Review: Sea Monkey Executive Set

If anyone here has taken the time to get to know the person behind my user name, you would know that my recent hobby includes ecospheres. Making my own, and maintaining the organism life forms for as long as I possibly can without killing my little creature colony.

This is pretty much why I bought the Sea-Monkeys Executive Set off of www.ebay.com (they had the best deals ranging from $10-$14).

That way I could bring my love for science straight to my office desk for a fraction of the cost for an eco-sphere. Not to mention, I feel cool being the only one having one at work. I know my co-workers are jealous, even though they refer to me as ‘hey kid’ sometimes. (I wonder why?) Whatever they so know they want one of these little aquariums on their desks!

So what is different about the executive set, vs. a regular old $5 basic tank of sea monkeys?

Um, well nothing really, it’s still the exact same concept it was in the 60’s, only more adult friendly and ‘nice looking’.

I’m a nerd, a dork even. I have no shame in admitting it. I grew up with sea monkeys, (however I was very disappointed when I was a child to realize my monkeys in fact were not as the cover promised, and I had spent hours looking for the king sea-monkey with the crown) they provided me hours of entertainment, and also they taught me the responsibility of taking care of a pet. No matter how small it is.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

The tank itself is black on the bottom, and the top, which includes a ventilation lid, in the middle of course, is your looking glass with 4 built in magnifiers. On the bottom of the tank lies a hunk of gold, and at the top there is a nice gold statue of a sea monkey. The Aquarium is equipped with a ventilated lid and a mound of gold on the bottom. It’s actually really nice looking, and has that professional vibe going. You certainly wouldn’t want to have some sunken ship or play land sea monkey tank on your office desk. This one at least tries to make you look serious.

The executive tank also comes with a ‘million bubble’ air pump for aerating the water. You simply stick the little hose into the water and press down on it. It will release a whole bunch of micro small bubbles into the tank. I haven’t been able to count them, so I’m not sure if there are a million to be exact. (That was a lame attempt at sarcasm)

You will also be getting a tiny tank tool with a red LED light. You use this to clean out any grime that may build up on the tanks walls. It is also referred to as ‘the squeegee’. I honestly have no idea why they had to add a red LED light. The sea monkey site says it’s for pizzazz. However it’s pretty useless. Not to mention it looks like a fairy princess wand, you may want to just chuck this one in the garbage pail, or give it to your daughter or any other little girl who may have a good time using it during fairy princess imagination games.

Included in the sea monkey’s executive set will also be an aqua leash. This is to remove sea monkeys and place them in another tank. This tool is helpful for when you want to clean out the tank without hurting the sea monkeys. You can also use it to transfer them into new tanks you may happen to purchase in the future.
There is also a feeding spoon, which is the perfect sized scoop to feed your sea monkeys weekly. There is also a small plastic magnifying glass included.

You will also be getting the 3 step packages in order to bring your sea monkeys to life.

Step 1

Is the water purifier. You add water to the tank, and then you simply pour in the package of water purifier, and stir it around the water until it is all dissolved. You now must allow the water sit for 24 hours before adding step 2.

Step 2

Are the live eggs. This packet is your sea monkeys in their crystal form. Once the powdery substance hits the water, you can instantly see the babies swim around if you look hard enough. They will be just as small as a pinhead, so you really will have to look hard if you want to see them. During this stage however there is no much to observe.

Step 3

Is your sea monkey food. You will only have to feed them a small scoop once a week. The scoop (or spoon) comes with the sea monkey executive set, with the perfect size scoop to feed your monkeys weekly. Do not over feed or you could kill them.

MANUAL

There is a small instruction packet for care that comes with this kit, it is in English, French and Spanish. Everything in the manual is pretty basic and sort of what I have already spoken of.

However on the site www.sea-monkeys.com the sea monkey executive kit states that this kit will teach business people patience, and that it will lower blood pressure, encourage a kinder gentler self, and it will help one feel big and powerful.

I don’t really know about all of that. That little description actually made me laugh. I guess if you were to stare at the little guys all day long and not do your office work, I could see how it could lower your blood pressure. I am not any kinder than I was before, and I still don’t feel all big and powerful (especially when the box says for ages 6 and up). So adding that description is wasteful.

For me the sea monkey’s executive set is just a cool little nick knack to add to my already overpopulated (with awesome things) desk.

CAUTIONS:

As with any cheap plastic tank there is always the issue with leaking. I must say that this tank has not leaked yet for me. However if this tank gets tipped over your sea monkeys are gone. The lid is not very sturdy or reliable when it comes to tipping over or spills. Even if you happen to be lucky and the lid remains on, water will spill out through the top ventilation lids. You are going to want to be extremely careful on where you place your tank; otherwise some idiot (or yourself) could knock it over.

The manual also says to keep your tank away from electrical equipment. You wouldn’t want to shock yourself now!

NERD POWER

Okay let me nerd out for a moment and explain exactly what sea monkeys are. Sea monkeys are a different species of brine shrimp, having the scientific name of artemia salina. They are actually a hybrid of brine shrimp, only can live much longer, and grow much larger. You can expect them to live for 2 years depending on how well you take care of them. They can and will produce baby sea monkeys, and you can expect to see baby sea monkeys in about a month after your first babies have grown to adult hood.

With proper lighting and oxygen sea monkey tanks are very similar to an ecosphere, it is a self-maintained ecosystem with little or no human interaction. So long as you don’t allow too much algae to grow, and you remember to provide oxygen daily, the sea monkeys can live for up to 2 years or more, depending on whether or not the life cycle is continuing with new babies it could go on for longer. If too much algae is forming on your tanks walls you could either use the squeegee or you could place the sea monkey tank into a darker room until the algae growth has subsided.

Okay, now that I have explained that I will put in my 2 cents and say that sea monkeys make a great pet for anyone. You could give this kit to a child for the learning process of it all, and not to mention the responsibility of owning a pet. This would also make a great desktop accessory for those of us who work in ‘an office’ (it was actually made for us, I feel so special) or for the young science enthusiasts.

All of the ingredients are non- toxic, and harmless. So even if you’re child felt like freeing the creatures (or drinking them), do let them know by doing so would only kill the sea monkeys (and if they were to drink them the taste would make them hurl), they cannot live outside of their formula. So basically this means that releasing sea monkeys into the wild will not mess around with the natural eco-system.

Another A+ nerd product. Love it!

-For some strange reason this particular product has significantly gone up in price since I last reviewed it a few years ago!!!!