It's clearly not for lack of trying, but the Sea-Monkeys are not having a great deal of success when it comes to reproduction. At one point last week I glimpsed two babies in the tank. Now I can only find one, but it seems to be fairly vigorous.
I have been using the "Million-Bubble Air Pump" on a daily basis to ensure that the little larvae get enough oxygen. It's sort of like a manual aquarium bubbler without an intake. A plastic squeeze bulb sends air through a piece of blue pumice (or something very like it). You have to take the air pump out of the tank between squeezes and pump out the water it has gathered. I think the old straw method was probably just as good.
Here's my report on the "Red-Magic Sea-Monkey Vitamins": LAME! Basically they're just a packet of algae dust that appears indistinguishable from regular Sea-Monkey food. Supposedly it contains extra vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, B12 and C, although you'd think that if the little creatures really needed those vitamins, they would be in the regular food. Anyway, the day you feed them the vitamins, a few Sea-Monkeys do look sort of pinkish, but the effect is minimal and temporary.
My favorite feature of the Red-Magic packaging is its attempt to upsell you to a package of Sea-Monkey aphrodisiacs. I think you will appreciate this best via a direct quote from the back of the packet: "RED-MAGIC KEEPS SEA-MONKEYS 'IN THE PINK' You can alternate your Sea-Monkeys feeding program with 'Red Magic,' Sea-Monkey vitamins instead of their regular food... Now, with all that extra health, put them in the mood for love and breeding with 'Cupid’s Arrow' (item 84). It can turn a Sea-Monkey aquarium into a regular 'love boat'!"
Let’s examine this a bit:
- "Extra health"? I thought "health" was a superlative. Who would have thought you could have extra? "I'm feeling so good today, I think I'll tuck some of my extra health away for cold and flu season!"
- Why is the TranScience Corporation so enamored of hyphens?
- Judging by the behavior of my Sea-Monkeys, I can't imagine anyone seeing a need for MORE breeding activity. My Sea-Monkey aquarium isn't a 'love boat,' it's a Roman orgy!
If I thought that Sea-Monkey Spanish fly would increase the number of surviving babies, I might give it a try. However, my little colony seems to be amorous enough to quell my worries about succeeding generations. We'll just have to give them a little time.
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