Artemia. This amazing Artemia Artemia is an adult

Artemia are able to survive under the most unfavorable 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. 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 tons of eggs are imported to fish hatcheries around the world. The most productive time for Artemia is July-September.

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

Artemia - prehistoric crustaceans

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

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

These tiny crustaceans survived the disaster that destroyed the lizards. To this day, brine shrimp live and are about 1.5 million years old.

Artemia, glorified 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, on which frolicking brine shrimp were displayed enlarged.

Artemia and salt

In the old publication "Animal Life" it was said that the species Artemia milhauseni is the most beautiful among artemias, since it is characterized by intense coloring. But as it turned out, these quickly turn into ordinary ones if you reduce the salt concentration when diluting them.


In general, brine shrimp cope remarkably well with excess salt. They survive in salt water due to the fact that salt obtained from food is secreted using 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 Artemia

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

But even this population is under threat of extinction due to ongoing economic activities.


Artemia that went into space

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

Peculiarities of life and behavior of Artemia

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

If there are brine shrimp in the aquarium, and the owner gets tired of fiddling with them, there is no need to throw them away.


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

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

Artemia is characterized by parthenogenesis. Only females can be born in one generation. There is no need to worry that there will be no offspring. In this case, the brine shrimp will also continue to reproduce. 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 survive without oxygen for more than a year. At the same time, the percentage of eggs hatching remains high. Such studies were carried out at the California Marine Biological Institute. No other living cell is capable of surviving such conditions.

In order for brine shrimp to live longer, it is best that the room temperature does not rise above 20 degrees. It is recommended to reduce the salt concentration and not give the crustaceans a lot of food. But if you overdo it with these tips, then the brine shrimp may die altogether.

Both for newborn fry and other fish. And Artemia salina is exactly such food. The use of this food has already been appreciated by a huge number of aquarists around the world. Therefore, in today’s article we will talk not only about why these crustaceans are useful, but also how to breed them at home.

Application benefits

These crustaceans have been considered one of the favorite foods of various inhabitants of artificial reservoirs for decades. So, their undeniable advantages include:

  1. Excellent food quality, which has a beneficial effect on the survival and rapid growth of fry.
  2. Fast and predictable incubation process, which allows you to feed newborn fish even in the event of unexpected spawning.
  3. Obtaining a pre-planned number of brine shrimp according to the aquarist's needs.

It is also especially worth noting that her eggs have the ability to be stored for a long time without losing their ability to further develop.

The only downside is that their distribution at home will require the allocation of some time and labor to organize and carry out the entire incubation process.

What types of Artemia eggs are there?

Today there are 2 types of eggs on sale:

  1. Decapsulated.
  2. Ordinary.

As for the former, these eggs are completely devoid of the shell that protects them. But don’t worry that future crustaceans will die. As practice shows, it is the lack of protection that can allow the emerging crustacean to look more well-fed. This happens due to the fact that he does not need to expend his strength not destroying the shell. But in addition to the possible positive, there is also a negative aspect. So, these eggs require a special reverent attitude.

Also, although they can be used as food, there is one important point here. If the hatched brine shrimp continues to live in the water for some time before the fry eats it, then the decapsulated eggs falling to the bottom in no way attract the inhabitants.

It is worth noting that Artemia eggs undergo an incubation process in a saline solution, and the appearance of larvae largely depends on the batch. So, in order to hatch brine shrimp, eggs should be used that have a shelf life of no more than 2-3 years, but in some cases up to 5 years are allowed. If you take these, you can be sure that more than half of the crustaceans will hatch.

Also, using a strong magnifying glass, you can independently predict the yield of larvae by calculating the number of unfilled egg shells as in the photo below.

Artemia salina: increasing germination

Today there are many options for increasing the germination of brine shrimp, but the most popular method is freezing. Thus, placing eggs in the freezer for 1 day before incubation can increase the yield of crustaceans tenfold. But if spawning is planned in a few weeks, then it is best to keep the eggs for about 2-3 weeks. As a rule, the best results with this method are achieved at air temperatures from -20 to -25. It is permissible to put brine shrimp eggs in a solution with table salt. Remember that before starting the incubation process, it is better to take them out of the refrigerator and leave them at room temperature for several days.

