The Original Sea Monkeys - Volcano Zoo Aquarium - Grow Your Own Pets Educational Science Kit - Amazing Science Experiments for Kids - Grow Your Own Pets - RANDOM COLOUR SUPPLIED

The volcano kit arrived and I set it up on a window sill.There are instructions included but there are also plenty of good youtube videos showing how to set the tanks up.I have put the tank on a heat mat as it is still chilly here and they hatch and grow better in warmer conditions.I filled it up with bottled spring water and added the first packet. I added the second packet a day later and gave the tank water another good swish around with a turkey baster to get all the salt crystals dissolved.There is no pipette or sea monkey air pump ( Aqua Leash ) with this kit so you'll need something to stir the water and something aerate the tank ( I have a plastic spoon, 10ml pipette and a turkey baster ).As the water was a bit on the cool side despite the heat mat, the hatching wasn't immediate but after 3 full daysI have had about 20 tiny Sea Monkeys swimming around in the tank. The warmer the water, the faster they would grow so mine are growing slowly.They started hatching on the Wednesday so I will give them their first small feed on Monday and see how they get on from there.Whether they survive or not from then on will be down to me.The tank came as described and after following the instructions and a few youtube vids my Sea Monkeys have hatched .They are really tiny when they hatch ( like pin head small ) and hard to spot so you have to let your eyes adjust to the tank water in order to sea them and you need to be really close to the tank.20 Sea Monkeys isn't a bad first hatch to start with so I'm quite happy.( Aqua Dragons kits have a lot more eggs so you get a large first hatch but then a lot might die off )I'm also using a grow light to see if I can get a little bit of natural algae growing in the tank to provide natural food.So the tank is sturdy enough, wasn't expensive, the eggs hatched as expected and hopefully I'll be able to enjoy raising my new Sea Monkeys.

We had sea monkeys a few times when the kids were little, and they were always great fun. My daughter is now 12 and requested them again, so I bought this set (the same one that we had before). We followed the instructions exactly, and not a single one hatched! Amazon sent us a replacement, and this time we've managed a grand total of 3 sea monkeys! I thought we must have done something wrong, but reading the reviews I can see that it's not just us. All I can think is that the company have downgraded on egg quality or numbers in the last few years to save money, as when we had this kit before we hatched dozens of the things. Now it's a waste of money.

Good nostalgic product, highly recommend, easy to use and fun for the kids

This was purchased for my son as a birthday gift, he loved it straight away and thought the concept with a great idea. We had great fun setting it up and giving my son the responsibility of having to feed them (or at least remembering). The quality of the tank was fine for the price and everything we needed was included. As a fairly cheap gift I think this provides lots of fun for children and I’m sure if we got another one my son would be just as excited to do it again. I think the lifespan was about 3/4 weeks which was a little less than I expected but this could well come down to our care and maybe overfeeding causing an algae bloom.

Love them so much mine are still alive after 2 months !

My first order arrived with just the tank - no lid, no eggs, no spoon - nothing except the tank. The packaging was inadequate - not a box, just a sort of folded over packet. The courier was still outside and I ran out. He searched his bag, but nothing. He said this sort of thing often happens! So I was disappointed and had to send it back for a replacement. When the replacement arrived it had all parts, but the three packets (eggs, water purifier and food) were all damp! I was disappointed again and annoyed, but decided I'd give it a try anyway. I set up the tank with bottled water as instructed, but I did not feel that the instruction leaflet was totally adequate - I had lots of unanswered questions. (Since then I have 'looked them up' and advise you to do the same before you buy them) I added the Sea Monkey 'eggs' - the contents of the packet was damp and I didn't have much hope but by the next day I could see four tiny weeny SMs swimming about, and by the day after that I could see about 10. Five days after set up I could see about 20, but they are like translucent commas and not easy to count! I was worried that the food was also be damp (the packet looked it) and that it would not be good for the SMs - so I decided to order Aqua Dragons which come with a better kit, and I felt then at least I would have a packet of dry food.Advice on the internet is conflicting about when to feed the SMs. My leaflet said feed on day 5 after pouring in pouch 2 (eggs). I did what it said on the leaflet (and yes the food was damp and it should not have been), but other advice says feed the day after set up. The leaflet says gently stir the water in your tank with a plastic spoon for the first four days after you add pouch 1 (purifier). I was worried about killing the babies with spoon, but they seemed to be ok. I also found out on the internet- which was not mentioned on any instructions that you should not use sprays (polish, air freshener etc) in the same room as the SM or AD tank, and if you see them crowding at the top of the tank near the water level it means they are not getting enough oxygen. Also leave the lid open so the SMs get more oxygen. I am now leaving the lid open during the day and putting it on at night. You need to consider where you will put their tank - they need to be near a north facing window and somewhere where the tank will not get knocked over or need to be moved all the time.I am a 60+ year old grandma and decided to get SMs as my four year old grandson had some for Christmas and I was fascinated by them. His (which were actually the Aqua Dragons brand) did well for a while, with one getting big - about 1cm long - and then developing dark egg sacs on her body which resulted in lots of babies. A few others started to get big too, and mate with each other. But one day - about 6 weeks are setting up the tank - and for no apparent reason, they were all gone. They must've died but we couldn't see any bodies. So these SMs or ADs could be the sort of 'pet' that leads to more upset and disappointment for small children than you might think.Four days after setting up the SMs, I set up the ADs. From what I can discover online these are the same creature, just different brand names. They come in a far more exciting packet which would make an impressive gift. (See my review of the Aqua Dragons). Within a short time of setting up the ADs, I could see tiny dots moving in the water and two days after set up I could count about 30 plus - hard to see and hard to count!It's now 8 days since I set up the SMs and they seem fine, but I can't recommend this seller and I can only give 3 stars due to first order being incomplete, and replacement had all packets damp so obviously badly stored and not checked before sending. But the sea monkeys DID survive despite that!

I bought sea monkeys back in the 1970s. Currently going through a second childhood therefore I thought I would try them again. As long as you follow the simple instructions and are patient you wil be rewarded with tiny sea monkeys. Brings back great memories