Aquaculture 200 Ž2001.

147–159
www.elsevier.comrlocateraqua-online

Use of the brine shrimp, Artemia spp., in marine

fish larviculture
P. Sorgeloos a,) , P. Dhert a , P. Candreva b
a
Laboratory of Aquaculture and Artemia Reference Center, Ghent UniÕersity, Rozier 44,
B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
b
INVE Aquaculture N.V., OeÕerstraat 7, B-9200 Baasrode, Belgium

Abstract

Since no artificial feed formulation is yet available to completely substitute for Artemia,
feeding live prey to young fish larvae still remains essential in commercial hatchery operations.
The nutritional quality of commercially available Artemia strains being relatively poor in
eicosapentaenoic acid ŽEPA, 20:5n-3. and especially docosahexaenoic acid ŽDHA, 22:6n-3., it is
essential and common practice to enrich these live prey with emulsions of marine oils.
In Artemia, the most commonly applied boosting technique is a 24-h enrichment period after
hatching. However, the variability of enrichment studied in one Artemia strain ŽGreat Salt Lake,
Utah, USA. by the ICES Working Group on Mass Rearing of Juvenile Fish, showed a high
variability in fatty acid bioaccumulation under laboratory or commercial conditions. To avoid the
variation originating from differences in commercial preparations, standardized ICES emulsions
with different HUFA and DHArEPA ratios have been formulated and are available for research
purposes. It should be emphasized, however, that the enrichment technique has limitations as
Artemia are selectively catabolizing some of the nutrients such as DHA and phospholipids.
Research on the kinetics of DHA catabolism in various Artemia strains has shown that DHA
catabolism is strain-dependent and could partially be overcome by the use of strains of different
geographical origin.
Nowadays, various enrichment emulsions have been formulated differing in the fatty acid
composition of their triglycerides. In this respect, the traditional formulations rich in EPA have
been replaced by new products rich in DHA and arachidonic acid. To reduce the risks for
oxidation of these fatty acids, higher concentrations of vitamin E are incorporated into the
emulsions. Also, vitamin C has been incorporated in booster formulations that increase the level of
ascorbic acid in Artemia to 2000 ppm.
All these changes in the formulation of the enrichment diets offer more possibilities to cover
the needs of different species and help to reduce problems related to diseases, stress resistance,
malformation, and pigmentation in numerous fish species.

)
Corresponding author. Tel.: q32-9-264-3754; fax: q32-9-264-4193.
E-mail address: [email protected] ŽP. Sorgeloos..

0044-8486r01r$ - see front matter q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 0 4 4 - 8 4 8 6 Ž 0 1 . 0 0 6 9 8 - 6
148 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159

Although continuous disinfection of Artemia during hatching and enrichment is becoming a

routine operation in many hatcheries, the interference of bacteria in hatching and enrichment
remains an important study object for which probionts might also give some solutions.
As more attention is given to the use of on-grown Artemia as a cheaper alternative to the use
of nauplii, simple cost-effective production techniques have been developed. The use of the right
size of on-grown Artemia for feeding ensures a better energy balance in food intake and
assimilation, thereby improving the performance of the fish. Furthermore, its palatability induces a
good and fast feeding response. These characteristics, coupled with the use of bioencapsulation
techniques to enhance the quality of the on-grown Artemia, make this organism an optimum diet
for nursery of the fish. q 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Live food; Brine shrimp; Hatching; Enrichment; HUFA; Vitamin C

