science. On crustaceans, they test the toxicity of chemicals, study the structural organization of chromosomes, the mechanisms of protein biosynthesis, and other processes necessary to advance science.
• In aquaristics and industrial fish farming. Nauplii is a highly nutritious food for aquarium fish. Industrial fish farms use brine shrimp because of their high feeding value and the ability to increase physiological parameters.
• As a feed additive in poultry and animal husbandry. Performance increases several times.
• As fertilizers and plant growth stimulants.

Interesting Fish Facts:

• Artemia is the same age as dinosaurs.
• In 1982, Artemia traveled to space. The experiment was carried out by a Soviet-French crew. The effect of cosmic radiation on cysts was investigated.
• Artemia does not know how to sleep - she is awake all the time in order to eat and breathe.
• The color of the salt lakes is due to the salt concentration and the presence of brine shrimp. The richer the solution, the redder the lake.
• Translated from Greek, Artemia means "healthy". Named after Artemis - the goddess of fertility and patroness of all life on the planet.

The likelihood that the scope will continue to expand is very high.

Artemia are able to survive under the most adverse conditions. Their eggs do not die at temperatures of -200 degrees. Such tests were carried out in the laboratory and the eggs did not die. And others were briefly immersed in boiling water, even in this case, several eggs survived, and crustaceans hatched from them. After lying for 50 years, the eggs "come to life" under favorable conditions.

Since 1949, the eggs of these crustaceans have been collected in large quantities in the USA on the lakes of Utah, and from there they import tons of eggs to fish farms around the world. The most fruitful time for brine shrimp is July-September.

The first description of these crustaceans was made in 1755. This year, Becking, Schlosser and Kühnen determined the correct number of limbs in crustaceans for the first time.

Artemia - prehistoric crustaceans

These crustaceans are truly prehistoric, while their appearance has not changed. Artemia are true living fossils.

They are compatriots of huge stegosaurs and brachiosaurs. But unlike the latter, brine shrimp have survived to this day.

These tiny crustaceans survived the catastrophe that destroyed the lizards. To this day, Artemia live, and their age is about 1.5 million years.

Artemia, sung in art

In 1996, artist Alexander Rogl in Frankfurt am Main used these tiny creatures to decorate a window. He made a screen out of it, which displayed an enlarged view of frolicking brine shrimp.

Artemia and salt

In the old edition of the Life of Animals, it was said that the species Artemia milhauseni is the most beautiful of the Artemia, as it is characterized by intense coloration. But as it turned out, these quickly turn into ordinary ones, if the salt concentration is reduced during their dilution.

In general, brine shrimp copes with excess salt in a wonderful way. They survive in salt water because the salt they eat is excreted through the appendages on the first pair of legs. In such salty water, the enemies of Artemia could not follow their prey, that is, this is how the crustaceans managed to protect themselves.

The threat of extinction of brine shrimp

Natural populations of brine shrimp still existed in Germany in the 19th century, but, unfortunately, industrialization caused the almost complete destruction of crustacean habitats. Probably the last natural habitat of Artemia is the salt mine in Lower Saxony. In these places there are 3 temporary reservoirs in which small populations of Artemia live.

But even this population is endangered due to ongoing economic activities.

Artemia that went into space

These small crustaceans received a special honor in 1972. They, as an object of scientific experiments, visited the spacecraft Apollo 16 and 17. But nothing is reported about the results of these studies.

Features of life and behavior of Artemia

Artemia are born with one eye located in the middle of the face, but with age they have 2 more eyes. The first eye is called the eye spot and the rest are compound eyes. With the help of complex eyes, crustaceans can see outlines, and not only distinguish between darkness and light.

If brine shrimp live in the aquarium, and the owner gets tired of messing with them, they do not need to be thrown away.

The aquarium is left to dry, and the natural phase begins for the crustaceans. With an increase in salt concentration, females begin to lay winter eggs. When only the salt crust remains in the aquarium, it can be left on for a long time - even a year. If you then pour water into it, then nauplii will begin to appear from the eggs.

