Each owner of an aquarium that breeds fish understands the importance of using high-quality, healthy feeds that are offered to fry. One of the best options for these purposes is artemia. Using food from such crustaceans provides a wide range of benefits.
What is artemia fish food? How useful is such food for the inhabitants of aquariums? How to breed these miniature crustaceans? We will talk about all this in our publication.
Artemia - what is it?
Artemia salina - primitive crustaceans that live in salt waters. Adults are able to reach a size 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 about 300 grams of salt are per liter of liquid.
Artemia feeds on organic matter and unicellular creatures, passing a significant amount of water through itself. Thus, the crustacean acts as a real natural cleaner of reservoirs. The hue of these creatures depends on the nature of the diet. Artemia can acquire a color from red to greenish.
Large-sized adult crustaceans in natural conditions are prey for numerous inhabitants of reservoirs and birds. Fans of aquariums often use frozen artemia. 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.
Breeding
Artemia fish food, a photo of which can be seen in the material, reproduces the offspring as follows. Eggs fertilized by males are concentrated in a special bag on the female’s abdomen. After some time, nauplii larvae hatch from them.
With the deterioration of environmental conditions, the method of propagation is somewhat modified. The female lays eggs in a substrate in which the embryos reliably protects 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 bag. In this case, the minimum number of individuals from the masonry survives. However, this method of reproduction allows Artemia to maintain the population.
Feed Benefits
Artemia fish food, a photo of which can be seen in the article, has a number of advantages, among which it is worth noting:
- The ability to store eggs for breeding crustaceans in a dry form for the longest term. In this case, the embryos develop normally when placed in a suitable environment.
- Incubation of nauplii brine shrimp takes a maximum of several days. Feed breeding takes place in a simple and understandable way. Therefore, even with the unexpected appearance of fry of aquarium fish, they will always be something to feed.
- The benefits of brine shrimp (fish food) are obvious. Such food is well absorbed by young animals. The result of feed application is high survival and rapid growth of fry.
- The owner of the aquarium can take dry food for artemia fish and grow the amount of nauplii that is currently required.
- The organization of the process of breeding crustaceans requires a minimum of time, investment and effort. To figure out how to grow artemia, just follow simple instructions.
Methods of 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 material. Excellent germination is observed after storing Artemia eggs in a freezer at a temperature of about –25 ° C. It is recommended to leave nauplii in this state for several months, placing them in saturated saline. After the specified period, 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 capacity of brine shrimp (fish food) does not involve the use of a freezer. The solution requires the treatment of nauplii nuclei with non-concentrated hydrogen peroxide. The eggs are placed in a 3 percent chemical solution for about 30 minutes. Next, the seed material is thoroughly washed and sent to the incubator. A certain number of eggs can be dried and left to breed crustaceans in the near future.
Incubator Organization
The best option for breeding food for fish (brine shrimp) is a capacious 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 organizes high-quality round-the-clock lighting. To do this, you can use lamps with a power of at least 15 W. Such light sources are located along the walls of the tank, which also allows you to heat the water. If the room in which the growth of crustaceans is carried out is poorly heated, it is recommended to place the incubator in an insulated box.
Another solution that allows you to grow a significant amount of nauplii brine shrimp is the use of an ordinary plastic bottle with a cut bottom. The latter must be moved neck down. At the place of the plug should be installed sprayer. There will be several such bottles. Both containers need to be filled with an aqueous solution of sodium chloride. It is necessary to periodically supply air to the nebulizer that is installed at the necks. This will not allow Artemia eggs to sink to the bottom. Water should also be heated. Its temperature should not fall below +25 o C.
How to breed artemia fish food?
To begin with, dried eggs are poured into an incubator, which is pre-filled with salt water. As already noted above, high-quality lighting is provided here and the optimum temperature is maintained at a level of +25 ... +30 ° C. Air is periodically supplied to the container, which makes the nauplius be in suspension.
As a rule, the first Artemia larvae begin to hatch from eggs within a day. After several days, their increased concentration is observed, which is enough to capture and start feeding fry of fish.
In order for the larvae to remain viable, they must be fed periodically. For this, ordinary baker's yeast is used. The latter dissolve in water until a cloudy liquid forms. It is necessary to use no more than one gram of yeast per liter of water. Such a quantity of substance is sufficient for nutrition and growth of Artemia larvae.
Catching Artemia fish food
If you follow the instructions for breeding such crustaceans, after a while the nauplii will become free from the outer shells, gain body weight and actively move in the water column. To catch them for food, it is enough to send a stream of air and a lighting lamp to a specific area of the incubator. Adult brine shrimp will concentrate in the area presented, after which they can be removed from the reservoir with a small net. With this method of catching crustaceans, unformed individuals will not enter the aquarium with fish fry.
Feeding Features
Fish need to feed artemia in small portions. Crustaceans should be eaten without a trace. Otherwise, the nauplii will die, the water in the aquarium will begin to sour, which will require its regular replacement. In fresh fluid, Artemia dies within hours. The larvae settle at the bottom and begin to rot.
Finally
As you can see, growing artemia as a food for fish is easy. The main thing is to create optimal conditions for breeding crustaceans. Such creatures act as extremely nutritious food, which provides the inhabitants of the aquarium with a whole complex of nutrients, vitamins and trace elements.