1. The dependence of marine fish culture on Artemia

Since the development of commercial marine fish culture in the late 1970s, the
demand for Artemia cysts has gradually increased from a few metric tons to approxi-
mately 800 metric tons per annum, representing approximately 40% of the total
aquaculture demand for feeds for early stages. During the last 25 years, the Great Salt
Lake ŽGSL. has been the premier supplier of Artemia cysts to the world aquaculture
market and the subject of numerous speculations regarding its capacity to sustain a
growing aquaculture industry ŽLavens and Sorgeloos, 2000..
Major problems in Artemia production began after an intense El Nino ˜ in 1982–1984,
causing heavy snowfall and a huge amount of melting water from the bordering
mountains and resulting in a considerable drop in salinity. The north arm, which is not
in direct contact with rivers or supplied by melting water, was separated from the south
arm by a causeway in the 1950s and was thus less exposed to dilution and could at that
time be used as the main source of Artemia cysts. After the historic lake height in 1987,
6 years of decline began in the lake elevation which brought the salinity of the south
arm back to ranges suitable for Artemia cyst production. The recent El Nino ˜ phe-
nomenon would again be the origin of the present salinity decrease. The current salinity
of the south part of the lake is now in the 70–80 ppt range, while the optimal salinity for
Artemia production is in the range of 100–150 ppt. Because of hardly any water
exchange with the north arm, the latter has remained close to saturation level.
As the salinity continues to decline, the brine shrimp industry has been faced with a
drastic decline in harvest figures. Moreover, a much higher percentage of empty shells
and lysed cysts were gathered, which in turn decreased recovery yields to half and even
one third. The 1999–2000 harvest was a record low. Total GSL harvest will not even
satisfy 20% of the global demand and previous year’s stocks have been sold.
The situation at GSL will affect the aquaculture industry as a whole. It has also
caused a considerable burden to the brine shrimp industry, and several harvesting
companies have had to quit. Before this, close to 40 companies were fishing with a fleet
in excess of 200 boats for landing too little product. Because of investing more in
harvesting for fishing fewer tons at the end, costs per unit had escalated tremendously.
Although warnings about the risk of dependency on one single natural Žand unpre-
dictable. resource had been issued at repeated occasions ŽBengtson et al., 1991., it was
 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159 149

only as of 1994 that the harvesting companies became concerned about the variable
yields from the Great Salt Lake, and started to diversify their activities in Artemia
harvesting by setting up new Artemia exploitations all over the world. The increased
production and investment cost for exploring new locations have boosted the Artemia
prices, but despite this price increase, Artemia cysts remain scarce and cyst producers
can hardly cope with the constantly increasing demand of the rapidly growing aquacul-
ture industry.
Aside from the extensive efforts that need to be carried out in the field of
diversification of Artemia sourcing and harvest efficiency, its is obvious that an at least
equal amount of attention has to be dedicated to a more efficient use of the available
Artemia sources as well as to non-Artemia alternatives. The search for complete
substitutes for Artemia has been extensive and is still ongoing. Total replacement will
certainly be achieved before the end of the decade for numerous marine fish species, but
probably at the cost of culture time, yield, health and quality that will eventually affect
farm economics and sustainability.
For the time being, the dependency on Artemia in hatcheries could be alleviated by a
delay in Artemia feeding Že.g., by extended rotifer feeding. and a maximum substitution
with inert diets. Although Artemia will, in the future, undoubtedly be further replaced
by formulated diets, it is obvious that the use of freshly hatched nauplii will continue to
be market-driven for at least a few more years, and that record harvests at Great Salt
Lake Žas happened already during the 2000–2001 harvest season, i.e., some 9,000 metric
tons of fresh product. and new locations might very quickly reverse the actual trends.

2. Production and use of freshly hatched nauplii

Although using Artemia cysts appears to be simple, several factors are critical for
hatching the large quantities needed in larval fish production. These include cyst
disinfection or decapsulation prior to incubation, and hatching under the following
optimal conditions: constant temperature of 25–28 8C, 15–35 ppt salinity, minimum pH
of 8.0, near saturated oxygen levels, maximum cyst densities of 2 grl, and strong
illumination of 2000 lx ŽLavens and Sorgeloos, 1996.. All these factors will affect the
hatching rate and maximum output, and hence, the production cost of the harvested
Artemia nauplii. Especially now that the availability of Great Salt Lake Artemia is not
stable, Artemia harvested from other locations will be subjected to variable quality.
Attention should be paid to select Artemia cyst lots with good hatching synchrony Žless
than 7 h between hatching of first and last nauplii. and high hatching efficiency Žmore
than 200,000 nauplii per gram product., as considerable variation has been demonstrated
for cysts of various origin, and even among batches from the same strain ŽLavens and
Sorgeloos, 1996.. Nowadays, slower hatching batches of Artemia cysts from RH w
ŽINVE Aquaculture, Belgium. are in the market but with perfect synchrony in hatching,
which make harvesting, enrichment and feeding procedures very easy to control and
result in a homogenous and high enrichment.
After hatching, and prior to feeding them to the larvae, Artemia nauplii should be
separated from the hatching wastes. After switching off the aeration in the hatching tank,
cyst shells will float and nauplii will concentrate at the bottom of the tank. They should
150 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159

be siphoned off within 5–10 min and thoroughly rinsed with seawater or freshwater,
´
preferentially using submerged filters ŽSorgeloos and Leger, 1992. to prevent physical
damage to the nauplii. On a commercial scale, the separation of nauplii from cyst shells
is performed with a standpipe perforated a few centimeters from the bottom. The
free-swimming nauplii on top of the unhatched cyst are evacuated through the perfora-
tion, while the unhatched cysts are kept out of the turbulent area. The nauplii are further
concentrated in a concentrator rinser and separated from the last cysts on a double
screen. When decapsulated cysts are used, the membranes are generally skimmed off by
the use of high performant airstones.

