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ARTEMIA NYOS FAQ - SEA MONKEYS - FACTS
Well, the most intersting question still remains unanswered:
Which species does the Artemia Nyos hybrid consist of ? (if it is a hybrid at all)
I've opened a support ticket at the Sea Monkey customer support to put an end to this old question. I will
update this page as soon as I've got an answer.
So far it seems that Artemia Nyos is just plain Artemia salina - the patent for the Sea Monkey mixtures
of the packages doesn't mention any other species than Artemia salina.
Here are some other facts about the Sea Monkeys:
| Instant life ? | No. Actually the water purifier package #1 already
contains salts and some Artemia salina eggs. Many of these "first" sea monkeys will have hatched after 24 hours
when you add the "instant life" package #2. Package #2 contains some dye color to ease spotting the fresh hatched
Artemia, so those which you see instantly after adding package #2, are actually those nauplii from the eggs in
package #1. |
| Yeast ? | Many people do not recommend to feed your Artemia
with yeast, nor do I (better get Artemia algae powder from an aquarium shop), but package #2 and #3 actually
contain yeast. Package #2 has 0.33%(!) - a very small amount - yeast in it, package #3 is a mixture of
spirulina algae and dried yeast. |
| Water Purifier ? | Yes, but only a tiny amount of
sodium thiosulphate Na2S2O3 (0.03%) in package #1
removes the chlorine from tap water. Chlorine is poisonous to Artemia. The rest of package #1
are various salts for providing a saline environment.
So if you use bottled non-carbonated water it is most likely OK to pour in package #1 and #2 at the same
time. Since there is no "instant live" anyway (the eggs need at least 24 hours to hatch) this is OK. |
WATER CHEMISTRY DETAILS
1. Buffer agent to keep the pH at a level of about 9
The buffer agent is quite important since conventional fresh waters occur within a pH of 6 and 10.
By adding a buffering agent the water can be adjusted to a pH level of 9, regardless if the
water was previously between a level of 6 or 10.
Buffering agents are alkali carbonates, hydroxides, phosphates, or borates (non-toxic to brine shrimp).
Sodium borate is the most preferred chemical, in the composition of Na2B4O7.
In basic words: Sodium borate (also known as Borax) is used to keep the acidity to a level of pH 9,
regardless of the pH level of the water used, which seems to be the preferred pH level of Artemia.
2. Neutralizing agent for residual or free chlorine
Chlorine is usually added to tap water to remove bacteria and the like.
Chlorine in the amount of 0.1 to 0.2 ppm (parts per million) as it occurs in tap water, is toxic to brine shrimp.
Soluble thiosulfates (such as sodium thiosulfate Na2S2O3) are preferred, but also
sodium sulfite and sodium bisulfate are reported to work.
In basic words: Sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3) is used to remove the
toxic (at least to brine shrimp) chlorines from the water.
References:
USPTO Patent #3673986
USPTO Patent #3029784
Last-Modified: Sun, 08 Oct 2006 18:52:20 GMT |
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