Optimizing Artemia Harvest Timing: Balancing Biomass Yield and Nutritional Quality During Early Incubation

This study evaluated the evolution of nutritional composition, individual dry weight (IDW), and individual wet weight (IWW) during the first 36 hours of Artemia incubation to identify optimal harvest windows for hatcheries. EG SEP-Art D-FENSE cysts were incubated under standardized hatching conditions (25 ppt, 29 °C, pH 8.25) across six replicates. Nauplius IWW increased significantly from 10.99 µg nauplius⁻¹ at 20 h to 17.74 µg nauplius⁻¹ at 36 h, while IDW declined from 2.18 µg to 1.90 µg nauplius⁻¹. This reduction in dry weight was primarily driven by carbohydrate losses (0.5994 to 0.3719 µg nauplius⁻¹) and fatty acid depletion (0.3853 to 0.2808 µg nauplius⁻¹), with the sharpest IDW loss occurring between 30 h and 36 h. Polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially 18:3(n-3) (α-linolenic acid), experienced the largest reductions. Early Instar II nauplii remained nutritionally comparable to late Instar I, demonstrating that hatcheries can harvest mixed-stage populations prior to 30 h to maximize biomass without significant nutritional penalties.