If the crustaceans are left for some time in the dark, and then the aquarium is illuminated, you will notice how strange these creatures behave. They begin to quickly rush around the aquarium, and some make pirouettes. The change in illumination causes increased activity in crustaceans.

Artemia is characterized by parthenogenesis. Only females can be born in one generation. Don't worry about no offspring. In this case, brine shrimp will also continue to multiply. In this case, reproduction occurs by parthenogenesis. That is, the eggs are not fertilized, but offspring still develop from them.

Winter eggs are so tenacious that they can do without oxygen for more than a year. At the same time, the percentage of egg hatching remains high. Such studies were carried out at the California Marine Biological Institute. No other living cell is capable of surviving such conditions.

For brine shrimp to live longer, it is best that the room temperature does not rise above 20 degrees. It is recommended to lower the salt concentration and not feed the crustaceans a lot. But if you overdo it with these tips, then brine shrimp can die altogether.

Artemia refers to the gill-footed crustaceans (Anemia salina). Adults reach a length of 18 mm. Artemia is common in salt water bodies in the southern regions of Russia.

There are brine shrimp eggs on sale, from which you can get its larvae (nauplii) and even grow them using specialized feed.

Nauplii are excellent food for juveniles of most aquarium fish, and adults of brine shrimp can be fed to medium-sized fish. It should be borne in mind that Artemia nauplii keep in illuminated places and if the fry hide in the dark, they will be left without food.

Frozen nauplii sink to the bottom of the aquarium, therefore they are suitable for feeding fry of barbs, catfish and other fish looking for food at the bottom.

100 g of brine shrimp contains: proteins 57.6 g, fats 18.1 g, carbohydrates 5.2 g. 100 g of brine shrimp contains: proteins 48 g, fats 15.3 g, vitamin B12 7.2 microns per 1 G.

HOME BREEDING 1 METHOD

1. A solution of salt is poured into the jar (20 g of table salt per 0.5 l of water), brine shrimp eggs are introduced (a teaspoon without a slide for 0.5 l of solution) and closed with a crumb, in which two holes are made with tightly sitting plastic tubes. A spray bottle is put on one of them, immersed in water to the very bottom, and the other end is connected to a compressor. The second tube, short, does not reach the surface of the water and serves to evacuate air. A strong air flow ensures that the eggs are stirred. The maturation of the first batch of crustaceans at a solution temperature of 24-25 ° C occurs after 36-40 hours.

To collect them, turn off the air supply for 4-5 minutes so that the crustaceans have time to settle to the bottom. Then put on another cover with two tubes, one of which is connected to the compressor and does not reach the surface of the water. One end of the second tube goes to the bottom of the jar, and the other is brought to a glass jar covered with cloth Nos 73, 76. The compressor is turned on, and the water is drained into the jar, and the crustaceans remain on the grid. After washing with water, they can be fed to fish. The solution is poured back into the jar, and the operation can be repeated one or two more times. A new solution is prepared for each new batch of eggs. The disadvantage of this method is the not very high percentage of the output of crustaceans from the eggs and the inability to completely get rid of the shells of the eggs, which, remaining in the net and getting into the intestines of the fry, can cause unpleasant consequences

BREEDING ARTEMIA 2 METHOD

Purchase a pack of brine shrimp eggs from a pet store. This food is convenient because it can be stored for years, so do not mind that the eggs are dry. Juveniles of brine shrimp are used as food for the fish. Before hatching brine shrimp, soak the eggs of these crustaceans for half an hour in 5% sodium chloride solution. Then rinse the brine shrimp eggs under the tap for a few seconds and place them in the incubator.

