Human Uses of Brine Shrimp

Brine shrimp are tiny crustaceans that live in heavily salted water. Some adult brine shrimp can be seen with the naked eye but brine shrimp larvae and eggs can only be seen with a microscope. The brine shrimp have a life span of less than a year and are known for their eggs' ability to completely dry out and hatch again when they become moist. Humans have many uses for brine shrimp.

  1. As Pets

    • Sea Monkeys are a mail order pet whose advertising promises that you just have to add water and watch your new pets grow. Sea Monkeys are a larger hybridized species of brine shrimp, which come in the mail as dried brine shrimp eggs. The brine shrimp also come with their own salt to make their water salty enough, food, as well as multiple habitat designs.

    As Pet Food

    • Brine shrimp are sold as frozen or live fish food but can also be fed to other aquatic pets such as frogs or turtles. Colonies of brine shrimp can be raised at home on yeast or egg yolk powder.

    Research

    • Brine shrimp have unique characteristics and short life spans, making them ideal for scientists. Brine shrimp have been important for many different types of studies in scientific fields such as ecology, biology, toxicology, genetics, histology and biochemistry. Brine shrimp eggs, or cysts as they are sometimes called, have even traveled into space in order for scientists to learn how UV radiation affects living cells.

    Maintaining Fish Populations

    • Maintaining fish populations is something government organizations do to protect aquatic species. This is beneficial to humans because it keeps the ecosystem in order and preserves fish for human consumption. Many species of hatchling fish require brine shrimp as food to survive but if there is a problem with the local brine shrimp population a special stock pile of brine shrimp is kept at a research center in Belgium that researchers can use to help fish populations survive.