Photo credit: Samart Detsathit (Thailand) Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal
Brine shrimp, (Artemia sp.) are among the key live food provided during the larval stages of marine fish species. Because the content of artemia of lipids and fatty acids is far below what is required for the metabolic energy during the embryonic and pre-feeding larval stages in fish and, the need for artemia enrichment with highly polyunsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) is of value in achieving successful production of fish larvae in terms of survival, larval growth, and health. The Enrichment is done through rearing artemia nauplii on HUFA-containing oils for 18-24 hours before being fed directly to fish larvae or stored at below 10°C so as to minimize the metabolism of HUFA prior to administration.