Fill 2/3 a 3-liter jar with settled (chlorine-free) water. Dissolve 3 tablespoons of salt in it. Dip some floating seaweed into the jar. Add a teaspoon of freshly washed brine shrimp eggs to the solution. Dip the hose from the microcompressor with the spray end into the jar. Connect the compressor to the mains and achieve such a flow of air that it does not allow the eggs of brine shrimp to settle to the bottom. Dip a thermometer into the jar. Make a round-the-clock backlight. At a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius, the crustaceans will hatch in 2 days, and at 28 degrees Celsius - in a day. Recreate brine shrimp at the same temperature that is set in your aquarium. In this case, once in the aquarium, they will live longer.

Buy a drip from the pharmacy. Separate the needle, dilator, and clamp from it. When fishing for brine shrimp, use the dropper as a drain hose. Prepare a piece of fabric that is water permeable. Use a hose to strain the required amount of crustaceans to feed the fish. Return the drained salt water back to the jar. If you abundantly aerate the water in the jar, then the crustaceans will live with you for several days. In fresh water, brine shrimp dies in a few hours. To grow a large a Place a jar of salt water in a jar of salted water, which serves as food for larger fish, in the sunlight. When it is overgrown with algae, run the crustaceans there. Algae are their food. You can add orange peels to the water. The crustaceans will begin to grow intensively and even reproduce.

STORAGE OF ARTEMIC

It is not difficult to store brine shrimp eggs; under the right conditions, the "germination" of eggs lasts a very long time. The main condition for successful storage is dryness, because in the presence of moisture, the cysts are not completely dormant and are depleted. It is preferable to store eggs in a refrigerator in a hermetically sealed bag, then their germination is very long and the percentage of hatching is quite high.

Fry of many species of spawning fish are fed with brine shrimp nauplii, since the size of newly hatched nauplii is such that in some cases even small fry can be fed with them from the first day of active feeding. With proper preparation, nauplii can be hatched within a day, which is very convenient, for the constant availability of feed, you can run several incubators and start them with a daily interval to always have fresh feed available.

Feeding fish with Artemia

It's important not just to feed your fish the right food. It is also important to feed correctly. Overfeeding fish is one of the main causes of disease and death of fish. In addition to the fact that overeating fish can easily get stomach inflammation, uneaten food decomposes in the water, which leads to an increase in the level of ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Remember yourself, have you seen a lot of fish that died of hunger? Of course, this does not mean that fish should be starved to death. Sometimes the rule is that the fish should be given a volume of food the size of the black pupil of the eye. Acting by this rule, you will starve a hefty frontosa with hunger sooner or later.

A healthy adult fish can safely go without food, especially in a plant aquarium, for several weeks. This does not apply to fry, which need to be fed a lot to grow up healthy. Therefore, if you are leaving, it is better not to feed the fish than to ask a stranger to give them food and then listen to his explanations about the poor little fish who are constantly asking for food, how can you refuse them. In addition, hungry fish stain the water less, so there is less headache cleaning the aquarium while you are away.

The usual rule, which applies reasonably well to most cases, is to feed once or twice a day as much dry food as the fish eats in five minutes.

Artemia is the only gill-footed crayfish that has adapted to living in salt waters. At the same time, it withstands not only high concentrations of table salt, but also acidic and alkaline environments. In some reservoirs, Artemia is the only representative of the animal world, since no other living creature wants to live in such conditions.
Crustaceans feed on algae, as well as bacteria, protozoa, detritus. This is what determines their positive phototaxis.

Crustaceans tend to lighter areas, where there is more algae. The way of feeding is filtration. With a lack of plankton, crustaceans have to stir up the bottom silt with their legs.
Under optimal conditions, the female Artemia lays eggs with a thin shell, which develop in the brood sac and already active nauplii emerge. When conditions worsen, eggs with a strong multilayer shell are formed. It is these eggs that are able to withstand rather harsh conditions for a long time that are used in the aquarium hobby.

The evolution of the genus Artemia went something like this:
The original ancestral bisexual species lived somewhere in the territory of the modern Middle East. Then it spread widely across the globe and about 25 million years ago, there was a division into populations of the Old and New Worlds. The next stage was the isolation of parthenogenetic forms on the territory of the Old World, which originated from European bisexual brine shrimp. At the same time (10-12 million years ago), A. persimilis separated from A. franciscana on the South American continent. The youngest species (subspecies), such as, for example, A. monica, were isolated about 2 million years ago. Thus, on a geological scale, they are our peers.