3. Size and energy content

In their first stage of development, Artemia nauplii do not feed but consume their
own energy reserves ŽBenijts et al., 1976.. At the high water temperatures that are
applied during cyst incubation, freshly hatched Artemia nauplii develop into the second
larval stage ŽInstar II metanauplii. within 6–8 h. It is important to use first-instar nauplii
for feeding, rather than starved second-instar metanauplii, which are transparent and less
visible. Instar II metanauplii are about 50% larger in length and swim faster than first
instars. As a result, they are less acceptable as prey. Furthermore, they contain lower
amounts of free amino acids, so they are less digestible and their lower individual dry
weights Ž1.63 versus 2.15 mg in the San Francisco Bay, SFB, strain. and energy content
Ž0.0366 versus 0.0500 J in the same strain. reduce the energy uptake by the predator per
´ et al., 1986.. All this will be reflected in reduced larval
unit of hunting effort ŽLeger
growth in the face of increased Artemia cyst consumption Ž20–30% more cysts are
needed to feed the same weight of starved metanauplii to the predator..
Storing freshly hatched nauplii at temperatures near 4 8C, in densities of up to eight
´ et al., 1983., will greatly reduce their
million nauplii per liter for up to 24 h ŽLeger
metabolic rate, i.e., only 2.5% drop in individual dry weight versus 30% at 25 8C, and
preclude molting to the second instar stage. This 24-h cold storage economizes the
Artemia cyst hatching effort Že.g., fewer tanks, larger volumes, a maximum of one
hatching and harvest per day. and allows not only a constant supply of a high-quality
product but also the possibility of more frequent food distributions. This is beneficial for
fish larvae because food retention time in larviculture tanks can be reduced and hence
the growth of Artemia in the culture tank minimized.

4. Nutritional quality

4.1. Fatty acid enrichment

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, several authors reported problems in larviculture
success with marine fish and crustacean species when using Artemia sources other than
SFB Artemia Žfor reviews see Sorgeloos, 1980 and Leger´ et al., 1986.. High doses of
toxic compounds, e.g., chlorinated hydrocarbons and heavy metals, were initially
suspected to be the cause of the poor nutritional value of Artemia from GSL and the
 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159 151

