Have you ever grown sea monkeys?

I got a package of sea monkies when I was a little girl from my uncle.
I cried when I saw the picture of them of the package. I did not want to grow a family of monsters with crowns on their heads!LOL!

Never. I wanted to but no one sells such thing even after I checked most salt-water aquarium suppliers in my city. I heard they’re cute and cheap.

A few times, as a kid. They never lived very long or grew much beyond the “speck” stage. I wouldn’t bother to get them for my own kids because the entire experience is quite a let-down.

We have grown Triops a few times and they are much cooler. They grow fast, get to be over an inch long, and look like a cross between a shrimp and a horseshoe crab. They have a funky way of swimming around and doing little loops in the water. My kids have gotten the Triops set for various Christmas or birthday presents, and they always get a kick out of growing them. They only live for a few weeks once they reach their full size, so it isn’t a long time commitment either.

I did about 30 years ago. They are brine shrimp and don’t look at all like the cartoon pictures in the ads. They grew to about 6 mm long, then slowly died a couple at a time.

The experience was a big disappointment for my kids who saw the misleading ads in the comics and believed some of the hype. They learned to not trust advertising.
I learned a bit about clever marketing.

Yes. I really, really wanted some when I was a child in the ‘60s. My parents refused to buy them, and I thought it was because they didn’t have much money. About 10 years ago, I bought a kit. It turns out that my parents were just smart.

@Pied_Pfeffer There you go. I had a friend who got sucked into buying their X-ray glasses scam.
The Braunhut family got rich by taking advantage of little kids who saved their allowance or paper route money to buy thieer products. Since 1960, those ripoff artists have helped raise a generation of cynics and non-believers. How do they sleep nights?

@worriedguy How do they sleep at night? By rationalization or no conscience. And now I feel guilty for supporting them (and the company that made the Mood Ring I bought a couple of years ago.)

My father raised tropical fish and fed them brine shrimp. When I asked for sea monkeys, he gave me a frozen chunk of shrimp to put in a little 5 gallon tank. I enjoyed watching them for a while and then got bored and let my dad feed them to his fish.

Ghost shrimp are much cooler. Get those instead of sea monkeys.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=1075+1468&pcatid=1468

@MissAusten is right. Triops are cooler too, There is also a kit that lets you grow these tiny aquatic frogs. I should find those—they are really nifty.

Here it is Frog-o-Sphere
http://www.findgift.com/gift-ideas/pid-214178/

Yes, I did. I bought them when I had tropical fish and raised them for years, to feed my fish. Cheaper than fish food. :P

Yes. I found them to be curious, affectionate little pets.

@ratboy Did all yours play the lute, too? That picture in the ads was hilarious. “Trainable.”
Yeah right!
The Braunhuts had a smaller moral compass than Halliburton.

@worriedguy, no. They’re tone deaf, but they excel at synchronized swimming.