Every aquarium owner who breeds fish understands the importance of using high-quality, healthy food that is offered to fry. Artemia is one of the best options for these purposes. The use of food from such crustaceans offers a wide range of benefits.

What is Artemia fish food? How is this food useful for aquarium dwellers? How to breed these miniature crustaceans? We will talk about all this in our publication.

Artemia - what is it?

Artemia salina are primitive crustaceans that live in salt waters. Adults are capable of reaching sizes of no more than one centimeter. Such creatures are widespread in the coastal zones of America and Eurasia. They are found in water bodies, where there are about 300 grams of salt per liter of liquid.

Artemia feeds on organic matter and single-celled creatures, passing a significant amount of water through itself. Thus, the crustacean acts as a real natural cleaner of reservoirs. The shade of these creatures directly depends on the nature of the diet. Artemia can be red to greenish in color.

Large adult crustaceans in natural conditions are prey for numerous inhabitants of water bodies and birds. Frozen brine shrimp is often used by aquarium lovers. Fish food of this plan can be used for growing crustaceans at home. The procedure does not require any special skills. After all, such creatures are unpretentious to living conditions.

Reproduction

Food for fish brine shrimp, a photo of which can be seen in the material, reproduces offspring as follows. Eggs fertilized by males are concentrated in a special sac on the female's abdomen. After a while, nauplia larvae hatch from them.

With the deterioration of environmental conditions, the breeding method changes somewhat. The female lays eggs in a substrate in which the embryos reliably protect the cocoon containing nutrients. In this form, nauplii are able to remain viable for the most indefinite period. As soon as conditions improve, larvae hatch from such a sac. In this case, the minimum number of individuals from the clutch survives. However, this method of reproduction allows brine shrimp to maintain the population.

The benefits of the feed

Food for Artemia fish, a photo of which can be seen in the article, has a number of advantages, among which it is worth noting:

1. The possibility of storing eggs for breeding crustaceans in a dry form for the longest period. In this case, the embryos develop normally when they are placed in a suitable environment.
2. The incubation of brine shrimp nauplii takes a maximum of several days. Breeding feed takes place in a simple and straightforward manner. Therefore, even with the unexpected birth of fry of aquarium fish, there will always be something to feed them.
3. The benefits of brine shrimp (fish food) are obvious. Such food is well absorbed by young animals. The use of the feed results in a high survival rate and rapid growth of fry.
4. The owner of the aquarium can take dry food for brine shrimp and grow the number of nauplii that is required at the moment.
5. The organization of the crustacean breeding process requires a minimum of time, investment and effort. To figure out how to grow brine shrimp, just follow the simple instructions.

Methods for increasing the germination of brine shrimp

There are several solutions, the use of which makes it possible to increase the number of nauplii that hatch from eggs. One of the most effective methods is the freezing of seed. Excellent germination is noted after storing brine shrimp eggs in a freezer at a temperature of about -25 o C. It is recommended to leave nauplii in this state for several months, placing them in a saturated saline solution. After the specified period has passed, the eggs are removed from the refrigerator and left for a couple of days at room temperature. As a result, the embryos will be fully prepared for effective incubation.

Another way to increase the germination rate of brine shrimp (fish food) is not to use a freezer. The solution requires the treatment of nauplii embryos with non-concentrated hydrogen peroxide. The eggs are placed in a 3% solution of the chemical for about 30 minutes. Next, the seed is thoroughly washed and sent to the incubator. A certain number of eggs can be dried and left to breed for crustaceans in the near future.

Incubator organization

The best option for breeding fish food (brine shrimp) is a spacious container made of plexiglass. Water is poured here, in which salt is dissolved in the amount of one tablespoon per liter of liquid. The incubator provides high-quality round-the-clock lighting. To do this, you can use lamps, the power of which is at least 15 W. Such sources of illumination are located along the walls of the container, which also allows you to heat the water. If the room in which the crustaceans are grown is poorly heated, it is recommended to place the incubator in an insulated box.

