Product Description

You are about to begin a new amazing hobby that is so fantastic it staggers the imagination! You will create instant life! Single-handedly, you will give rise to the world's only living, breathing, instant pets--live sea monkeys! The instruction book for the Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo is an entertaining read, packed with enthusiastic revelations about those ubiquitous brine shrimp from your comic-book-reading days. They're fascinating creatures, able to live up to a year or more, reproduce ("dozens of adorable babies!"), even "perform tricks" in their 5.75-inch magnifier-studded "Micro Vue" aquarium. The kit comes with shrimp eggs, food, plasma, a water purifier, and a handbook. Just add pure water. A great set of pets for a smallish domicile, they'd also make a scintillating science project. Plus, they're just plain fun! --Julie Ubben

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88712 in Toys & Games
• Brand: Educational Insights

Features

• Sea Monkeys - A Great Learning Experience
• Fun for Kids and Parents
• These are easy to care for little pets. This product is great for teaching about the life cycle of these little sea creatures. Just follow the instruction booklet.
• The light is great and makes the little baby sea monkeys easier to see.
• Kids love these!

Editorial Review
You are about to begin a new amazing hobby that is so fantastic it staggers the imagination! You will create instant life! Single-handedly, you will give rise to the world's only living, breathing, instant pets--live sea monkeys! The instruction book for the Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo is an entertaining read, packed with enthusiastic revelations about those ubiquitous brine shrimp from your comic-book-reading days. They're fascinating creatures, able to live up to a year or more, reproduce ("dozens of adorable babies!"), even "perform tricks" in their 5.75-inch magnifier-studded "Micro Vue" aquarium. The kit comes with shrimp eggs, food, plasma, a water purifier, and a handbook. Just add pure water. A great set of pets for a smallish domicile, they'd also make a scintillating science project. Plus, they're just plain fun! --Julie Ubben

Customer Reviews

Low maintenance, fun pet that lasts forever, unless...
My friend gave me this toy approx. a year ago. I thought the toy would be neat for a little while, but I never thought I would grow to love it. The sea-monkeys are born instantly the minute you put the eggs in the water. After that, they require very little care; the packet of food included in the kit lasted me for almost a year now. They are always fun to watch. Over the past year, I think I have approximately 3 to 4 generations of sea-monkeys. The very last batch I have, even though they were young adults and still have at least a few more months lifespan, unfortunately all died this week (7/12/99) because of an unusually hot day. Everyday, I put them out in the sun because they love it. I never thought an extremely hot day would kill them. Since I am addicted to them now, I will mail order more eggs (or the manual says I can just let the water evaporate naturally, and when I add water again, more would be born. It's very educational. Try it.)

An enjoyable project.
Sea monkeys might help to satisfy the urge most kids feel to have a pet. After a week or so, the sea monkeys are big enough to see with the naked eye. I think it would be difficult for most children to feel anything for the newborn sea monkeys that are practically microscopic. The key to enjoying sea monkeys is to prepare the children to be patient. It is true that unlike ladybug or ant projects, the sea monkeys come with the kit and don't require you to wait while they are mailed to you. However, the sea monkeys aren't as instant or as interactive as you might expect. You must spend the first 24 hours treating the water. Then, you pour in the sea monkey eggs and they hatch. But, they are nothing but tiny dots. Even when adults, these are tiny shrimp. They won't interact with you like a dog or bunny might. But, don't give up.

The sea monkeys are fascinating creatures. The booklet that comes with them reveals some amazing features of this little animal. For example, sea monkeys can reproduce five different ways! It is mesmerizing to watch them swim around in the little aquarium. They are in constant motion. After the first week, care of the sea monkeys couldn't be easier. During the first week you need to pour the aquarium into another container to stir up the water. After that, they require only occassional feedings. Other than that, you can't go wrong. If you let the water evaporate and dry out. Just add more treated water and the sea monkeys are virtually born again. This is an animal designed to persist.

The kit I received comes with a day-glo yellow aquarium. There is no light or pump or anything fancy. It seems well made, but it's not the kind of thing that fits into most living room decor. And, that's fine because this will probably go into the kids' room anyway. Younger kids can take care of the sea monkeys with a little help and older kids can be left to do it on their own.

In short, this is an inexpensive and fun project. Enjoy.

Sea Monkeys are fun
Sea Monkeys are awesome. I cannot believe how amazing they are. First of all, setting up the tank is easy. You put 12 ounces of water in it, add the Water Purifier, and mix until dissolved. Then you wait 24-36 hours... when the time has passed, you just open the packet of eggs, stir and that's it. Then they're born! Everything's so easy with Sea Monkeys!

Sea Monkeys are pretty tiny at first. I had a hard time telling what was a Sea Monkey or a bubble. But they grow quickly. They don't eat much; only once a week. They're good pets for busy people because they don't need much care. Here are a few bad things about the Sea Monkey set: 1. SPILLS- I spilled water out of the two holes in the top by accident. BE AWARE. Walk slowly when they're in your hands. 2. FIGHTS- Sea Monkeys can sometimes fight over who gets the girl. Sometimes they fight over the death!! I haven't seen this happen yet, but I don't like the sound of it. I think they start to fight about... 4 weeks after they are born. 3. SEA DIAMONDS- Ah! I hate these Sea Diamonds. A few days ago I put some Sea Diamonds in the aquarium, thinking they would get excersise and have some fun. But I was wrong! First of all, the diamonds are huge. I think I crushed some Sea Monkeys when I added the diamonds in. Second of all, the Sea Monkeys are not interested in them at all. My SMS are swimming around the top and eventually going to the bottom to get a few crumbs of food. They don't play with them at all. So I just spooned them out and threw them in the trash. 4. AERATE- Some websites told me to mix more air in the aquarium. They told me to blow INTO A STRAW to give oxygen to them. I think I sucked some SM algae stuff down my throat. HERE'S A TIP- JUST MIX WITH A SPOON GENTLY.

And there are a thousand things that are good about Sea Monkeys, but one of the best things is naming them. I haven't named mine yet, but I plan to be creative. I'll be naming some regular names (like Christina and Nicholas) but the rest are going to be named things like: SPUNKY, LAVENDER, and PUPS.

Have fun with Sea Monkeys!