When you think of pets, what do you picture? Maybe a dog, or a cat, or perhaps a fish? Have you ever thought about keeping a prehistoric pet, such as brine shrimp? These little crustaceans aren’t anything like you picture when you think of shrimp. While the jumbo shrimp we eat are about 14-21 centimeters in length, brine shrimp can barely reach a maximum size of 1 centimeter! In fact, a typical full grown brine shrimp is about 10 millimeters in length. Their tiny size makes them a perfect food source for other fish - betta fish in particular love brine shrimp as a tasty treat every once in awhile.
So yes, you can raise brine shrimp as food for your fish, or you can keep them as your own prehistoric pets.
The term “brine shrimp” is the common name for a number of organisms in the Artemia genus, and the oldest fossil of these creatures dates back to the Triassic period - over 200 million years ago!
The term “brine shrimp” is the common name for a number of organisms in the Artemia genus, and the oldest fossil of these creatures dates back to the Triassic period - over 200 million years ago!
Millions of years ago, these brine shrimp survived by living away from most predators in extremely salty water (up to 25% salinity). In fact, these shrimp are one of the only aquatic species that inhabit the Great Salt Lake in Utah, Nevada. Another survival tactic is their ability to produce dormant eggs, or eggs that don’t hatch until the environment is just right. This way, the baby shrimp can survive through a lack of oxygen, toxic waters, extreme temperatures, and can even be removed from moisture completely.
The dormant eggs are called cysts; the process of encystment is what allowed these shrimp to thrive and remain almost totally biologically unchanged from prehistoric times until now. These cysts are also relatively simple to harvest from the lakes they’re found in, and that makes them excellent candidates for scientific research. For example, when researching the effects of pollution on mammals, brine shrimp have been used extensively as preliminary test subjects due to their great availability.
Scientists have also taken brine shrimp eggs into space to test the impact of radiation on life. In the 1980s on Apollo 16 and 17, eggs were taken on a trip to the moon and back. In 1991, “Forty-four brine shrimp were hatched on the space shuttle Atlantis in April, making them among the first animals ever born in space.” When they returned, only five of them had survived, most likely due to the lack of oxygen and nutrients in their water.
Grow Your Own Shrimp!
Scientists have also taken brine shrimp eggs into space to test the impact of radiation on life. In the 1980s on Apollo 16 and 17, eggs were taken on a trip to the moon and back. In 1991, “Forty-four brine shrimp were hatched on the space shuttle Atlantis in April, making them among the first animals ever born in space.” When they returned, only five of them had survived, most likely due to the lack of oxygen and nutrients in their water.
Grow Your Own Shrimp!
Brine shrimp are sold commercially under the brands “Sea Monkeys” and “Aqua Dragons”. These little kits are complete with a tank, eggs, food packets, and instructions - everything you’d need to hatch your own baby brine shrimp. You can even purchase just the eggs and food to save some money and use your own container as a tank.
Once the eggs have hatched (usually within the first 15-24 hours after being placed in the water), it takes approximately 25-30 days for the shrimp to reach their full adult size. During the growing period, they will go through multiple molting stages in which they develop from an embryo to larva to an adult. The males can be clearly recognised by their graspers, which are modified antennae near the head, while females should be starting to show a egg pouch near the tail. They will be an average size of about 8-10 millimeters. If you keep them in water with a lower concentration of salt, the females can produce free-swimming babies instead of dormant eggs!
If kept at optimal conditions, the adult brine shrimp can live up to four months! You can start this process by purchasing one of the many kit options available right now, such as the original Sea Monkeys, or one of the multiple different Aqua Dragons kits. These kits cost anywhere from $10-$30, and are well worth the price for hatching your own low-maintenance pets!
*Discovery Express Kids does not endorse either brand of commercial brine shrimp, nor are the brands sponsored by us. These are simply one of the many options available on the market right now.
References:
"SCIENCE WATCH; Shrimp Hatch in Space." The New York Times, 14 May 1991. Web. 8 Apr. 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/14/science/science-watch-shrimp-hatch-in-space.html>.
http://www.petseahorse.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-growing-brine-shrimp
https://aquadragons.net/pages/what-are-aqua-dragons
Image Credits:
© Hans Hillewaert. “Brine Shrimp: Laboratory Picture”. Released into the public domain under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Uploaded on 4/6/17 from wikimedia.org
Bassett, Joseph. “Elements of Zoology (1884) - Crabs and Insects”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 4/8/17 from flickr.com/internetarchivebookimages
Healy. George. “Cyst Stage of Entamoeba Histolytica”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 4/8/17 from wikimedia.org
Manske, Magnus. “Sea Monkeys in Aquarium”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 4/8/17 from wikimedia.org
Once the eggs have hatched (usually within the first 15-24 hours after being placed in the water), it takes approximately 25-30 days for the shrimp to reach their full adult size. During the growing period, they will go through multiple molting stages in which they develop from an embryo to larva to an adult. The males can be clearly recognised by their graspers, which are modified antennae near the head, while females should be starting to show a egg pouch near the tail. They will be an average size of about 8-10 millimeters. If you keep them in water with a lower concentration of salt, the females can produce free-swimming babies instead of dormant eggs!
If kept at optimal conditions, the adult brine shrimp can live up to four months! You can start this process by purchasing one of the many kit options available right now, such as the original Sea Monkeys, or one of the multiple different Aqua Dragons kits. These kits cost anywhere from $10-$30, and are well worth the price for hatching your own low-maintenance pets!
*Discovery Express Kids does not endorse either brand of commercial brine shrimp, nor are the brands sponsored by us. These are simply one of the many options available on the market right now.
References:
"SCIENCE WATCH; Shrimp Hatch in Space." The New York Times, 14 May 1991. Web. 8 Apr. 2017. <http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/14/science/science-watch-shrimp-hatch-in-space.html>.
http://www.petseahorse.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-growing-brine-shrimp
https://aquadragons.net/pages/what-are-aqua-dragons
Image Credits:
© Hans Hillewaert. “Brine Shrimp: Laboratory Picture”. Released into the public domain under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Uploaded on 4/6/17 from wikimedia.org
Bassett, Joseph. “Elements of Zoology (1884) - Crabs and Insects”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 4/8/17 from flickr.com/internetarchivebookimages
Healy. George. “Cyst Stage of Entamoeba Histolytica”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 4/8/17 from wikimedia.org
Manske, Magnus. “Sea Monkeys in Aquarium”. Released into the public domain. Uploaded on 4/8/17 from wikimedia.org