It is also possible to increase the germination rate of Artemia salina when treated with hydrogen peroxide. To do this, eggs are soaked in a 3% solution and left there for 15-20 minutes. After this, they must be washed with water and transferred to the incubator. Also, some aquarists practice an option in which they leave some of the eggs to dry for further laying in portions. It is worth noting that in the absence of a refrigeration chamber, this option is very good.

Incubation

As soon as the dormant period is completed, it is necessary to proceed directly to the incubation process itself. To do this, we take the eggs and send them to the brine shrimp incubator shown in the photo below. As a rule, the structure of incubators can differ significantly from each other. The main thing is not to forget that the main components must include:

  1. Table salt solution.
  2. Aerator.
  3. Backlight.
  4. Heating.

brine shrimp fry

It is worth emphasizing that aeration must be done in such a way as not to give even the slightest opportunity for eggs to settle to the bottom. Also, we must not forget that in order to breed artemia successfully, it is necessary to constantly illuminate the incubator. If the air temperature is below normal, then it is advisable to transfer the incubator to an insulated box. Typically, the ideal temperature range is 28-30 degrees. If the temperature is slightly higher, then the crustaceans can hatch much faster, but they will also quickly end, thereby violating all the plans of the aquarist.

The final stage

When the crustaceans come into the world, they spend their first time freeing themselves from the shell of the egg, as shown in the photo below. At this moment they are so reminiscent of parachutists that most aquarists call this stage the “parachute” stage. It is also worth noting that at this stage feeding the fry is strictly prohibited in order to exclude even the slightest possibility of intestinal blockage. But the “parachute” period lasts relatively short, and as soon as the crustacean is freed from the shell and begins to actively move, it can be used as food for the fry.

The only thing that can cause inconvenience is his capture, given the speed of his movement. Therefore, we turn off the blowing and illuminate one of the corners in the incubator. It should be noted that Artemia crustaceans with positive phototaxis will definitely move towards the light, which will not only organize them for feeding the fish, but will also help distinguish active crustaceans from those that are still in the “parachute” stage.

There is also another method designed to strain crustaceans. The sloping bottom of the incubator is ideal for this purpose. Then, as soon as the blowing is turned off, the empty egg shells immediately float to the top, leaving at the bottom those eggs that did not hatch. The crustaceans themselves accumulate in large numbers in the subbottom layer, from where they can be collected without any problems by taking a siphon. Then all that remains is filtration with a net. You can also pour fresh water over it, but this depends on the type of fish for which the brine shrimp was prepared as food.

Artemia (lat. Artemia)- a genus of crustaceans from the branchiopod class (Branchiopoda), classified into its own family - Artemiidae.

All representatives are planktonic organisms inhabiting shallow sea waters and salt lakes. They feed on phytoplankton, filtering water using their thoracic limbs.

The crustacean has an elongated segmented body, clearly divided into the head, thoracic, abdominal sections and furca.

Adult Artemia reaches a length of 10-20 mm and a weight of 10-12 mg. The color of the crustacean is determined by the nature of the food consumed, as well as the concentration of oxygen dissolved in the water and varies from greenish to bright red.

Artemia are heterosexual. Males are smaller than females. Artemia reaches sexual maturity at 18-30 days.

Juvenile brine shrimp are an excellent food for fry and small fish species. It should be taken into account that Artemia larvae stay in illuminated places and if the fry hide in the dark, they will be left without food. Excellent nutritional qualities of brine shrimp, ensuring good survival and rapid growth of fry. Large viviparous fry can take such food almost immediately. Sometimes adult dried brine shrimp are used to add to dry food.

For most Artemia species, two reproduction options are described: viviparity and oviparity, and the choice of one or another strategy can be both determined by environmental conditions and genetically controlled.

In the case of oviparity, groups of fertilized eggs enter first the unpaired egg sac on the ventral side of the female, and then into the water. The embryo, protected by the egg membranes, is in diapause.