Another solution that allows a significant number of brine shrimp nauplii to grow is the use of a conventional plastic bottle with a cut-off bottom. The latter must be moved with the neck down. A sprayer should be installed in place of the plug. You will need several such bottles. Both containers must be filled with an aqueous solution of sodium chloride. The atomizer, which is installed at the necks, must be periodically supplied with air. This will prevent brine shrimp eggs from sinking to the bottom. You should also warm up the water. Its temperature should not fall below +25 o C.

How to breed food for brine shrimp?

To begin with, dried eggs are poured into an incubator, which is filled with salt water in advance. As noted above, high-quality lighting is provided here and the optimal temperature is maintained at +25 ... +30 o C. Air is periodically supplied to the container, which makes the nauplii suspended.

As a rule, the first larvae of brine shrimp begin to hatch from the eggs within a day. After several days, their increased concentration is observed, which is sufficient to catch and start feeding fish fry.

In order for the larvae to remain viable, they must be periodically fed. For this, ordinary baker's yeast is used. The latter dissolve in water to form a cloudy liquid. You should use no more than one gram of yeast per liter of water. This amount of substance is sufficient for nutrition and growth of brine shrimp larvae.

Catching brine shrimp for fish feed

If you follow the instructions for breeding such crustaceans, after a while the nauplii will begin to loose their outer shells, gain body weight and actively move in the water column. To catch them for food, it is enough to direct a stream of air and a lighting lamp to a certain area of ​​the incubator. Adult brine shrimp will concentrate in the presented area, after which they can be removed from the reservoir with a small net. With this method of catching crustaceans, immature individuals will not enter the aquarium with fish fry.

Feeding features

It is necessary to feed brine shrimp to fish in small portions. Crustaceans must be eaten without residue. Otherwise, the nauplii will die, the water in the aquarium will turn sour, which will require regular replacement. In fresh liquid, brine shrimp dies within a few hours. The larvae settle at the bottom and begin to rot.

Finally

As you can see, it is not difficult to grow brine shrimp as food for fish. The main thing is to create optimal conditions for breeding crustaceans. Such creatures act as an extremely nutritious food that provides the inhabitants of the aquarium with a whole range of nutrients, vitamins and trace elements.

photo can be enlarged

Photo can be enlarged

Artemia salina(Artemia salina) - a species of crustaceans from the class of gills, an inhabitant of salt lakes, sharply differs from other gills in the nature of reproduction.

First, often only females are found in water bodies, which lay eggs capable of developing without fertilization, that is, parthenogenetically. Along with this, the presence of males, their mating with females and the development of fertilized eggs, as in other species, is just as common.

Secondly, in some cases, females lay eggs like other gill-legs, while in others they give birth to juveniles in special bags for nauplii. You can see the appearance of this crustacean in the photo on the left.

Adult crustaceans have three eyes and 11 pairs of legs and can grow up to 15 millimeters in size. Their blood contains the pigment hemoglobin, just like in vertebrates. Males differ from females by a markedly enlarged second pair of antennae, which have turned into capture organs used in mating.

Photo can be enlarged

The ability to tolerate a very high concentration of salts, the variability associated with life in water bodies of different salinity, polyploidy, and important practical importance make us dwell in somewhat more detail on the biology of this crustacean. Artemia is very widespread, but lives in water bodies of a certain type and in certain climatic conditions. It lives within the steppes and semi-deserts of Europe, Asia and America, in salt-lined estuaries and in salty continental lakes. It usually lives at a salinity of 40 to 230 ° / °°, but can be found at a lower salinity, up to complete desalination, and at a higher salinity. The predominance of sodium ions in the solution is most favorable for this crustacean, but the presence of other salts is also necessary.

