Innovative artemia delivery system for larval fish rearing

Abstract

Brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) are small crustaceans routinely used during initial feed training of both freshwater and saltwater larval fish. This paper describes an artemia delivery system that conveniently and effectively dispenses consistent numbers of artemia to a fish tank at regular intervals throughout the day. This system consists of a conebottom, roto-mold tank where artemia are stored prior to delivery to a tank of larval fish, an aerator to keep them alive in the roto-mold tank, an electronic solenoid valve to openand-close the tank opening, and a programmable timer to regulate the solenoid valve to determine the duration and interval of artemia delivery. The amount of artemia dispensed
in a day is completely up to the operator’s desires since the duration and interval of artemia can be set to the needs. This inexpensive (cost less than 500 USD) and simple system worked effectively to distribute artemia to the larval fish, eliminating the labor previously devoted to hand-feeding larval fish throughout the day.

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JAFSB, 2(3), 302-306, 2024
https://doi.org/10.58985/jafsb.2024.v02i03.60
ISSN (Print): 2959-3417
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions
of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
1. Introduction
Brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) are crustaceans found in
hypersaline environments around the world [1]. They
are routinely used during initial feed training of both
freshwater and saltwater larval fish, such as Atlantic
cod (Gadus morhua), African lungfish (Protopterus
annectens), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides),
smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu), white bass
(Morone chrysops), striped bass (Morone saxatilis), black
sea bass (Centropristis striata), white sturgeon
(Acipenser transmontanus), African catfish (Clarias
gariepinus), trairão (Hoplias lacerdae), and other fish
species that will not initially accept formulated feeds
[2-10]. The introduction of live food such as artemia is
especially important during the first-feeding of most
marine larval fish [5].
Artemia cysts (eggs) can be easily transported and
stored for long time periods [11]. Cysts are hatched
and ready to be fed to larval fish within a day [12].
They can survive at high densities and cultured in a
variety of systems [13, 14] For larval fish, artemia
trigger feeding behavior, and are appropriately-sized
and nutritious [12].
Most larval fish feeding applications require that
artemia be continually available, making hand-
feeding inefficient and impractical [15]. Increasing the
number of feedings or artemia per day can increase
fish growth [16, 17]. Freshwater fish applications in
particular, require regular feedings because artemia
Short Communication
Innovative artemia delivery system for larval fish rearing
Elizabeth Kastl1 , Brian Fletcher2 , Cody Treft2 , Mark Stromberg1 , Jill M. Voorhees3* and
Michael E. Barnes3
1. School of Engineering, Benedictine College, 1020 N 2nd Street, Atchison, Kansas 66002, USA.
2. South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, Cleghorn Springs State Fish Hatchery, 4725 Jackson Blvd, Rapid
City, South Dakota 57702, USA.
3. South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks, McNenny State Fish Hatchery, 19619 Trout Loop, Spearfish, South
Dakota 57783, USA.
Abstract
Article Information
Brine shrimp (Artemia spp.) are small crustaceans routinely used during initial feed
training of both freshwater and saltwater larval fish. This paper describes an artemia
delivery system that conveniently and effectively dispenses consistent numbers of artemia
to a fish tank at regular intervals throughout the day. This system consists of a cone-
bottom, roto-mold tank where artemia are stored prior to delivery to a tank of larval fish,
an aerator to keep them alive in the roto-mold tank, an electronic solenoid valve to open-
and-close the tank opening, and a programmable timer to regulate the solenoid valve to
determine the duration and interval of artemia delivery. The amount of artemia dispensed
in a day is completely up to the operator’s desires since the duration and interval of
artemia can be set to the needs. This inexpensive (cost less than 500 USD) and simple
system worked effectively to distribute artemia to the larval fish, eliminating the labor
previously devoted to hand-feeding larval fish throughout the day.
Received:
26 August, 2024
Revised:
23 September 2024
Accepted:
24 September 2024
Published:
04 October 2024
Academic Editor
Prof. Dr. Gian Carlo Tenore
Corresponding Author
Jill M. Voorhees
E-mail:
jill.voorhees@state.sd.us
Tel: +1-605-642-6920
Keywords
Larviculture, initial feeding,
live feed, fish.
Journal of Agricultural,
Food Science & Biotechnology