At this stage, brine shrimp are able to remain viable for a long time and withstand drying and extremely low and high temperatures. During viviparity, development occurs without diapause: females give birth to nauplii.

Freshwater Artemia - Gill-footed Crayfish (Chirocephalus grubei)- very similar to the sea. Most often it is found in spring in forest hollows, which usually dry out in the summer months. This is a bright red creature with a black stripe on its back and rather large black eyes. Females reach a length of 2.5 cm, males are usually somewhat smaller. The front part of the body below is equipped with rows of feathery, randomly moving limbs, but, oddly enough, freshwater brine shrimp always swim on their backs. Their development cycle passes very quickly. Females leave clutches of eggs in the water and die with the onset of warm and dry weather, when the reservoirs dry out, but the eggs remain viable even in a dried state until next spring, when the reservoirs are filled with water again.

Freshwater brine shrimp are excellent food. Large-sized fish swallow them whole, medium and small fish tear them into pieces and eat them.

Artemia salina- an inhabitant of salt lakes, differs from other branchiopods in the nature of reproduction. Often, only females are found in reservoirs that lay eggs that can develop without fertilization, i.e., parthenogenetically. Along with this, the presence of males, their mating with females and the development of fertilized eggs is just as common, just as in other species. In some cases, females lay eggs like other branchiopods, and in others, they give birth to young in special bags for nauplii.

How to catch brine shrimp

On the banks of secluded reservoirs you can find whole rolls of eggs along with parts of dead plants. The eggs are collected in a net with a double mesh. The inner cone is made of mesh No. 12, which traps debris, and the outer cone is made of mesh No. 60, in which eggs are collected. They are thoroughly washed in water, dried and kept for several days at 2-5 ° C, but not in a home refrigerator, as salmonella bacteria may be present there.

Breeding Artemia at home

1) Pour 0.5 liters of saline solution into a 0.75 liter bottle: 20 g of table salt per 0.5 liter of water, add a level teaspoon of brine shrimp eggs and close with a stopper in which 2 holes are inserted with plastic tubes passed through them.

A sprayer is put on one of them, on the end immersed in water to the very bottom, and the other end is connected to a compressor. Another tube, short, does not reach the surface of the water and serves to remove air. A strong air current ensures mixing of the eggs, and to prevent them from accumulating at the neck of the bottle, shake it from time to time.

The ripening 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 and place the bottle with a slight tilt for 4-5 minutes so that the crustaceans have time to settle to the bottom. Then another stopper with 2 tubes is inserted into the bottle, one of which is connected to the compressor and does not reach the surface of the water.

One end of the second tube fits to the bottom of the bottle, and the other is connected to a glass jar, closed with a fine mesh No. 73, 76. The compressor is turned on and the water is poured into the jar, and the crustaceans remain on the mesh. After washing with water, they can be fed to fish.

The solution from the jar is poured back into the bottle and the operation can be repeated 1-2 more times. For each new batch of eggs, a new solution is prepared.

The disadvantage of this method is the not very high percentage of crustaceans emerging from eggs and the inability to completely get rid of egg shells, which, remaining in the net and getting into the intestines of the fry, can cause unpleasant consequences.

2) When breeding brine shrimp, eggs are placed in a solution of table salt: three heaped tablespoons of salt per two liters of water and one teaspoon of eggs in there. Salt should be without additives. With intensive aeration, which is necessary so that the eggs do not settle to the bottom, and a temperature of 28°C, the fry hatch within a day, at 18-20°C - after two days. It is better to breed artemia at the same temperature at which it will be fed to the fish. You can catch juvenile crustaceans using a thin hose, filtering salt water through a fabric that allows water to pass through well. After filtering, the water is poured back into the vessel, which serves as an incubator. With good ventilation, crustaceans live in an incubator for several days, but they can only survive in fresh water for a few hours. For grown-up fish fry, when larger brine shrimp are needed, a vessel with salt water should be placed in the sun and when algae appears on its walls, the crustaceans should be added there. You can also feed them orange peels. Under such conditions, crustaceans can grow to adulthood and even reproduce.

