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6.3. Saltwater shrimps
Accessories:
1. Shrimp eggs,
2. Sea salt,
3. Hatchery,
4. Yeast.
6.3.1 Shrimp life cycle
The saltwater shrimps or „Artemia salina” experiences an unu-
sual and interesting life cycle. The eggs produced from the fe-
male are hatched without ever being fertilised by the male. The
shrimps that hatch from these eggs are all female. Only under
special circumstances, such as a swamp drying up, do male
shrimps hatch. These males can now fertilise the female egg,
creating special eggs. These eggs are so called “winter eggs”
and feature a thicker hull to protect it. These eggs are very re-
sistant and can even survive the dry up of a marsh or lake that
causes the death of the entire shrimp population. They can
overcome a period of 5 to 10 years. The eggs hatch when the
right environmental conditions exist. The eggs in your micro-
scope set are from this composition.
6.3.2. The hatching of the salt water shrimp eggs
In order to get the shrimps to hatch it is important to first pre-
pare a salt solution to establish the proper environment for the
shrimps. Fill a container with half a litre of rain water and let
it sit for 36 hours. Because the water evaporates during this
time, you should fill a second container with water and let it sit
for 36 hours. After this period of time pour half of the sea salt
into the first container and stir the water until the salt has com-
pletely dissolved. Now enter some shrimp eggs into the salt
water. Place the container in a lighted place but not into direct
sunlight. If a hatchery tank is included with your microscope
set then you can add some of the salt solutions into the sepa-
rate cells and add some eggs. The temperature of the tank
should be approximately 25° C. The shrimps will hatch after 2
to 3 days with this temperature. If water evaporates from the
container you can always add it from the second container.
6.3.3 The saltwater shrimps under the microscope
The animal that hatches out of the egg is known as “nauplius
larva”. Using the pipette, place several of these larvae on an
object slide and begin your examination. The larvae will move
through the salt water solution with help from its hair like out-
growth. Take a few larvae out of the water everyday and ex-
amine them under the microscope. If the larva have grown in a
hatchery tank you can set the entire tank onto the microscope
stage and take off the cap of the hatchery and observe. De-
pending on the room temperature the larvae will mature within
6 to 10 weeks. Soon you will have seen an entire generation of
shrimps, which will continue to spawn.
6.3.4 Feeding your shrimps
To keep your saltwater shrimps alive you must feed them from
time to time. This must be done very carefully. Overfeeding the
shrimps will result in foul water which will poison the shrimp.
The best feed is dry yeast in powder form. A small amount of
this yeast is enough every second day. Dark water is a sign
that the water is turning foul. In this case the shrimps should
immediately be removed from the tank and placed into a new
salt solution.
CAREFUL!
Shrimp eggs and shrimps are not intended for
consumption!
7. Setup MicrOcular
NOTE!
The MicrOcular only works without the Barlow
lens supplied. Magnification setting is changed
by using the MicrOcular and must be reset by
focussing anew
.
Remove the Barlow lens (Fig. 2, 2) with the currently used eyepiece
from the tube (Fig. 2, 4) and put the MicrOcular (Fig. 4, 3) in place
instead.
8. Installation and use of the software
NOTE!
Please do not yet connect MicrOcular and
your PC.
Please go through the items below in
sequence.
8.1. Software and Installation Information
A software CD is included with your microscope. The software
and drivers on this CD must be installed on your computer in
order to use your MicrOcular. Once you connect the MicOcular
to your computer after installation, you can view pictures on
and save them to your computer using Photomizer. To install
the software and driver correctly, simply follow the installation
steps.
8.2. Installation der Software
1. Important: Before inserting the CD, first plug the USB cable
into the USB port on your PC. Windows will now recognize
the new device, and will indicate this in a notification win-
dow. Now please click on “Cancel”, since we will have the
driver for the device automatically installed later.
2. Now insert the CD-ROM that came in your package into the
CD/DVD drive of your computer. The installation menu starts
automatically. If it does not, go to the Windows explorer
and select the CD/DVD drive (most of the time, it’s the “D”
drive, but it can have another letter). From there, start the file
“menu.exe” by double-clicking with the left mouse button.
8.2.1. Driver installation
To install the driver software, click on the menu point “Install Driv-
er” with the mouse cursor. Then follow the installation program
instructions.
During the software installation the correct driver for your oper-
ating system will be installed automatically. No manual input is
needed. In rare cases the device may not be recognised by your
computer. As a rule you need then only install the driver manu-
ally from the CD. If this fails please refer to the troubleshooting
chapter that follows.
8.2.2. Installation of the Image Editing Software
Photomizer
The image editing software “Photomizer” is located on the
software CD. You can edit your pictures here.
1. To install the software, click once on the menu point “Install
Software” with the left mouse button.
2. The Photomizer Software requires Microsoft .NET Frame-
work 3.5, which it will install if it is not already on your sys-
tem. If it is already on your system, you may skip to step 5.
3. In the welcome window, please accept the Microsoft license
agreement, and then click “Install”. The installation can take
a few minutes.
4. As soon as everything is installed, click “Finish”.
5. Now you will be presented with a choice, in which you can
choose your language.
Make your selection and confirm it by clicking „OK“.
6. When you see “Welcome“, click on „Next“.