People’s Republic of China. A comparative study with eight strains of Artemia spp.
using Pseudopleuronectes americanus as predator test species confirmed the nutritional
variation among Artemia sources ŽKlein-MacPhee et al., 1980, 1982.. Leger ´ et al.
Ž1985a. documented the nutritional variability in 11 batches of SFB Artemia nauplii for
the mysid shrimp Mysidopsis bahia. Similar to findings by Watanabe et al. Ž1978. and
´ et al. Ž1985b, 1987a. concluded that the
Kanazawa et al. Ž1979. in marine fish, Leger
main factor affecting the nutritional value of Artemia was the content of the highly
unsaturated fatty acid ŽHUFA. eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5n-3 ŽEPA..
Taking advantage of the primitive feeding characteristics of Artemia nauplii, it is
possible to manipulate the nutritional value of HUFA-deficient Artemia, e.g., the GSL
strain. Since brine shrimp nauplii that have molted into the second instar stage Ži.e.,
about 8 h following hatching. are non-selective particle feeders, simple methods have
been developed to incorporate different kinds of products into the Artemia prior to
feeding to predator larvae. This method of AbioencapsulationB, also called Artemia
enrichment or boosting, is widely applied in marine fish and crustacean hatcheries for
enhancing the nutritional value of Artemia with essential fatty acids.
British, Japanese, and Belgian researchers developed enrichment products and proce-
dures using selected microalgae, micro-encapsulated products, yeast, emulsified prepara-
tions, self-emulsifying concentrates, and micro-particulate products, either singly or in
´ et al., 1986.. The highest enrichment levels are obtained
various combinations ŽLeger
from emulsified concentrates: freshly hatched nauplii are transferred to the enrichment
tank at a density of 100–300 naupliirml for enrichment periods ) 24 or - 24 h,
respectively. The enrichment medium consists of hypochlorite-disinfected and neutral-
ized seawater maintained at 25 8C. The enrichment emulsion is added in consecutive
doses of 0.3 grl every 12 h. Strong aeration using airstones or pure oxygen is required
to maintain dissolved oxygen levels above 4 ppm. Enriched nauplii are harvested after
24 or 48 h, thoroughly rinsed and stored at temperatures below 10 8C to assure that
HUFAs are not metabolized during storage. Enrichment levels of 50–60 mgrg DW n-3
HUFAs are obtained after 24-h enrichment with the emulsified concentrates. Nauplii
should be transferred or exposed to the enrichment medium as soon as possible before
first feeding, so they begin feeding immediately after the opening of the alimentary tract
Žinstar II stage.. As a result, the increase of nauplius size during enrichment can be
minimized, i.e., after 24-h enrichment, GSL Artemia nauplii will reach about 660 mm,
and after 48-h enrichment, about 790 mm ŽLavens and Sorgeloos, 1996..
In the 1980s, most attention was dedicated to the presence of EPA in Artemia as a
´
guarantee for successful production of marine fish larvae ŽWatanabe et al., 1983; Leger
et al., 1985a.. Because of this, major emphasis was placed on increasing the EPA levels
´ et al., 1986.. In
by using algae, or emulsified and particulate enrichment products ŽLeger
the late 1980s and early 1990s, more attention was paid to the level of DHA; good
survival appeared to be correlated with EPA, but DHA improved larval quality and
growth ŽLisac et al., 1986.. The importance of DHA, more particularly the requirement
for high DHArEPA ratios in promoting growth, stress resistance, and pigmentation, was
revealed ŽLavens et al., 1995; Kraul, 1993; Reitan et al., 1994; Mourente et al., 1993..
While in the past, satisfactory results were obtained with DHArEPA ratios of less than
1, the emphasis now is on attaining levels of 2 and higher ŽDhert et al., 1993; Sargent et
152 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159

al., 1993.. Since these values are not found naturally in Artemia ŽDhert et al., 1993;
Triantaphyllidis et al., 1995., special formulations and Artemia with low DHA-catabo-
lizing activity had to be identified.
Besides the emulsions, spray-dried cells of Shizochytrium sp. and phospholipid
extracts of DHA-rich algal biomass from Crypthecodinium sp. containing 49% DHA
and less than 0.5% EPA are available as dry powder ŽHarel et al., 1998.. Enrichment of
Artemia with these products allowed a significant increase in nauplii–lipid content from
16.3–23.7% DW after 16 h, and 17% of total fatty acids contained DHA.
Contrary to other live feeds, such as rotifers, the enrichment of Artemia franciscana
with DHA is difficult because of the inherent catabolism of this fatty acid upon
enrichment resulting in low DHArEPA ratios. The capability of some Artemia strains
to reach high DHA levels during enrichment ŽDhert et al., 1993; Velazquez, 1996. and
to maintain them during subsequent starvation ŽEvjemo et al., 1997. offers new
perspectives for providing higher dietary DHA levels and DHArEPA ratios to fish
larvae. It is not surprising that since the interest is going towards DHA-rich products,
increased interest is also shown in better preservation of DHA in Artemia ŽMcEvoy et
al., 1995; Southgate and Lou, 1995 . or in the use of copepods, which have a high
natural DHA content ŽNanton and Castell, 1999; Sargent et al., 1998; Shansudin et al.,
1997; Støttrup and Norsker, 1998.. As a consequence of the high price and low DHA
value of Artemia, early weaning in combination with a prolonged rotifer feeding is
becoming more and more popular.
Recent work performed by Koven et al. Ž2000. showed that besides DHA not only
highly unsaturated fatty acids of the Ž n-3. series are important but that also arachidonic
acid ARA Ž20:4n-6. may play a significant role. ARA may improve larval growth and
pigmentation in several marine fish species since it provides precursors for eicosanoid
production ŽCastell et al., 1994; Estevez et al., 1997.. The requirement of ARA in fish,
however, seems to depend on the fish species and larval development, and needs to be
dosed with extreme care since it may act in a different way depending on the DHA
concentration ŽCastell et al., 1994; Koven et al., 2000..

