| Minimum age of Artemia: | 100 million years; most scientists say they look like the
same for that time |
| Natural occurrence: | saline inland water, e.g. Great Salt Lake / Utah/USA |
| Number of eyes: | one(!) as Nauplius; 3(!) as adult |
| Reproduction: | the usual way (male and female); parthenogenesis (females only) |
| Reproduction types: | ovoviviparous: nauplii hatch in the egg-sack (uterus, ovisac or brood pouch) and are born life after 4 days
oviparous: females deposit durable eggs (anabiotic reproduction)
also see glossary |
| Eggs: | Size: 200-300μm, 3.5μgramms on average;
Need to dry out to complete the development. I.e. they don't hatch before a dry cycle,
otherwise the would hatch immediately in the water and no durable eggs would be left when the lake dries up. |
| Time after fertilization until nauplii/eggs are born/released: | about 140 hours,
depending on environmental conditions, species and whether reproduction occurs oviparous or ovoviviparous |
| Number of offsprings: | 50-200 cysts about every 5 days |
| Sexually mature: | 28C (82F): 12 days
20C (68F): 18-21 days |
| Male reproduction organs: | 2(!) |
| First scientific description: | Schlosser/Kuenen and Baas Becking in 1755 |
| Number of legs: | 11 pairs |
| Color: | White to red, depending on the salt concentration and oxygen level. The blood of
Artemia contains hemoglobin (haemoglobin) which is responsible for oxygen transport in the blood. The color of hemoglobin is red -
our blood also contains lots of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin synthesis is activated by low oxygen concentration in the water.
Red Artemia indicate oviparous reproduction, pale whitish Artemia indicate ovoviviparous reproduction. |
| Major differences between males and females: | Male: 2 large antennae on it's head
Female: only tiny antennae, but large egg-sack (uterus, ovisac or brood pouch) |
| Hatch rate: | up to 160000 nauplii from 1 gramm of eggs |
| Sizes: | usually about 15mm (0.6inch) when matured
The hybrid Artemia Nyos (Sea Monkey) grows larger in less time; females are usually bigger than the males |
| Fairy vs. brine shrimp: | The crustacea in the order Anostraca are collectively called
fairy shrimps; a group which includes the brine shrimp (Artemia). Artemia live in saltwater, but there are fairy shrimp
who live in freshwater. |
| Phototactism: | Naupliae are positively phototactic (attracted by light);
adults are negatively phototactic (swim away from light) |
| Temperature limits: | Lethal temperature limits are 32F (0C) and 100F (38C) |
| Food: | algae cells (non-filamentous), Protozoa, organic detritus particles, etc.
with sizes of 40-60μm down to a few μm. |
| Hatch rate / time to hatch: | To increase hatch rate and decrease time to hatch,
the eggs can be treated with a chlorine solution. This solution etches away some of the eggs' shell and therefore allows the
nauplius to hatch faster and more easily. |
| Health: | Swimming speed: fast is good, slow is bad. Gut fill: well packed
gut that is easy to see indicates good feeding; little or no food in the gut indicates poor food densities, an undesirable
species of algae, or contamination of the tank |
| Pregnant females: | Rather large eggsack (dark to red in color); swimming
fast and are rather aggressive when meeting other Artemia |
| Schuman frequency: | The Schuman Resonance is the frequency that
the earth's cavity (space between the soil and the ionosphere) resonates. This frequency is between 6-8Hz -
all biological systems operate in the same frequency range. So do the Artemia.
|
| Water: |
- Tap water
- better: bottled mineral water (Evian, Volvic, Vittel etc.) (no carbonated water)
- let it rest for at least 48 hours
- If you add some bottled water to compensate evaporation, only add smally quantities at a time. Adding much
freshwater at once, causes the salinity to change rapidly, which some Artemia might dislike and die.
|
| Salt: |
- most sources say 15-35g/liter; recommended: 4 teaspoonful =~ 30g
- NO regular iodized kitchen salt
- Sea (solar/marine) salt, preferably the less filtered brand (still includes algae)
- better: Artemia Salt available in any better aquatics shop (includes minerals and algae especially for Artemia)
|
| Temperature: |
- 18-28C (64-82F) is OK
- better: 26-28C (80-82F) for fast hatching and growth
|
| Feeding: |
- Day 2 to ~10: liquid algae ("Liquicell" or "Microplan")
- Day 10+: algae powder (e.g. "Mikrocell") about once a week - only about a knife point full!
- That food is available in any better aquarium shop
- If the water gets dull/cloudy, stop feeding until it gets clear again!
|
| Aquarium container: |
- Glass, plastic, but NO metal due the metal oxides
- Make sure it's absolutely clean - rinse with hot water several times!
|
| Aeration: |
- Use a small (manual/electrical) aquarium pump with a little air-stone to put oxygen into your tank once a day
- Alternative: Carefully pick up some water with a spoon and let it drop back a few times
once a day will do too
|
| White/yellow stuff at the bottom: |
- After some time you'll recognize some white/yellow stuff (fluff) at the bottom of your aquarium. This is actually
brown diatom, which can and will be eaten by the Artemia. If it gets too much, you're probably feeding too
much - stop feeding for a while and the diatom will get less. Diatom also produces oxygen, so it's good it's there.
|
| anabiotic: | the ability of lower animals and plants to survive in a virtually inanimately state |
| oviparity/oviparous: | reproduction with eggs (low oxygen content, such as in high salinity;
strong oxygen fluctuations; iron-rich food, such as green algae) |
| ovoviviparity/ovoviviparous: | production of fully formed eggs which hatch inside the body of the female before the offspring is released
(high oxygen content, such as in low salinity; minor oxygen fluctuations; iron-low food, such as organic debris) |
| necroovoviviparity/necroovoviviparous: | If the female dies, the eggs develop further (see ovoviviparity) |
| pretermitted oviparity: | The embryo in the egg stops development at some point (e.g. if there
is no water available) and will continue development when water is available again |
