Trouble hatching artemia

[LobsterOfJustice]

Hey all,

I have a jar of INVE decapsulated artemia cysts. I have tried putting some in a container with saltwater and aerating it for 24-48 hours but nothing happens, I look in with a flashlight and there are still just a bunch of round eggs floating around. Am I missing something? Can you not hatch them after they have been decapsulated?

Thanks

 

[JetCat USA]

I'm pretty sure the decapulationing has something to do with it.

 

[justinl]

decapsulation helps greatly but not everyone does it. you're missing two parts of the equation there. light and heat. its really quite easy to be honest. just get a bucket, add the cysts (however much you want), throw in a heater, put a light on top (light quality doesnt really matter) and let it sit for 24 hours... that should do it. you'll have to figure out yourself how you want to separate the artemia from teh egg shells and unhatched eggs.

 

[JetCat USA]

the whole point of decapsulating in the first place is to keep from hatching them and just feed AS/IS.........

i used to think the heater was necessary but it's not, I've had the cysts I've got now for over 3 yrs in the freezer, i keep my home at 70 degree and hatch them in a gallon jug in less then 24 hrs, only light i use is ambient sun but yes without light they will not hatch.

 

[LobsterOfJustice]

Shoud the light be constant for the 24 hours?

 

[JetCat USA]

no

 

[rayjay]

With respect to decapped cysts, some are sold as NON hatching while others are sold to be hatched.
Decapped hatchers have a relatively short span where they can still hatch. (I believe usually about 2-3 months) However, when that point has been reached, there are plenty of uses for the non hatching ones so it's not a total loss.
Decapping sterilizes the cysts as well as removes the hard outer membrane that can sometimes lodge in the digestive tract of some fish.

 

[michaeldaly]

I have hatched them best with the light on for 24 hours. The light is mainly there to keep the water warm.

 

[Tennsquire]

I can get them to hatch no problem. I cannot, for the life of me, get them to play with the ball or frolic around the castle like they show on the package.....

 

[Snowboarda42]

^
lol.



Depending on what was used to decapsulate the cysts, they can be "hatchable" or "unhatchable".

Personally, I get unhatched cysts 80% hatch rate from Brine shrimp direct dot com, use bleach to decapsulate the cysts, strain and rinse, and then hatch like you normally would. Although this decreases the hatch rate by appx 10-15%, the unhatched ones still have some nutritional value, and I don't have the danger of fish eating the shells since they "dissolve" with the decapsulating process.

 

[justinl]

i use nondecapsulated artemia and decapsulate them myself. if i do it right i can have an almost 100% hatch rate, whereas if i dont decapsulate i find a lot of shells that i dont want to deal with and a much worse hatch rate.

when i hatch them, i let the light stay on for 24 hours, but some procedure may differ per person. i find it actually helps my hatch rate... by the end i have very little unhatched artemia which will vary according to how well i decapsulate. jme