J. Agric. Food Sci. Biotechnol. 2(3), 302-306, 2024 Elizabeth Kastl et al., 2024
Page | 303
https://doi.org/10.58985/jafsb.2024.v02i03.60
typically live less than an hour in freshwater and
feedings are sometimes needed 24 hours per day [8,
10].
Because of the limitations of hand-feeding artemia, a
number of automated feeding systems have been
designed. Relatively-expensive systems using video-
tracking technology [18], infrared photocells [19], or a
fully-automated system involving mechanics,
electronics, fluidics, and computer software [20] have
been described. Two lower-cost automated fish
feeding systems for artemia have been described in
the literature. Tangara et al. [21] described a battery-
powered liquid artemia delivery system using an air
pump, liquid pump, and a rheostat. This system is not
automatic however, requiring the push of a button to
dispense the liquid slurry. Candelier et al. [22]
described a similar, not-completely-automatic system
with several custom-made components and included
microcontrollers and a printed circuit board.
There is a considerable need for a low-cost, low-
complexity, automated system for artemia delivery to
fish tanks. This paper describes an innovative,
completely automatic, simple, and very low cost
artemia feeder system.
2. Design
The artemia delivery system consists of a holding tank
and paired stand, aerator, electric solenoid valve, and
digital controller (Fig. 1). Hatched artemia are held in
a 37.8-L cone-bottom tank and associated stand (Ace
Roto-Mold Full Drain Inductor Tank and Poly Stand
Set, Den Hartog Industries, Hospers, Iowa, USA) and
is illustrated in Fig. 2. A small, 110-volt aerator (Aqua-
Life Singe Output Aerator, Frabill, Plano, Illinois,
USA) provides oxygen for the artemia in the holding
tank (Fig. 3). The 120-volt, 34.5 kPa minimum-
operating-pressure-differential, 2.54 cm pipe-size,
electric solenoid valve (ASCO Solenoid Valve,
Emerson, St. Louis, Missouri, USA) opens and closes
the discharge opening at the bottom of the holding
tank (Fig. 4). An adapter and metal pipe were used to
transition from the 38.1 mm Roto-Mold tank outlet to
the 12.7 mm electric solenoid valve.
A digital controller regulated the interval and
duration of artemia delivery (Fig. 5). It was assembled
using a digital timer (Digital Timer Outlet Short
Period Repeat Cycle Intermittent Interval Timer
Figure 1. Automatic feeding system to deliver artemia on a
regular basis to a fish rearing tank
Figure 2. Roto-Mold tank used to hold and dispense artemia
as live feed to larval fish tanks

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Figure 3. 110-volt aerator used to keep artemia alive
throughout the day in the roto-mold holding tank prior to
release into a larval fish tank
Figure 4. Electric solenoid valve to regulate release
of artemia into larval fish tanks
Figure 5. Digital controller system used to control the
electric solenoid valve to distribute artemia throughout day
Programmable, BN-Link, Santa Fe Springs, California,
USA), wall outlet, extension cord, and electrical box
(Cantex 5133164 Junction Box, Carrollton, Texas,
USA). Two holes were drilled in the bottom of the
electrical box, one for the extension cord input (19.05
mm), and one for the aerator output (6.35 mm). The
hole for the extension cord included a through hole
connector which reduced the diameter down to 15.9
mm. Three holes were also drilled on the front of the
electrical box. One was for the opening for the power
outlet and two were for mounting screws for the
power outlet. The extension cord was spliced near the
female connector, threaded through the power outlet,
respliced back into the female outlet, and then
connected to the aerator. The digital timer was then
connected to the outlet and screwed through to the
lower mounting hole of the power outlet. The entire
unit cost less than $500 USD.
The entire artemia feeding system was mounted to
wooden posts on top of the larval fish tank. Thus, the
unit was directly above the larval culture tank so that
the artemia were released via gravity into the culture
tank.
3. Evaluation
This system was built and tested at Cleghorn Springs
Fish Hatchery, Rapid City, South Dakota, USA. Three
systems were built. Each system was placed on a tank
containing approximately 33,000 largemouth bass
larvae. During the initial evaluation, the timer was set
to dispense artemia from the systems for a one second
duration at an interval of every eight minutes for 24
hours per day. Each system effectively distributed

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approximately 18,000,000 artemia each day to each
larval tank. During this evaluation, the systems
conveniently distributed artemia to each of the larval
tanks, saving a large amount of labor by eliminating
the need for near-continuous manual feeding. The
number of artemia fed at each feeding event, along
with the timing of feeding throughout the day, was
more consistent than had previously occurred when
hand-feeding artemia.
Two one-time problems with this system were
observed. In the first instance, the valve at the bottom
of the holding tank became plugged with artemia
eggshells which accumulated at the bottom of the tank.
This issue was resolved by removing the artemia
shells prior to placement in the holding tank. In the
second instance, the aerator failed, which again led to
plugging of the solenoid valve at the bottom of the
tank. It is possible that a larger diameter solenoid
would be less susceptible to plugging and that
different components may be less likely to fail.
4. Conclusions
In conclusion, this artemia feeding system worked
effectively and efficiently. It was inexpensive to make
with easily-obtainable commercial products. It also
has the potential to be scaled for use with larger
aquaculture tanks or systems by using larger
components, particularly with a larger artemia
storage tank or electric solenoid valve, or by using
multiple, relatively-small-size systems on a larger
tank.
Authors’ contributions
Conceptualization, C.T., B.F.; Methodology, M.E.B.;
Formal analysis, C.T., B.F., J.M.V.; Investigation, C.T.,
B.F., E.K., M.S.; Resources, C.T., B.F., M.E.B.; Data
curation, C.T., B.F., E.K., M.S.; Writing – original draft
preparation, E.K., M.S., J.M.V., M.E.B.; Writing –
review and editing, E.K., M.S., J.M.V., M.E.B.;
Visualization, C.T., B.F.; Supervision, M.E.B.; Project
administration, J.M.V., M.E.B.; Funding acquisition,
M.E.B.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Jackson Bertus and Riley
Henderson for their assistance.
Funding
This research received no outside funding.
Availability of data and materials
All data will be made available on request according
to the journal policy.
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Institutional Review Board Statement
This experiment was performed within the guidelines
set out by the Aquatics Section Research Ethics
Committee of the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks
(approval code, SDGFPARC20231) and within the
guidelines for the Use of Fishes in Research set by the
American Fisheries Society.
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