If brine shrimp are well cared for and kept in water with low salinity, adults can spawn. Each adult female produces up to 75 nauplii per day, or 300 nauplii every 4 days. They can be ready to mate 10 times during a normal lifespan. Be that as it may, if you take good care of them, they will live for 3 months and give birth to offspring every 4 days.

Buying brine shrimp eggs in cities is not difficult. They are sold in pet stores and markets, and sent by mail from country to country. There are two types of eggs on sale: regular and decapsulated. The latter are deprived of a protective shell using a special method. This does not mean that they died in the process. Moreover, decapsulated eggs can hatch into a more nutritious crustacean, because he does not need to waste energy on freeing himself from the egg shell. The fact is that such eggs, precisely due to the deprivation of their shell, are much more demanding in terms of storage conditions. And the decapsulation process itself can be carried out in different ways. Eggs can last for many years if kept away from water and oxygen.

Trying to incubate dry decapsulated eggs from a bag purchased at a pet store is almost hopeless. But these eggs can be fed to fry almost as easily as dry food. You just need to first soak them in fresh water for half an hour, and then pour the swollen eggs into the aquarium. This is for undemanding species, such as barbs. And for those who are more demanding, after the eggs have swollen, you need to wash them in a gas net. In this case, protein breakdown products from damaged and non-viable eggs will be washed away and will not affect the quality of water in the nursery aquarium. In terms of nutritional value, decapsulated eggs are not inferior to live crustaceans. And no problems with incubation. But if the larvae play happily, although not for very long, in the water column, where the fry catch them, then the decapsulated eggs fall to the bottom. The fry of not all types of fish find them there.

Storing Artemia eggs is not difficult; under the right conditions, the “germination” of the eggs remains for 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 the refrigerator in a hermetically sealed bag, then their viability remains for a very long time and the hatching percentage is quite high.

There are a number of ways to increase the yield of nauplii. The simplest of them is freezing eggs. Even one day in the freezer of a refrigerator shortly before incubation can increase the yield of crustaceans. If you are planning the spawning of aquarium fish, then it is better to freeze the brine shrimp clutch longer - a couple of weeks or months. Cold activation is not uncommon in invertebrates. It is designed to imitate the winter dormant period. 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 this temperature. Before incubation begins, the eggs are removed from the freezer and left for 3-4 days at room temperature.

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

Eggs can also be pre-treated with a 1.5-3% hydrogen peroxide solution for 15 minutes before incubation, followed by drying.

You can also increase the yield of crustaceans using decapsulation, i.e. decomposition of the egg shell. To do this, dry eggs are soaked for 1 hour in fresh water, and then placed in the following solution: 50 g of hypochloride, 35 g of sodium carbonate in 1 liter of water. The ratio of eggs and solution is 1:10. The components are thoroughly mixed for 1-1.5 minutes. As the shell dissolves, the eggs turn orange. They are stored in a dry place in closed packaging. Decapsulated eggs can be fed to fry. Before feeding, eggs are washed for 8-10 minutes with running warm water.

Artemia is a crustacean that lives in salty bodies of water: estuaries, salt lakes. Reaches 10 mm in length. Artemia nauplii, the name given to crustacean larvae, are commonly used as food.

Application

Juvenile brine shrimp are an excellent food for fry and small fish species. It should be taken into account that Artemia larvae stay in illuminated places and if the fry hide in the dark, they will be left without food.

Nutritional value

Excellent nutritional qualities of brine shrimp, ensuring good survival and rapid growth of fry.

How to collect brine shrimp eggs?

On the banks of secluded reservoirs you can find whole rolls of eggs along with parts of dead plants. The eggs are collected in a net with a double mesh. The inner cone is made of mesh No. 12, which traps debris, and the outer cone is made of mesh No. 60, in which eggs are collected. They are thoroughly washed in water, dried and kept for several days at 2-5 ° C, but not in a home refrigerator, as salmonella bacteria may be present there.

Storage

Storing Artemia eggs is not difficult; under the right conditions, the “germination” of the eggs remains for 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 the refrigerator in a hermetically sealed bag, then their viability remains for a very long time and the hatching percentage is quite high.

