Artemia don't always have to be fed fresh. In a simple builder's tub, the small brine shrimp can be raised in the garden or on the terrace over a longer period and regularly harvested as high-quality live food.
Tobis Aquaristikexzesse shows you how on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPjQcFwp-Lo
With the ArtemiaVitaGarden Set, you get everything you need to start a stable Artemia garden culture: shell-free ArtemiaVita eggs, our specially formulated ArtemiaSalt, and RotiBomb as food and microbial culture starter.
Included in the set:
- 120 ml ArtemiaVita
- 10 kg ArtemiaSalt
- 50 g RotiBomb
Cultivating Artemia in a builder's tub. Easier than you think.
For an Artemia garden culture, you don't need complicated technology. A simple 40- or 90-liter builder's tub, water, and a suitable place in the garden or on the terrace are sufficient.
The crucial difference in our method: The Artemia are not hatched directly in the large tub.
Instead, you first prepare the garden culture with ArtemiaSalt and RotiBomb. At the same time, you let a small amount of ArtemiaVita hatch in a controlled manner in a ventilated incubation container.
After 24 to 48 hours, the freshly hatched Artemia nauplii are introduced into the already prepared culture water.
This way, the sensitive nauplii start directly in an environment where food and a favorable microbial milieu are already present.
Step 1: Prepare saltwater for the garden culture
For a stable Artemia culture, we recommend a salt concentration of 30 g of ArtemiaSalt per liter of water.
Do not skimp on the salt. Especially for an outdoor culture, a sufficiently high salt concentration ensures more stable conditions and makes it difficult for many unwanted freshwater organisms to settle.
For a 40-liter tub:
40 liters of water + 1.2 kg of ArtemiaSalt
For a 90-liter tub:
90 liters of water + 2.7 kg of ArtemiaSalt
Completely dissolve the ArtemiaSalt in water.
Step 2: Add RotiBomb as a culture starter
RotiBomb is mixed in directly when setting up the garden tub.
To start, we use:
1 g RotiBomb per 10 liters of culture water.
This corresponds to:
- 40 liters → 4 g RotiBomb
- 90 liters → 9 g RotiBomb
RotiBomb contains a mixture of microalgae and probiotic microorganisms. This not only provides suitable food directly to the Artemia to be introduced later. At the same time, a favorable microbial climate can develop in the tub even before the nauplii are introduced.
Then let the prepared tub stand for 24 to 48 hours.
Step 3: Let ArtemiaVita hatch separately
Parallel to preparing the garden tub, the Artemia are incubated.
To do this, set up 2.5 ml ArtemiaVita in a 500 ml incubation container and actively aerate.
ArtemiaVita already contains decapsulated, hatchable Artemia eggs. The bothersome eggshell has already been removed. This gives you clean Artemia nauplii without having to laboriously separate shells from the newly hatched animals.
After about 24 to 48 hours, the newly hatched nauplii can be placed in the prepared garden tub.
From nauplius to adult Artemia
Now the actual garden culture begins.
The newly hatched nauplii spread in the tub and begin to filter RotiBomb and developing microorganisms from the water.
Under good conditions, the Artemia grow continuously and can later be regularly harvested with a fine net and fed directly to fish.
This creates a simple and natural source of fresh live food in the garden.
Feed RotiBomb by sight
Artemia filter their food directly from the water. Therefore, the right time to replenish is easy to recognize.
If the water becomes noticeably clearer, it's time for the next feeding.
For replenishment, the following is sufficient:
25 mg RotiBomb per liter of culture water.
This corresponds to, for example:
- 40 liters → 1 g RotiBomb
- 90 liters → approx. 2.25 g RotiBomb
Better to feed small amounts regularly than too much at once. Overfeeding can deteriorate water quality.
RotiBomb. Feed and microorganisms in one.
RotiBomb was specially developed for the cultivation of Artemia, rotifers, and other zooplankton.
It combines selected microalgae with probiotic microorganisms. The included microalgae serve as high-quality food for the Artemia. At the same time, the microorganisms support a stable microbial environment in the culture.
This is a significant advantage, especially for larger garden cultures, as the goal is not just a single Artemia hatch. The aim is a culture from which Artemia can be harvested repeatedly over a longer period.
ArtemiaSalt for a stable garden culture
Our ArtemiaSalt is based on our many years of experience with the hatching and cultivation of various Artemia species.
It is free from unwanted technical additives, anti-caking agents, and separating agents, and ensures suitable conditions for Artemia.
For garden culture, we explicitly recommend 30 g of salt per liter of water.
In an outdoor culture, many influences affect the water simultaneously: rain, evaporation, temperature, microorganisms, and other animals. A sufficiently high salt concentration helps create the special conditions in which Artemia thrive.
Important during rain and evaporation
In summer, water regularly evaporates from the mason's tub. The salt remains in the tub.
Always refill evaporated water with regular freshwater.
Do not refill saltwater every time, as this would continuously increase the salt concentration.
During prolonged heavy rain, a lot of freshwater can enter the tub and significantly lower the salt concentration. In this case, it is advisable to cover the tub temporarily or adjust the salt content afterward.
Your own Artemia directly from the garden
With Tobi's ArtemiaVita Garden Set, a simple mason's tub becomes a small Artemia culture.
Prepare saltwater.
Add RotiBomb.
Let ArtemiaVita hatch separately.
Add nauplii.
Let grow.
Harvest.
Fresh live food directly from your own garden.
