Who Says Monkey Business Can't be Serious?
Written: Jun 23 '01 (Updated Jun 23 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Carry your pet to work or school!
Cons: Lacks durability...mediocre at best.
The Bottom Line: Buy the "Sea-Monkeys", but not the watch!
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| Andrew_Lim's Full Review: Sea Monkey Aquarium Watch |
Where From?
Known affectionately by my parents, as well as other loyal fans as “Sea Monkeys”, it must have been years since I bred and fell in love with these little beasties. But they have nevertheless captivated me since the day I first saw them, and was thrilled by the phrase “instantly come to live”.
In those days, I knew little about what these were…in any case, they never resembled the colorful pictures on the package, which were obviously purely promotional. Of course, being so naïve, I didn’t understand what “Illustration is fanciful, does not depict Artemia” meant.
My parents bought us a “Starter Kit” anyway, probably because they had faith that even children like us could grow these things…thankfully, they were right. My brother and I found three sachets labeled one to three in the package, and got to work immediately. We filled a crumby little jar with tap water and dumped packets one (Water Purifier) and two (Instant Live Eggs) in without even reading the instructions. Only after that did we realize we needed to wait for 24 hours after adding packet one, before commencing step 2.
My brother and I had attempted to run before learning how to walk. And so we thought the experiment was a total failure. Losing almost all faith in ourselves, we popped the jar in a secluded corner of a cupboard and never looked at it again for almost two weeks. Then I went back, on my parents’ orders to empty the jar out. Mosquitoes were engaging in a breeding frenzy near our area and we wanted to avoid getting fined by the officials.
Quite surprisingly, I found the jar teeming with life…but for a moment, I froze: those could be mosquito larvae! Mum knew better though. My brother and I had single-handedly (well, almost) raised an incredible colony of “Sea-Monkeys”!
Right…what the heck are these little “beasties”?
“Sea-Monkeys” are actually a breed of Artemia, resembling other relatives such as brine shrimps. These are salt-water crustaceans that live in salt-flats and lakes, but are never found in the ocean. The “Sea-Monkeys” are dully colored (white-transparent, with a black stripe in their middle, which is their gut) but are very interesting creatures in terms of behavior and reproduction.
The eggs are sold in sachets, which are totally desiccated and appear to be incapable of producing living matter. On the contrary, many, if not all of the eggs in the sachet are alive, just waiting to hit water and crack to reveal little sentinels within. “Sea-Monkeys” use the process called “cryptobiosis”, allowing the eggs to survive under relatively harsh conditions, until they are ready to be born. “Sea-Monkey” eggs can remain viable for months and even years, as long as they are kept dry.
Artemia often appear to swim upside-down, flapping their legs methodically for locomotion, which they also use as an apparatus for breathing. When they are born, many appear to have limited ability to move, and course through the water with tiny little jerks, which look painfully slow, but are surprisingly effective. Though initially small (1-2mm) in length, these shrimp will grow into adults up to a centimeter or more in length. They resemble tiny fish, and are equally pleasing and relaxing to observe.
Perhaps the most intriguing ability of “Sea-Monkeys” is their ability to survive in a jar without any water change (except an occasional top-up) and a little scoop of “Sea-Monkey” food a week! Given enough light, algae begin to grow. Combined with reproduction and the waste the shrimp produce, this starts a little ecosystem within the jar, making these pets almost maintenance free, perfect for lazy or perpetually busy people such as myself!
Okay…I know this is supposed to be about the watch…
The package, which I bought recently, came with many different accessories, including the watch itself:
-Sea-Monkey Aquarium Watch (battery included)
-Sea-Monkey Instant Live Eggs
-Sea-Monkey Water Purifier
-Sea-Monkey Growth Food
-Sea-Monkey Aqua Leash
Principally, the watch appears like a really bulky version of an ordinary digital watch with a very colorful, thick strap and a little compartment screwed on over its face. The compartment is what makes the watch really unique and unusual. The creators made it in the hope that the user could place “Sea-Monkeys” into it, using the “Aqua Leash” and carry them to work or school for that little bit of entertainment…when you need it.
The watch itself possesses two buttons, B1 and B2, located on its right side. The B1 button is used to rotate through the three displays, allowing the user to toggle between the time, date and seconds, and protrudes quite prominently from the bezel of the watch, supposedly for easy access. However, this also makes the fragile-looking button an easy target for wear and tear. The B2 button is more sophisticated and is involved in the setting of time and the date. It is thoughtfully constructed and depressed slightly into the watch bezel to reduce the chance of accidental depression.
So…what are the reasons for its badness…?
Presently, I rough it out with many animals in field trips during my course, so I naturally avoid wearing this watch out of the house. But even within my room, I found the watch to be an incredible nuisance, rather than a source of healthy entertainment.
The size of the watch face is average, but the compartment bulges out like a bubble on the verge of bursting. Although the cubicle is made of clear plastic to allow easy viewing of your pets, it will eventually be marred beyond recognition by constant contact with other objects, or even crack. I don’t suppose anyone wants to lose their pets!
In addition to being bulky and unwieldy, this watch is far from long lasting. The strap is thick and seems durable enough to withstand some punishment, but the watch bezel leaves something to be desired. I was disappointed to learn that the watch had no water protection at all, leaving the electronic component sandwiched within two insecure halves. Seeing that the watch would often come into contact with water (especially when one transfers shrimp into the screw-on compartment), water resistance is obviously required, but it was stupidly omitted.
The instructions on how to operate the watch are printed on the inside of the package, but both lists of operations had a sachet pasted over them initially. In removing these, I ripped off half the instructions and was left with something that resembled hieroglyphics, rather than the English language. Needless to say, the packaging was haphazard and poorly done.
Final points…
It is recommended that one keep the “Sea-Monkeys” in their tiny cubicle for no more than 12 hours; otherwise they will inevitably die of a shortage of oxygen in a confined area, if not become intoxicated by their own waste. Place only 1-2 “Sea-Monkeys” into the compartment at any one time, otherwise they are likely to suffocate even faster.
While I love “Sea-Monkeys” and indulge in the idea of a “maintenance-free pet”, I cannot honestly recommend something that lacks durability and practicality. But I recommend that you buy the “Starter Kit” (Sachet 1, 2 and 3) to have an experience with raising some “Sea-Monkeys”. They will prove to you that anyone can be successful with shrimp!
Enjoy!
By: Andrew Lim
Revised 24-6-01
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 6
Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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Epinions.com ID:
Andrew_Lim
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Member: Andrew Lim
Location: Singapore
Reviews written: 40
Trusted by: 81 members
About Me:
Veterinarian working at RSPCA (Burwood), Australia
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