Breeding at home

There are 2 ways to breed Artemia:

Method one: normal

Pour 0.5 liters of saline solution into a 0.75 liter bottle: 20 g of table salt per 0.5 liter of water, add a level teaspoon of brine shrimp eggs and close with a stopper in which 2 holes are inserted with plastic tubes passed through them.

A sprayer is put on one of them, on the end immersed in water to the very bottom, and the other end is connected to a compressor. Another tube, short, does not reach the surface of the water and serves to remove air. A strong air current ensures mixing of the eggs, and to prevent them from accumulating at the neck of the bottle, shake it from time to time.

The ripening of the first batch of crustaceans at a solution temperature of 24-25 ° C occurs after 36-40 hours. To collect, turn off the air supply and place the bottle with a slight tilt for 4-5 minutes so that the crustaceans have time to settle to the bottom. Then another stopper with 2 tubes is inserted into the bottle, one of which is connected to the compressor and does not reach the surface of the water.

One end of the second tube fits to the bottom of the bottle, and the other is connected to a glass jar, closed with a fine mesh No. 73, 76. The compressor is turned on and the water is poured into the jar, and the crustaceans remain on the mesh. After washing them with water, they can be fed to fish. The solution from the jar is poured back into the bottle and the operation can be repeated 1-2 more times. For each new batch of eggs, a new solution is prepared. The disadvantage of this method is the not very high percentage of crustaceans emerging from eggs and the inability to completely get rid of egg shells, which, remaining in the net and getting into the intestines of the fry, can cause unpleasant consequences.

Method two: with two cameras

Asterman developed a method for breeding and catching Artemia larvae, which not only increased the yield of crustaceans, but also ensured reliable separation of the shell. The dilution vessel is glued together from an opaque material, for example, vinyl plastic or painted plexiglass, and only the side and rear walls of chamber II are made of transparent plexiglass.

Eggs are loaded into chamber I, and the crustaceans that emerge from them penetrate through the lower slit and holes in the intermediate wall into the illuminated chamber II, from where they are caught with a net. This transition occurs especially intensely if you turn off the aeration for a few minutes.

To increase the % yield of crustaceans, eggs can be pre-treated with a 1.5-3% hydrogen peroxide solution for 15 minutes before incubation, followed by drying.

You can also increase the yield of crustaceans using decapsulation, that is, decomposition of the egg shell. To do this, dry eggs are soaked for 1 hour in fresh water, and then placed in the following solution: 50 g of hypochloride, 35 g of sodium carbonate in 1 liter of water. The ratio of eggs and solution is 1:10. The components are thoroughly mixed for 1-1.5 minutes. As the shell dissolves, the eggs turn orange. They are stored in a dry place in closed packaging. Decapsulated eggs can be fed to fry. Before feeding, eggs are washed for 8-10 minutes with running warm water.

There are ready-made mixtures of bacterial eggs, salt and initial food for nauplii on sale, for example

Artemia salina is a crustacean that is used to feed adult aquarium fish, and its larvae are fed to fry. Breeding Artemia allows you to independently provide your swimming pets with live food. An adult crustacean can also be used as food for fish or aquarium species of crayfish and crabs.

How to prepare an aquarium for this creature?

It is recommended to keep Artemia at home in a container that is not exposed to salt. Glass or plexiglass works well for this. To grow Artemia at home, you need to prepare the aquarium as follows:

  • A vessel with a capacity of about 50 liters is selected. Good results are obtained by an aquarium whose volume ranges from 30 to 40 liters.
  • Initially, it is recommended to treat such an aquarium with boiling water, since the crustacean is very susceptible to foreign bacteria.
  • You don’t have to put soil, but if it is used, it is recommended to rinse the soil well.
  • Otherwise, dregs will appear, which may interfere with the removal of Artemia.
  • It is recommended to place the aquarium in a place where the rays of the sun fall (window sill). This factor is very important, since Artemia crustaceans love light. The side walls of the vessel are overgrown with algae, which contribute to the growth of Artemia.
  • Any clay objects, for example, pieces of flower pots, must be placed at the bottom. You can get by with stones. As a rule, all these objects are overgrown with algae, which are necessary for this type of crustacean creature.
  • It is recommended to close the top of the aquarium with a lid to prevent dust from getting inside.