4.2. Phospholipids

Although phospholipid requirements are well-documented in juvenile stages for

various fish species, only limited information is available on the role of phospholipids in
start-feeding stages Žreviewed by Coutteau et al., 1997.. As shown by Tackaert et al.
Ž1991., Artemia does not appear to be a suitable test diet to study phospholipid
requirements; i.e., dietary enrichment with phosphatidylcholine ŽPC. did not enhance the
PC content in Artemia. Rainuzzo et al. Ž1994. found similar lipid composition in
Artemia enriched with an emulsion based on either ethyl esters or halibut roe, contain-
ing, respectively, 72.6% neutral lipids Žmainly ethyl esters. and 71.2% polar lipids
Žmainly PC and phosphatidylethanolamine, PE.. Still, limited shifts of lipid classes, e.g.,
PCrPE ratio ŽRainuzzo et al., 1994., due to enrichment of Artemia are poorly
documented and their significance in terms of nutritional value unknown. In an effort to
determine the most effective molecular carrier of DHA for Artemia, DHA-ethyl esters
were compared with DHA-containing phospholipids. Harel et al. Ž1998. found signifi-
 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159 153

cantly higher absorption of DHA at 10% dietary phospholipid levels compared to 5%,
while no further improvement in absorption was obtained at higher phospholipid
percentages. In further studies, it was observed that mixtures of phospholipids with
DHA sodium salts resulted in maximal absorption of DHA phospholipids in Artemia
ŽHarel et al., 1999. and may be used to increase the polar lipid content in larval live
food.

4.3. Vitamins

Vitamin C, more specifically ascorbic acid ŽAA., is generally considered to be an

essential dietary component for the various stages of aquaculture organisms ŽMerchie et
al., 1997.. Several biological Že.g., skeletal development, growth, survival. as well as
physiological functions Že.g., resistance to toxicants and stress, immunoactivity. are
enhanced in larvae from supplemental dietary ascorbate ŽDabrowski, 1992; Merchie et
al., 1996.. Ascorbic acid 2-sulphate ŽAAS., a stable derivative of AA, was discovered in
dormant cysts of Artemia by Mead and Finamore Ž1969.. Cysts of various batches
differed considerably in AAS content: 160–517 mgrg DW, expressed as AA ŽDabrow-
ski, 1991; Merchie et al., 1995.. The amount of AA liberated in freshly hatched nauplii
reflects the AAS reserve present in the cysts and provides evidence for the conversion of
AAS to free AA during completion of embryonic development into nauplii ŽGolub and
Finamore, 1972; Dabrowski, 1991; Nelis et al., 1994..
The variation in AAS concentration observed in Artemia cysts may reflect adult
nutrition during egg production, as was demonstrated for HUFA content ŽLavens et al.,
1989., and this may explain the differences among batches of the same strain ŽMerchie
et al., 1995.. Differences among geographical populations and Artemia species and
broods from different years may significantly influence the AAS content in the cyst
material, and thus the AA levels in freshly hatched nauplii, and consequently, their
nutritional value for larval fish.
Tests have been conducted to incorporate extra AA into Artemia nauplii in a stable
and bioavailable form. Applying a standard enrichment procedure ŽLeger´ et al., 1987b.
and experimental self-emulsifying concentrates containing 10–20% ascorbyl palmitate
ŽAP., levels up to 2.5 mg free AArg DW can be incorporated into brine shrimp nauplii
within 24 h ŽMerchie et al., 1995.. These concentrations did not drop when the 24-h
enriched nauplii were stored for another 24 h in seawater at 28 8C or 4 8C. When
vitamin C-enriched Artemia were fed to turbot larvae, no differences in growth or
overall survival could be detected with the non-enriched live food already containing
500 mg AArg DW. The larvae of the high AA treatment, however, showed a better
pigmentation rate compared to the control group. Evaluation of the physiological
condition applying a salinity stress test revealed an improvement by feeding extra AA.
Cumulative mortalities after challenge with Vibrio anguillarum amounted to 50% for the
control versus 40% for the AA-supplemented fish, with a slower onset of mortality for
the AA-fed fish ŽMerchie et al., 1996..
High levels of a-tocopherol can be bioaccumulated and maintained in Artemia
nauplii, making this live food delivery system useful for studying dietary requirements
as well as the antioxydative effects of vitamin E ŽHuo et al., 1996..
154 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159

Vitamin A levels in Artemia nauplii could be raised from 1.3 to 1283 IUrg DW over
an 18-h period through the addition of vitamin A palmitate to an egg-yolk-based
emulsion ŽDedi et al., 1995..
The effectiveness of Artemia nauplii as a dietary carrier system could be tested for
various other nutritional components, i.e., liposoluble products administered via an
emulsion, water-soluble compounds via liposomes ŽHontoria et al., 1994., andror
microcapsule delivery ŽSakamoto et al., 1982.. For each nutrient, however, the useful-
ness of the Artemia bioencapsulation method remains to be verified by chemical
analysis.

