International Journal of Artemia Biology ISSN:XXXX-XXXX 2011, Vol 1: 41-48 Int. J. Artemia Biology, 2011, Vol 1: 41-48 Culture of Vinhchau strain of Artemia franciscana Kellogg, 1906 (Crustacea: Anostraca) in Pakistan Razia Sultana*, Faisal Ameer, Wajeeha Ali and Muhammed Nasir Food and Marine Resources Research Center, PCSIR Laboratories Complex Karachi, Shahrah-e-Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Karachi-75280, Pakistan * Corresponding author: Razia Sultana Food and Marine Resources Research Center, PCSIR Laboratories Complex Karachi, Shahrah-e-Dr Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Karachi-75280, Pakistan Tel.: +922132124182 Fax: +922134641847 E-mail: razia_pcsir@yahoo.com Abstract he paper presents comprehensive information on the Artemia culture under the local climatic conditions. The work has been carried out in three 1-acre ponds during 2007-2008 in the coastal area of Ghorabari, Pakistan. Two strains of Artemia, native parthenogenetic and bisexual Vinhchau (VC) strain (Vietnam) were assessed under the laboratory conditions for inoculation on the basis of their reproductive performance, life span characteristics and the cyst production capability. VC strain showed an overall better reproductive performance and cyst production than the native parthenogenetic strain, hence was selected for inoculation. The inoculation density of 50 nauplii / liter in three semi-intensive ponds (1-acre size) yielded average 12.789 ± 1.31 kg wet cysts with no significant variation among three replicate ponds. The average survival was 63 ± 5. Artemia reached to adult stage in 10-11 days. Average size of male and female was 6.5 – 7 mm (n=10) and 8-9 mm, respectively. The nauplii production occurred during approximately first three days which followed by cyst production. The number of cysts varied from 6 to 257 in the brood pouch of a single female. The maximum number of cysts found in 3rd and 4th week of culture, which declined progressively from fifth week onwards. Individual observation on brood size revealed that the number of cysts varied from 15-75 per brood in the initial four broods; maximum cyst production of >200 cyst/brood occurred from 5th to 8th brood, i.e., the number increased progressively from 1st to 8th brood which declined gradually in the later broods. This study revealed that the suitable period for Artemia production may be from September-October to April- May (7-8 months) based on the annual temperature regime. Keywords: Artemia inoculation, culture, cysts production T