RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Artemia is considered an indispensable live food for rearing many fish and crustacean larvae and can be used in toxicity tests as a safe, practical, and economical method. It is straightforward to create and manipulate; however, many cysts do not hatch as expected. METHODS: A new device was used to hatch Artemia salina. The device includes a tubularshaped reservoir, lid with a central hole, heater with a thermostat, air compressor, three porous stones, funnel-shaped bottom, light source, collection valve, switch, and electrical outlet, which permits better control of temperature and aeration in a single apparatus. Different patent devices were used for comparative analysis. RESULTS: Hatched eggs of Artemia showed that the device was 97% efficient; in comparison, commercial and other devices hatched approximately less than 80% of the cysts. Although Artemia is an easy-to-handle animal, the device described here facilitates changes in the growth parameters and produces more nauplii larvae. CONCLUSION: This paper presents a new device that is effective, compact, and successful for hatching brine shrimp cysts, thereby improving Artemia production.
