A simple semi flow-through culture technique for the controlled super-intensive production of Artemia juveniles and adults

Abstract

A simple semi flow-through Artemia culture unit is described for possible integration in marine fish and shellfish hatcheries as source of a cheap nursery diet. The system does not require the use of feeding pumps and involves minimal care. Food preparation and addition to the feeding tank is reduced to one or two manipulations per day during the meta-nauplius stages (day 1–3) and the juvenile stages (day 4–14), respectively. Biomass productions are superior to those reported for stagnant culture systems and are comparable to those demonstrated for flow-through culture units. This simple rearing technique offers the possibility of producing brine shrimp populations with a uniform size. Furthermore, by varying the feeding regime with the Artemia density at the start of the culture, specific Artemia prey sizes corresponding to the daily physical requirements in shrimp and fish hatcheries can be obtained.