Nauplii from 4 commercially available geographical collections of Artemia and nauplii hatched from the Reference Artemia Cysts were compared for their effects on survival and growth of Rhithropanopeus harrisii larvae. In addition, nauplii from these sources were analyzed for their fatty acid and chlorinated hydrocarbon contents. Despite differences in the amounts of a few important polyunsaturated fatty acids, as well as in the chlorinated hydrocarbon content, there was little variation in the survival and development rates of R. harrisii fed these Artemia sources as food. However, growth of R. harrisii from hatching to megalopa was significantly higher on the strain from France, intermediate in the Reference, Brazil and Chinese strains, and poorest on the Chaplin Lake (Canada) strain. The Reference strain is shown to be one of the better sources of Artemia nauplii with regard to their use in crab culture and therefore represent a good standard for future research studies.