Use of decapsulated Artemia for direct feeding to African catfish in Kenya – Video

This video was filmed in a Kenyan fish farm where different aquaculture activities on several species are taking place including tilapia, catfish, and ornamental fish. This video shows the feeding during the larval nursing of African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. As shown, the food provided is decapsulated artemia cysts.

The nutritional value of the decapsulated artemia cysts has been documented through research and applications upon the nursing of several fish species including African catfish. For that reason, the use of decapsulated Artemia cysts is considered a good alternative to artemia nauplii and hence it has been widely used for the larval rearing of several species including African catfish especially under intensive culture conditions. The decapsulated cysts are completely digestible by the fish or shrimp larvae.

The decapsulation procedure is carried out by chemically removing or oxidizing the outer chorion of the cyst using hypochloride solution. The cysts used in direct feeding are produced through specific processes that do not consider hatching process. It is believed that the decapsulated cysts have a higher energy and nutritional value compared to live Artemia nauplii having in consideration that zero energy is consumed in the hatching process. Similarly, lipids, amino acids, and enzymes are left intact. The nutritional merit of the dried artemia cysts can be enhanced through its enriching with vitamin C.

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