Effects Of Hydrogen Peroxide, Cold Storage And Descapsulation On The Hatching Success Of Artemia Cysts

Abstract

The effects of hydrogen peroxide, cold storage and decapsulation on diapause in partheno- genetic Artemia cysts from the Izmir Çamalti saltern were tested. To test the effect of hydrogen peroxide, cyst samples were incubated for 5 min in a 2% or 5% H2O2 solution. In the cold stor- age experiments, the cysts were divided into three groups. One group was stored in saturated saline, the second in a vacuum and the third in air for 15 days or one month. Decapsulation was tested after a 2-hour prehydration period. The hatching rate of the control group after 24 h in cysts harvested in November was 0, while in cysts harvested in March it was 19.2%. All the treatments for diapause deactivation resulted in increased hatching during the first 24 h but the final hatch- ing rates (at 72 h) of all treated groups were similar to or slightly lower than that of the control.