Live feed project – DIY Artemia farm

[Ralf]

For all of you who want to provide new varieties of live feed for their animals. A short report on my experiences with growing adult Artemia (brine shrimp). You might want to give this a try. Inspired by info from the internet and literature I started two mortar tubs (60 l each) as Artemia growing facilities.
Here is what I did.

1. Put a thin layer (about 2 cm) of a mixture of clay and garden soil (no fertilizers or pesticides!) into each tub.
2. Placed the tubs on a balcony where they are exposed to a lot of sunlight (high temperatures or temp variation shouldn’t be any problem, at least in the Northern temperate zone).
3. Prepared 50 l of saltwater for each tub (plain NaCl without any additives, rock salt or plain kitchen salt at a concentration of about 60 g / l).
4. Seeded both tubs with a saltwater algae (Nanochloropsis salina) and waited till the water turned green.
5. Put 0,1 ml of brine shrimp cysts into each tub.
6. Waited four weeks.

Some pictures and results (see below):
1. Artemia tubs on balcony.
2. Adult brine shrimp in corner of tub.
3. Harvest.
4. Detail of brine shrimps.
5. Cynops pyrrhogaster (Kanto) hunting brine shrimp (one beneath red arrow).

Some remarks:
I read that even strong variation in salinity wont harm the animals. Make sure however, that the tubs can be covered in case of a heavy downpour so there’s no overflow.

After some time the animals had decimated the algae and the water turned clear again. That’s when I started feeding the Artemia with Spirulina powder, artificial plancton and sometimes Cyclop-eeze. Yeast is supposed to work also.

Don’t overdo it and only use small portions of feed as it might foul the water and kill the inhabitants .

I catch the Artemia with a small net and rinse them with freshwater. They live several hours in freshwater. Enough time to be hunted and eaten by my newts.

Not sure of how steady a supply of feed my two tubs will provide. But there is no hassle with any disease, parasites or unwanted predatory animals like it is often the case with wc "pond feed".

In case of unsatisfactory reproduction of the Artemia in the tubs one will have to add new cysts from time to time.

This has worked for me but might not for you. Feel free to alter this recipe to your own gusto and common sense. There’s lots of additional info on the net.
Now get yourself some tubs and start mixing saltwater.

 

[Jennewt]

Very nice work, Ralf! Where did you get the Nanochloropsis salina? Are you able to maintain a culture of it? If so, you could maintain an additional tub to grow just algae alone.

 

[peterj]

Thanks for sharing Ralf. Another intersting option would to offset production in each tub by allowing a drying period (depending on your conditions). Drying should encourage more cyst production and you could 'reseed' your algae when you refill the tub.

 

[Ralf]

Jen, I ordered a starter culture of the algae from a German online store. I never tried to maintain a culture of it, should be possible though. Would be the ideal food for the Artemia farm as it wouldn't spoil the water as easily as the other feeds. I am sure, however, that as soon as population numbers of Artemia in the tubs drop because of harvesting, the algae will thrive again.

In literature it is stated that after a period of time algae will appear by themselves. Not sure how long a period that would be, however . I live pretty far from the next ocean or saltwater habitat .

Peter, I agree that would be an option in a drier climate. Continue harvesting and let the culture slowly dry out. With the increase in salt content the remaining animals will produce cysts. Let it dry completely, add freshwater and start the culture all over again. Kind of a discontinuous management approach but should work.