Sea monkeys... my brother wants them for his birthday... I want to get them for him.. (see details)?

Question

I'm not sure what their are all about... I mean come on we all know that you have to put them in water and watch them grown... but I want to know how long they live... I looked them up... but all it said was that they would reproduce and all this other stuff... So if they reproduce... do I need to buy a bigger tank... is this going to be a huge project that I should avoid. is it like fish? or what... could someone please help me for experience only. I don't want any references to a web page. if you've had them or have them let me know how it was.... thanks

Answer 1

As others have mentioned they are brine shrimp. They can be hatched easily from eggs you mail order or buy at a pet shop. Not sure if he will enjoy them or not - obviously they aren't little monkey-like people like the comic book pictures usually show.

You may also want to consider a triops
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triops_cancriformis

If your search for 'triops' at Amazon.com you'll see lots of kits. They don't live long either but are bigger and interesting ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Triops_australiensis.jpg

Answer 2

It's sad that you don't want to check out other websites. There are lots of very informative pages out there, much more so than this one.
Anyway, I had them as a kid. I liked them a lot, but I like any animal. Something else I had that was much more fun were triops. Similair setup to the sea monkeys, they come in a little plastic tank. These grow much larger, though, and are much more interesting to watch. I don't think there's much of a price difference, if there is one at all. Here is a yahoo group that's devoted to both sea monkeys and triops, lots of really nice people on there too. You can use the same yahoo id that you use on here to access this site.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/triopsforever/
There are also lots of really good pictures, and helpful links to places you can buy either animal online.
Just so you know, if you get the triops, sometimes other animals have eggs in the same dirt that they get the triops in. That means that sometimes you get extra critters, like fairy and brine shrimp, in your tank. The triops eventually eat them, but they are cool while they last.

Answer 3

We've had sea monkeys before! You know what they are? They are brine shrimp. It's pretty weird that you can grow them from a powder (must be little eggs) and a solution (some type of saline, no doubt). They are kind of interesting. It seems like they lasted about 4-6 weeks and went through one or two reproductive cycles. If you get tired of them, you can let them loose in the creek where they will feed the frogs and fish. It's not a huge project. I think we did ours in a little one gallon plastic container that came with the kit. I'm sure your brother would be happy. It's like a little science experiment. Have fun :)

Answer 4

We used to get them all the time as a kid. All they are is brine shrimp (They use them as fish food at pet stores). We kept them until it seemed none were left and dumped the water down the toilet and would start from scratch whenever the mood struck
We never bought a bigger tank or anything like that. They don't get that big, but they are neat to look at. Very low maintenance.

Answer 5

They sell live brine shrimp (Sea Monkeys) in fish stores. If the population drops after he's had the thrill of releasing them from their state of suspended animation, he can go refresh the tank for a buck or two.

Answer 6

They are so fun to play with! My friend had them, and they are so easy to take care of, even a six year old can do it. Sea-Monkeys are a true miracle of nature. They exist in suspended animation inside their tiny eggs for many years.Sea-Monkeys are a unique species of brine shrimp, known by the scientific name of Artemia NYOS. We not only unlocked the most elusive secrets of their life cycle, we created new formulas to keep them alive under conditions found in the average home—an accomplishment never before achieved!You can expect your Sea-Monkey® tank to last about 2 years.
An exact, pre-blended formula of "magic crystals"—and live Sea-Monkey eggs are inside the envelopes supplied in every Sea-Monkey kit. When added to water, live Sea-Monkeys will hatch.

Answer 7

Agreed that sea monkies are brine shrimp/nauplii . They really are not that difficult to raise. I raise them to feed my seahorses. If you want I can sell you a 1/2 ounce bag of them or less if you want with the salt and food etc. You just find their tank, would be MUCH cheaper that way. I will include clear instructions on hatching and growing them, several different ways actually.Buying the sea monkies brand is EXPENSIVE.

Answer 8

I had them a couple of times when I was a kid. The first time was at school, and I knocked them over and spilled them. All the kids sure got mad at me!! The other time, we thought they died (my mom and I) and the tank lived in the garage for a while. One day I went out there and looked at the tank and they were alive! Talk about low maintenance!! I got them again in my 20's and had a good time with them until they died. Then I was kind of sad about that...

Answer 9

You don't need a bigger tank. They are really tiny the tank they come in has little magnifying glasses all over it just so you can see them. I'm not quite sure how long they last, because my cousin had them she knocked over the tank that's why her's died. It will interest a little kid to watch see them move.

Answer 10

They're just brine shrimp. They live and die relatively quickly, but because they reproduce at a high rate, he'll never notice which ones die and which ones are being born. They're relatively boring, but not a difficult project in the least