Ingredient & nutrient profile
Artemia (brine shrimp)
A live-feed ingredient whose nutritional profile can change substantially with enrichment.
What it contributes
Artemia are brine shrimp used as fish feed. In the linked goldfish study, researchers used them as a carrier for spirulina and/or canthaxanthin. Feeding live Artemia and using dried Artemia meal are different interventions.
Read it in context
The initial linked evidence concerns young goldfish (Carassius auratus), despite Artemia themselves being cultured in saline conditions. The directory environment tag describes the fish studied, not the water in which the feed organism was grown. This entry does not demonstrate equivalent effects in marine fish, koi or bettas.
What the evidence shows
Elshafey et al. (2023) compared commercial food alone with commercial food plus unenriched or enriched Artemia for 90 days. The combined spirulina/canthaxanthin enrichment group had higher final weight than the control. Unenriched Artemia did not significantly improve final weight over the control. The comparison shows why enrichment and the background diet matter.
Before changing the diet
The experiment used Artemia alongside commercial food and does not establish that Artemia alone are a complete diet. It did not test every live, frozen or dried product or establish their comparative microbial safety. The feeding protocol is an experimental method, not a universal portion guide.
Questions worth asking
Identify the form, size or life stage, enrichment details and intended use. “Brine shrimp” alone does not show that a product matches the tested enriched live feed. Check whether it is intended as a complete food or a supplementary feed and consider the whole feeding plan.
Explore the study
The linked study identifies the fish species, feeding method and limits of the evidence.
No matching studies.
No study is currently linked here for the selected fish group and context.
References and review scope
This is an initial, source-linked overview, not a systematic review or a product endorsement. Study-specific access limitations are stated above.
Research on this ingredient
Sailfin_molly
Bacillus-enriched Artemia in sailfin molly feeding
One study with 2 reviewed arm or dose connection(s).
Arm b_subtilis_enriched_artemia
Bacillus-enriched Artemia in sailfin molly feeding
Multi ingredient · sailfin_molly. Sailfin molly in commercial-feed, unenriched-Artemia and Bacillus-enriched-Artemia groups.
Tested form: Artemia enriched using Bacillus subtilis culture-water dosing. Dose: 1 x 10^5 CFU/mL Bacillus subtilis added to Artemia culture water daily; fish-food dose not reported (Probiotic concentration in Artemia culture water, not per gram of fish feed; enriched Artemia then fed orally). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Commercial-feed control and unenriched Artemia.
Measured finding: Growth did not differ between groups. The enriched-Artemia group showed improved reproductive and fry-survival measures, more intestinal Bacillus and lower challenge mortality. These combined-treatment findings do not isolate the effect of Artemia or Bacillus alone.
Limitations: Species-specific combined treatment and experimental challenge; strain, sample size and duration are not established in the reviewed abstract. Generic dry-food Bacillus inclusion is a different delivery method.
This ingredient was part of a combined formulation; the study does not isolate its contribution.
Arm unenriched_artemia
Bacillus-enriched Artemia in sailfin molly feeding
Direct · sailfin_molly. Sailfin molly in commercial-feed, unenriched-Artemia and Bacillus-enriched-Artemia groups.
Tested form: Unenriched Artemia supplied as food. Dose: Artemia ration not reported in reviewed abstract (Oral feeding of Artemia; ration not reported). Duration: Not reported in reviewed abstract. Comparator: Commercial-feed control and Bacillus-enriched Artemia.
Measured finding: The study included an unenriched-Artemia comparator; growth did not differ between groups. The reported reproduction, fry-survival and challenge findings favoured enriched Artemia, so those benefits must not be attributed to this unenriched arm.
Limitations: Species-specific combined treatment and experimental challenge; strain, sample size and duration are not established in the reviewed abstract. Generic dry-food Bacillus inclusion is a different delivery method.
Products listing or mentioning this ingredient
1 product linked through reviewed ingredient occurrences from manufacturer declarations or partial editorial summaries. Whole-label verification may remain pending. An ingredient’s presence alone does not establish a nutritional outcome.
- Sera Plankton Color Tabs Sera Plankton Color Tabs, editorial ingredient summary 2026-09-24; ; partial summary Fish; Source data captured; Label verification pending; Evidence applicability requires the stated ingredient and study review scope