Celebrate National Sea Monkey Day Every May 16

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They say every dog has its day. But so does every sea monkey!

And that day is May 16, National Sea Monkey Day.

A day to celebrate those tiny little crustaceans kids ordered from the pages of their comic books.

Who created this day? We haven’t been able to discover that bit of information. But it was probably someone fascinated by their pet sea monkeys.

 

Quick Facts About Sea Monkeys

Sea monkeys are not monkeys

But you probably knew that? They’re a brine shrimp. Yep, shrimp … People are keeping shrimp as pets!

But they’re not the brine shrimp you find in nature. They’re a hybrid breed called Artemia NYOS.

The hybrid brine shrimp we know as Sea Monkeys and their “hatching kits” were created by Harold von Braunhut in 1957. He originally sold them under the name “Instant Life.”

They got the name Sea Monkey because their tails supposedly look similar to a monkey’s tail (although I don’t see it).

 

Sea monkey eggs can “live” years without hatching

When you buy them, they’re in something called cryptobiosis (suspended animation). When you put them in water, with the right nutrients, they hatch almost instantly.

 

Sea Monkeys have been in space

That’s right, they hitched a ride with John Glen on October 29, 1998 on the space shuttle Discovery.

And they look a bit like aliens, too. Instead of two eyes like most animals, Sea Monkeys have three. Plus, they breathe through their feet, of all places!

Scroll down for some ideas on celebrating this fun unofficial holiday.

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Ideas For Celebrating National Sea Monkey Day

If you have sea monkeys, spend a little extra time marveling at them today.

If you don’t have any, consider getting some!

You even have choices:

• Sea Monkey Original Instant Life. This is just a packet of sea monkeys and the nutrients to hatch them. No aquarium.
• Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo Deluxe Kit. Get your sea monkeys plus an aquarium with a seascape at the bottom.
• Schylling Sea Monkeys on Mars. Includes an aquarium to make it look like your pets are living on Mars.
• Schylling Sea Monkeys Magic Castle. Send your sea monkeys to live in a castle.
• Sea Monkeys: Night-life gems. This set includes an aquarium, searchlight and glow-in-the-dark stones.

 

Some reviewers have had trouble getting their sea monkeys to hatch or stay alive. If you’d like to learn tricks to prevent those problems (or at least make them less likely), you might be interested in the book Sea Monkeys & Brine Shrimp: A Keepers Handbook, by David Franklin.

Will you be “adopting” some brine shrimp for National Sea Monkey Day this year?

 

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