5. Other forms of Artemia

Aside from the most common regime of feeding freshly hatched andror 24-h-en-
riched nauplii, the use of dry decapsulated cysts, juveniles and adult biomass is practiced
with some freshwater fish species ŽDhert et al., 1997; Vanhaecke et al., 1995; Verreth
and Den Bieman, 1987.. Decapsulated cysts Žalso called de-shelled or shell-free cysts.
can be used in start-feeding; however, the rapid settling of the cysts can make them
unavailable for planktonic larvae unless they have been previously dried and float on the
water surface. The major advantage here might be, apart from being a directly available
off-the-shelf product, that cysts with poor hatching quality can still be used as a food
source. Especially in the ornamental fish industry, the product seems to have great
potential, where it is producing larvae of superior quality ŽDhert et al., 1997..
Depending on the objectives and the opportunities, different culture procedures for
super-intensive Artemia production may be applied. The final selection of one or
another type of installation will be subject to local conditions, production needs, and
investment possibilities. Two basic options are: should water be renewed Žopen flow-
through. or not. In the latter case, should a particular water treatment be applied Žclosed
flow-through. or not Žstagnant or batch system.. Obviously, there are all kinds of
transition types, ranging from open flow-through with 0% recirculation to closed
flow-through with 100% recirculation ŽDhont, 1996.. Artemia biomass is generally well
accepted by all marine fish. Kim et al. Ž1996. found that coho salmon fry fed adult
Artemia to excess grew significantly faster than fry fed on other test diets, mainly due to
increased food intake. Most of the time, however, juvenile Artemia are used instead of
adults just before weaning ŽOlsen et al., 1999; Lee and Litvak, 1996; Duray et al., 1996;
Kraul, 1993..
Although the fresh–live form has the highest nutritive value, harvested Artemia can
also be frozen, freeze-dried or acid-preserved ŽAbelin et al., 1991; Naessens et al., 1995.
for later use, or made into a flakes or other forms of formulated feed.

6. Control on the bacterial input from cysts and nauplii

Chemical decapsulation of Artemia cysts using hypochlorite is a widely applied

technique in hatcheries. Besides its advantages for zootechnical reasons Žeasier separa-
 P. Sorgeloos et al.r Aquaculture 200 (2001) 147–159 155

tion, prevention of gut obstruction, direct use of decapsulated cysts., it is believed to

have a beneficial effect on hatching and provide a complete disinfection of the cysts.
Standard decapsulation procedures, as described by Sorgeloos et al. Ž1977. are giving
good results for most commercial Artemia strains. Some Artemia strains, however, are
sensible to this decapsulation procedure and require a modified technique ŽDe Wolf et
al., 1998..
Although the treatment with hypochlorite completely disinfects the cysts, these are
very quickly recolonized with bacteria during the breaking stage shortly before hatching.
At this stage, glycerol is released from the cysts and offers an ideal culture medium for
Vibrio sp., which may be a threat to the health of the larvae feeding on the Artemia.
Innovative products and procedures have recently been introduced to disinfect Artemia
during hatching andror consequent enrichment, resulting in a 10,000-fold reduction of
the Vibrio-load compared to traditional methods ŽDehasque et al., 1998.. The progress in
the production of more hygienic Artemia also opens new applications for intensifica-
tion. The cleaner medium results in lower oxygen demands, which permits merging of
different handlings; as for instance, hatching and enrichment without intermediate
harvesting, resulting in savings in labor, infrastructure and running costs.
Besides the progress in disinfection techniques, the same approach of bacterial
manipulation in Artemia has been followed as for rotifers ŽRombaut et al., 1997..
Research, however, is focusing on the microbial control of the culture of Artemia
juveniles through pre-emptive colonization by selected bacterial strains ŽVerschuere et
al., 1997, 1999.. It has been demonstrated that these bacteria prevent the development of
the pathogen V. proteolyticus through competition for chemicals and available energy
ŽVerschuere et al., 2000. and are harmless for the predator ŽVerschuere et al., in press..

Acknowledgements

Over the past three decades, our studies with the brine shrimp Artemia have been
supported by research contracts from the Belgian National Science Foundation, the
Belgian Administration for Development Cooperation, the Belgian Ministry of Science
Policy, Artemia Systems and INVE Aquaculture, Belgium.

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