Sea Monkeys

shoelevy · Post by **shoelevy** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 11:30 am

brine shrimps or sea monkeys r naturally SEA water creatures airconvent...so if u wanna buy those from sea fish shops u needa make salt water to keep them
specific gravity has to be between 1.020-1.025...meaning per 1kg of water need between 20-25g of salt...NOT table salt ah...u need salt from the shops
u dun haf to go farm to buy adults sea monkeys...lavender st got this shop called REBORN...its on the left side...the road that leads from bugis to balestier
$3 a packet...i bought one b4 and i see lots of pairs mating...haha...maybe if u keep them alive u'd get babies

but u better call b4 mking a trip down incase no more stocks
and frankly..if u ask me i dun know y yr shrimps died but what i can say is there's lots of info online so go search~!

geraldine · Post by **geraldine** » Sun Dec 26, 2004 4:36 pm

i have worked with them before in my work attachment of sea horses. there are a couple of reasons why they die.firstly is could be the salinity of the water. they require those "sea water" standard and the salinity might not be enough to maintain their growth. secondly, they feed on mainly algae and yeast. thus, if you do not have the above food for them, they die. thirdly, perhaps your aeration is not strong enough. they survive in high oxygen condition environment. fourthly, a given large area for growth ( tanks) and high number of artemia per tank bout >5000 will sustain their survival rate longer. lastly, artemia have unpredictable survival rates. sometimes, they can grow to the size of up to 0.5~0.7 inch but sometimes, they die pretty fast too.
You can buy cans of artemia in aquaria shops. They are labelled as Artemia Nauplii.

But if possible, dont buy the one with an "Owl" picture on the can. Sucessful hatching of artemia is only 60% for that brand.

Post by **Airconvent** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 1:22 am

thanks Geri, shoelevy
that is why I say the sea monkeys and brine shrimp are different. the hybrid sea monkeys appear to thrive in freshwater. I'm not sure if I add the brine shrimp to the current water, will they survive?
also, will the greenish algae-based food I purchased for the sea monkeys be suitable for the brine shrimps. I have done some search on yahoo and seems there is no clear answer out there. They either explain one or the other but not the relation between the 2.
also, I understand brine shrimps are primarily used as fish feed...anyone actually rear them?

In answer to your clarification, Geri :
"firstly is could be the salinity of the water"
- well, the water has been prepared exactly as instructed by the package and I know its not salty enough to be sea water.

"secondly, they feed on mainly algae and yeast"
- the sea monkeys come with some green stuff as food. I have followed the instructions to feed them. they are supposed to be fed only one every few days. the food packs I have is supposed to last 1-2 years.

they survive in high oxygen condition environment"
- the manual says to aerate the first few days and then subsequently, once every few days. I still do it daily with a specially aeration tube I bought that generates bubbles. that's if I have a full colony but now I only have 3, so no sea monkey should be starved of oxygen.

. fourthly, a given large area for growth ( tanks) and high number of artemia per tank bout >5000 will sustain their survival rate longer.
- the tank provided is designed to hold about 100 sea monkeys. during the first few days, I could see 40-50 tiny specks swimming around, even after one week when most of the them has grown to 3-4mm long, I can still see fresh moving specks appearing but alas, they did not survive....

geraldine · Post by **geraldine** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 11:40 am

oH! i just asked my classmate who used to own sea monkeys, she was telling me her's died after a month. seem to me, it could be a product gimmick. no offense here. just a personal comment.

but perhaps, you can try feeding them daily at a specific time? maybe they might survive better. no harm trying.

Post by **Airconvent** » Mon Dec 27, 2004 11:28 pm

geraldine wrote:oH! i just asked my classmate who used to own sea monkeys, she was telling me her's died after a month. seem to me, it could be a product gimmick. no offense here. just a personal comment. but perhaps, you can try feeding them daily at a specific time? maybe they might survive better. no harm trying.

oh no...geri...the manual specifically says to only feed them once a week for a large colony. for 3 sea monkeys, 1/2 a tiny scoop every 9-10 days or else the water will be cloudy with uneaten food. they need very little as they also feed on the algae that is growing in the tank too...
in anycase, I think I have confirmed the 3 survivors in the tank are female which means I won't be getting any more monkeys in there.
I bought all the accessories (plasman, water purifier, aerator) from the toys-r-us united square branch. thought I can try the other branches for the eggs. to my amazement, the rest have not even heard there are top up packs for sale!!

geraldine · Post by **geraldine** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 1:23 am

o_o no worries richard, some of my friends and classmates who reared sea monkeys have their pets dying after few weeks even though they followed closely to the instructions.. longest record was 1month.. shortest was 3 days.. ha!

cheerios! happy rearing them! they are indeed cute when they grow larger!!

Post by **Airconvent** » Tue Dec 28, 2004 12:44 pm

geraldine wrote:o_o no worries richard, some of my friends and classmates who reared sea monkeys have their pets dying after few weeks even though they followed closely to the instructions.. longest record was 1month.. shortest was 3 days.. ha!

cheerios! happy rearing them! they are indeed cute when they grow larger!!

thanks..mine are quite lethargic which leaves me to believe they are not doing well either ....anyway, mine almost 3 weeks now...heh heh
In the end, I believe its probably our weather that is the main problem...

rich