Mysis Blister Pack SALE!

Frozen 4oz Piscine Mysis Blister pack sale! Purchase 5 or more packs and receive 50% off all the packs! Simply purchase 5 or more of the 4oz Piscine Mysis blister packs, and enter coupon code "MYSIS4" during checkout.**

4 Ounces of Whole Frozen Mysis shrimp in a convenient blister pack with separated cubes for easy feeding.

Mysis Relicta -- Natural fish food,for finicky saltwater and freshwater fish, by Piscine Energetics
MYSIS are especially interesting because of their nutritional value coupled with their unique applications to salt water as well as freshwater fish husbandry; these qualities have already been recognized by many fish curators, dealers, retailers, breeders, and hobbyists.

The notable qualities of MYSIS

-Completely Natural: Unlike many processed fish foods, MYSIS are (or very closely resemble) a food item which fish would normally contact within their native environment.
- High Protein: The protein content is in excess of that normally recommended for growth, maintenance, and reproduction.
- High Animal Fat: Mysis relicta make nightly vertical migrations from 360 feet to the surface to eat, then return to 360 feet at daybreak. These migrations require enormous amounts of energy which is stored in MYSIS as animal fat. The consumption of MYSIS makes this energy available to fish for general metabolism, swimming, defending territory, and for reproduction.
- Sodium Free: MYSIS are truly "freshwater". The lack of salt intake for fish (especially for marine animals) is desirable since these fish are constantly struggling to expel salt from their bodies.
- Fish Eat Them: It has been well noted that the most finicky fish will eat MYSIS with enthusiasm. Credible sources (references available) report that discus, seahorses (including the leafy sea dragon), tangs, and butterfly fishes will eat MYSIS eagerly (even when stressed or poorly acclimating)! It is a naturally occurring fatty acid in Mysis relicta that initiates this positive feeding response in fish and only Mysis relicta has such naturally high quantities of it.

YES, THEY ARE MYSIDS... however they differ from other "mysis" on the market in two distinct ways:

1. MYSIS are 100% Mysis relicta; they belong to the family of Mysidae and are not merely lumped into a "mysis category" like many other small crustaceans whether they are truly mysids or not.
2. MYSIS (Mysis relicta) are a "completely freshwater" species of the Mysidae family; other Mysis species on the market may be a coastal (estuarine) or marine cousin of Mysis relicta.

"The notoriously finicky Copperband butterfly fishes just love MYSIS"

Ingredients:
•MYSIS (Mysis relicta)...100%
•Guaranteed Analysis:
◦Min. Crude Protein............69.5%
◦Min. Crude Fat...................8.35%
◦Max. Crude Fibre...............2.75%
◦Max. Ash..............................5.5%

1. What is mysis?
Mysis relicta is a freshwater species of the Opossum Shrimps. Mysis are not a true shrimp though they do closely resemble and are, in fact a primitive relative of the shrimp found in the oceans. The title Opossum comes from the fact that the adult females carry their young in a brood pouch until fully developed.

Mysis are native to glacial lakes on the East side of the continental divide, and are a true glacial relict (hence the name relicta). As the polar ice cap pushed southward during the last ice age, it carried pockets of salt water and the marine ancestor of the present mysids. When the ice receded, it left newly created lakes complete with shrimp that evolved into the form present today.

More recently, man has increased the range of this species by transplanting it to lakes across the continent. Mysis is not native to British Columbia and was introduced to at least twenty lakes there from the late 1940's and through to the early 1980's. Given the negative impact mysids exert on zooplankton communities and Kokanee, it is thought that their removal may be beneficial to the ecosystem.

Mysis are considered a part of the zooplankton, the small invertebrate animals found in all lakes that feed on microscopic algae (phytoplankton) as well as other zooplankton. In turn these organisms form the basis of the food supply for many fish.

There are however, two major differences between Mysis and the other zooplankton typically found in lakes. First, Mysis have a longer lifespan. The typical zooplankton, composed of animals known as copepods, cladocerans and rotifers, live anywhere from only several days to several months. In our lakes, populations of these animals may complete a number of generations in the course of a year. Usually they become very abundant during the summer months and very sparse during the winter.

Mysis on the other hand, usually live two years. Adults breed during the winter. The young are carried in the brood pouch until late spring or early summer when they are then released to grow for another year and a half before they breed and complete the life cycle.

The second difference is size. Mysis range in size from newly released young of about one-eight inch to adults of up to 3/4 inch. The other zooplankton are normally much smaller ranging from one one-hundredth to one tenth of an inch in total length.

It is the size of the Mysis that makes them of interest as a fish food.The picture shown here is magnified several times with the tip of a small skewer as a reference. Because they are much larger than the zooplankton that fish normally feed upon, they are an excellent food item. Fish that consistently feed on Mysis grow much faster than those feeding strictly on the other smaller zooplankton. Mysis are extremely high in nutritional value and are salt free.

Piscine Energetics Mysis
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**Sale ends May 31st, 2011. While supplies last, no rainchecks or substitutions.