Sea Monkeys: Nostalgic aquarium pet on sale for $15
This iconic toy is back, with Aussies rushing to pick up a kit so their kids can carry on the popular ’90s trend.
Pets
Don't miss out on the headlines from Pets. Followed categories will be added to My News.
They’re hailed as the world’s only instant pets and they’re back.
The iconic Sea-Monkeys, a hit with kids in the 1990s, are being sold at Kmart, starting at $15. The classic mini aquarium is a maintenance-free pet alternative.
“These little creatures are probably one of the easiest pets to raise, and come in a package so no worrying about them wetting themselves on the way to your very own home,” The Original Sea-Monkeys website state.
“Not to mention you can bring them to your office too without worrying about them leaving poo poo in the corner.”
Sea-Monkeys are a sort of brine shrimp, engineered to live longer and grow larger.
They were commonly used as live fish food because of their high protein value.
“Brine shrimp are strong survivors,” the website continues.
“They have developed the ability to keep their eggs in suspended animation (cryptobiosis) for years.
“That means that if these little creatures’ homes got all dried up for a couple years and then the rain finally gives them some swimming area, they can hatch and grow again doing their little flips and somersaults.”
Sea-Monkeys creator Harold von Braunhut introduced the pets in 1960 as Instant-Life.
It wasn’t until he noticed the shrimps little tails that he came up with their new name.
“I looked at these animals and they’re the cutest things in the world and I noticed they have little monkey-like tails,” von Braunhut said.
“I said, ‘Those are cute little sea monkeys.’ So we checked the trademark register with my patent lawyer, and he says, ‘Hey there are no sea monkeys’.”
George Atamian, vice president of ExploraToy which bought licencing rights to the company in 1995, said Sea-Monkeys was a priceless brand name.
“We got a very nice handwritten letter from a young girl who did a Sea-Monkey project at school, and she went on to describe at great length why she loved Sea-Monkeys,” he said.
“They’re totally friendly, they don’t eat each other, they’re total herbivores, they grow, they mate, and they have babies.”
Originally published as Sea Monkeys: Nostalgic aquarium pet on sale for $15