The presence of algae in the vessel is mandatory, since the crustacean feeds on them. At the same time, the natural circular nitrogen cycle is maintained, when the shells and secretions of these creatures are completely processed, so the level of nitrates in the water is automatically maintained at a certain value. There should be no one in the aquarium except Artemy. Some people are interested in how long this crustacean lives.

Its larva lives in fresh water for no more than 8 hours.

Eggs can be stored in the bottom compartment of the refrigerator for up to 4 years. How long an adult crustacean will live depends on when it is given to fish as food.

Keeping crustaceans at home

To get food for aquarium fish, you can grow crustaceans yourself. The water temperature should be maintained at 22 °C, and the salt concentration should not exceed a limit of 30‰. This will allow you to grow Artemia only in the initial period, when most of the fry emerge from the eggs. In order for schools of fry to live long (about 10 months) and develop, it is better to reduce the temperature in the aquarium to 22 °C and the salinity to 20–25‰. But you shouldn’t get too carried away with experiments with Artemia, since most of the fry may simply die.

Adults can live at temperatures of 16–34 °C. Most often they are kept at room temperature. As water evaporates from the aquarium, its supply is restored by adding fresh liquid. It is recommended to change the water only when it becomes cloudy, since crustaceans need clean liquid. You can add various vitamins and beneficial bacterial compounds to the aquarium. There is no need to be overzealous with aeration. It is best to use a compressor without any sprayers, since if air gets under the shell of a crustacean, it may die.

To breed crustaceans. We need to get their eggs. After this, they are peeled, poured into a glass or jar with a volume of 1 liter. Fill the vessel with water and stir. Over the next 20 minutes, the eggs will sink to the bottom, and the husks will float on top. After this, the testicles are activated. To do this, dry eggs are placed in a solution of table or sea salt (they can be bought at a pharmacy; a concentration of 35–47 g/l is taken). Then they are frozen at a temperature of -25 °C for 30–60 days.

Placed in a separate aquarium. After the fry hatch, they are transferred to the appropriate biotope.

How successful the activation will be, a person can verify by hatching the calculated number of fry. Most often, for a novice hobbyist, the death rate of larvae in the first period can be about 85–90%. This is due to the quality of the purchased batch for divorce and many other factors. It is usually possible to hatch crustaceans in an incubator in 5–48 hours, although if the above conditions are not met, the process is delayed for a week.

How to distinguish the sex of a crustacean and how to feed it?

The male has 2 antennas on his head. With them he captures the female during mating. If the female has already reached sexual maturity, then she can see a large brown reservoir, which is located between the female’s legs and her tail. Sometimes only females appear in the brood, since these creatures have the opportunity to continue the genus through parthenogenesis.

Sexual maturity in the female appears 19–30 days after birth. She can lay eggs every 10 days.

Many people are interested in how to feed these creatures. To do this, you can sprinkle various microscopic algae into the aquarium. The crustaceans filter the water. Snatching food from her. If food is concentrated near the surface of the water, then these creatures float to the surface, but their movements are slow.

You can find out what to feed in special reference books or from an ichthyologist. Special microscopic plants are sold. By feeding them, you can achieve sufficient weight gain in crustaceans, and the fish really like such crustaceans, and they happily consume such live food.

But first you need to catch all the grown crustaceans from the aquarium, and then wash them in fresh water. Only after this are they suitable as fish food. Dead specimens do not need to be removed, since all aquarium fish quickly eat them.

If the biotope is organized correctly, then the harvest of crustaceans can be obtained throughout 12 months.

Moreover, the owner’s intervention will be minimal. If you no longer need to grow live food yourself, then you just need to let the water evaporate from the aquarium with crustaceans. At the same time, they will lay eggs, which can be revived at any time by placing them in a container of water.

Views