When females lay eggs en masse, whole shafts of these reddish small balls are thrown by the wave onto the shore of the reservoir. The crayfish are also colored red.

Photo can be enlarged

For feeding use juvenile brine shrimp... In most cases, these are grown fry of spawning fish. Large fry can take this feed almost immediately. Sometimes adult dried brine shrimp is used for addition to dry food.

At breeding brine shrimp eggs are placed in a solution of table salt: three heaped tablespoons of salt for two liters of water and one teaspoon of eggs there. Salt must be free of additives. With intensive aeration, necessary so that the eggs do not settle to the bottom, and a temperature of 28 ° C, the fry are hatched in a day, at 18-20 ° C - in two days. It is better to breed brine shrimp at the temperature at which it will be fed to the fish.

You can catch juvenile crustaceans using a thin hose, filtering salt water through a cloth that allows water to pass well. After straining, the water is poured back into a vessel that serves as an incubator. With good blowing, crustaceans live in an incubator for several days, but they can only survive in fresh water for a few hours.

For grown fish fry, when larger brine shrimp is needed, a vessel with salt water should be placed in the sun and when algae appear on its walls, put the crustaceans there. They can also be fed with orange peels. Under these conditions, crustaceans can grow to adulthood and even reproduce. A large number of different breeding options for brine shrimp are described on the Internet, sometimes there is a feeling that this has become an end in itself.

Photo can be enlarged

Buy brine shrimp eggs in cities it is not difficult. They are sold in pet stores and markets, and sent by mail from country to country. In our country, they are prepared for export. The clutches are thrown in masses by waves onto the shores of the Sivash and other reservoirs rich in this crustacean, and their collection does not present any particular difficulties.

There are two types of eggs on sale: regular and decapsulated. The latter are deprived of the protective shell by a special method. This does not mean that they died in the process. Moreover, a more nutritious crustacean can hatch from decapsulated eggs, because he does not need to waste energy on freeing the egg from the shell. But, this is in theory.

The fact is that such eggs, just due to the deprivation of the shell, are much more demanding on storage conditions. And the process of decapsulation itself can be carried out in different ways. Trying to incubate dry decapsulated eggs from a bag purchased from a pet store is almost hopeless. But such eggs can be fed to fry almost as easily as dry food. You just need to pre-soak them in fresh water for half an hour, and then pour the swollen eggs into the aquarium.

Photo can be enlarged

But this is for undemanding species, for example,. And for demanding ones, after the eggs have swollen, you need to rinse them in a gas net. In this case, the products of protein breakdown from damaged and non-viable eggs will be washed away and will not affect the water quality in the nursery aquarium.

In terms of their nutritional value, decapsulated eggs are not inferior to live crustaceans. And no incubation problems. But if the larvae cheerfully, though not for very long, frolic in the water column, where the fry catch them, then the decapsulated eggs fall to the bottom. Fry of far from all fish species find them there.

There are a number of ways increasing the yield of nauplii from eggs. The simplest of them is freezing purchased eggs. Even one day in the freezer of the refrigerator shortly before incubation can increase the yield of crustaceans. If you plan to spawn aquarium fish, it is better to freeze the clutch of brine shrimp longer - a couple of weeks or months.

Photo can be enlarged

Cold activation is not uncommon in invertebrates. It is designed to mimic winter dormancy. The best results are obtained by freezing at a temperature of minus 20-25 ° C in a saturated salt solution for 1-2 months. But for this you need to have a real freezer. The freezer of a household refrigerator does not provide such a temperature. Before incubation, the eggs are removed from the freezer and left for 3-4 days at room temperature.

Another way is treatment with hydrogen peroxide. Eggs are soaked in 3% peroxide solution for 15-30 minutes. Then washed and placed in an incubator. Some of them can be dried and stored for several days, so that they can be put into a second incubator later. This ensures the continuous presence of brine shrimp nauplii. In the absence of a freezer, this is probably the best way.

The resilience of these creatures makes them ideal test organisms in experiments. Artemia is one of the standard organisms for testing chemical toxicity.