NEWS102
42
Artemia salina
Some coral fishesobstinately refuse toaccept unfamiliar typesof food.Live food is still thebestway to
break thehunger strike.Thephoto shows
Chaetodonmitratus
.
of
Tubifex
is very low, these littleworms are
often found in large numbers in oxygen-
depleted waters that are heavily polluted
withorganicmaterial.Hence it is important
to obtain
Tubifex
from carefully monitored
populations, as otherwise there is a danger
of introducing toxins into theaquariumwith
them. The danger of
Tubifex
-transmitted
parasites (
Myxobolus
), which in Germany
affect mainly North American salmonid
species (Rainbow Trout, char, etc), is in
practice totally insignificant in theaquarium
hobby.
Fishes love
Tubifex
! There canbehardly any
fish species that can’t bepersuaded to feed
using
Tubifex
. But
Tubifex
are as healthy for
many fishes as chocolate is for children.
Specifically, these worms are very fatty.
Hence
Tubifex
should always be fed only in
small quantities as a treat.Toomuch
Tubife
x
can lead to fattydegeneration in the fishes,
which become susceptible to disease as a
result andeventuallydie.But this is the fault
of theaquarist,not the
Tubifex
.
Tubifex
should never be fed to specialized
Aufwuchs-feeding cichlids (eg
Tropheus
, the
majority of the mbuna from Lake Malawi,
etc.), as inevitably these will become
seriously ill within a very short time. By
contrast
Tubifex
are indispensable for catfish
enthusiasts. It is quite simply impossible to
breed mailed catfishes effectively without
Tubifex
.
Inthecaseof
Tubifex
,thepacksize is ideal for
theaquaristwith justoneorasmallnumber
of tanks,as itmakesoverfeedingwith
Tubifex
well nigh impossible.But note that uneaten
Tubifex
will colonize the substrate and live
there,as in thewild.Toomany
Tubifex
in the
substrate are harmful, as they constitute a
not inconsiderable biomass that can
significantly reduce the oxygen content in
theaquariumwater. If you find thatacolony
of
Tubifex
has become established in the
aquarium substrate, then it will suffice to
stop feedinguntil the fisheshavedealtwith
theproblem.
is above all themillions of flamingos that
feed on
Artemia
, as fishes cannot survive
in the very salty water. But these
“prehistoric”crustaceansconstituteoneof
the most important foods in the
aquaculture of food fishes and are also
indispensable in the aquarium hobby, as
their larvae (termed nauplii) are easily
hatched from cysts and essential in the
rearingofmany fry.
Artemia
arenotdissimilar towater fleas in
their biology. They too sometimes
reproduce parthenogenetically, sometimes
sexually, and produce “eggs” that can be
stored for an unlimited time. Again
Artemia are filter-feeders, just like water
fleas. But unlike water fleas, Artemia are
verynutritious andparticularly rich in the
much-famedunsaturated fattyacids.
Artemia
are a delicacy much appreciated
by fishes and the only permanently
available live food for marine fishes. Even
very fussy feeders, for example some
butterflyfishes,weakenandabandon their
hunger strikewhen fedwith live
Artemia
.
Artemia
live for only a few hours in fresh
water. Here they are particularly suitable
for feeding very disease-prone fishes, as
because of the fact that
Artemia
are bred
in saltwater, theyare freeof pathogensof
anykind.
Amtra-Groci offers
Artemia
in two sizes:as
nauplii for small fishes and as adult brine
shrimps.
The varieties glassworms, bloodworms,
water fleas,and
Tubifex
can,obviously,also
be fed in salt water, but water fleas die
very rapidly in salt water (within a few
minutes).
Additional live food varieties will be
available shortly, and we will tell you
about themherewhen the time comes.
The live foods inbagsdescribedaboveare
available only via the pet trade. Your
regular dealer can order them for you
fromAmtra-Groci GmbH.
5.
Artemia
The brine shrimp
Artemia salina
occurs in
inland saltwatersworldwide. In thewild it
