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Tag: brine shrimp

  • Sea Monkey Keeping

    One of the things I have been enjoying this year is keeping Sea Monkeys – remember those comic book ads? They are still around, and have competition, even!

    If you follow me on Bluesky, you will have seen my posts for #SeaMonkeySunday – I figured if cats can have Caturday, pet brine shrimp can have a day as well.

    I set up my first tank in late March, a very old school Sea Monkeys “Magiquarium” with a glow in the dark tank bottom.

    A sea monkey tank with a blue lid and base, with a molded, glow-in-the-dark interior base that looks like a low volcano caldera.
    Sea Monkey tank

    The next month I added a different brand, the Aqua Dragons. I really like the design of their tank, it’s very sleek and unobtrusive to viewing.

    The clear plastic Aqua Dragons tank sits on a counter next to the Sea Monkeys tank. It is slightly shorter and thinner, but wider. It has a molded plastic mountain range at the bottom. In front of it is the lid, an accessory magnifying glass that came with it, the packet of eggs and salt, and the papers explaining care.
    Setting up the Aqua Dragons tank.

    It has been really fascinating watching these tiny crustraceans develop. In a couple of days my Sea Monkeys tank will be 4 months old. I am down to only three individuals left.

    Sadly, on Tuesday the last remaining Aqua Dragons died, so I have only the Sea Monkeys left.

    I spent entirely too much time making a memorial video for the Aqua Dragons, which I share with you now:

    RIP Aqua Dragons

    They are, in theory, the exact same species of brine shrimp, so I do not know why they lasted only 3 months while the Sea Monkeys are still going at 4 months with 3 individuals. They sat side by side the whole time.

    I have another Sea Monkeys tank kit waiting in the wings should these ones go to the big tank in the sky. These little critters are surprisingly interesting, and my interest in these crustaceans expanded to isopods and keeping those, which means I also have springtails. I will detail more about them later though.

    They are a very low stakes pet to keep, and pretty easy once they are hatched, so I encourage anyone to set up a tank. They are fun and make me happy every time I peer into the tank.