A:
Believe it or not, I still receive many letters asking me how
to change their Sea-Monkey® water... You know that this is already explained in the web
site and in one of the newsletter editions, but our visitor's 'Quest for knowledge' is
still unfulfilled.Sea-Monkeys® need to obtain
oxygen and fresh minerals from their water, but there's a tendency to believe that their
water needs to be replaced very often. The mere act of bringing them more fresh
bottled water after evaporation, adds new minerals to their water.
Sea-Monkeys are very confortable with the water they're born in and raised, and naturally
they keep their surroundings clean from excess food. That's why I stress the rule
about feeding them once or twice a week ONLY to avoid bacteria growth. Sea-Monkeys
are not selective when feeding, so you have to watch for the quality of their water.
It is very probable that if you never overfeed them, you will never have major sickness
problems and wont have to wash their tank very often, except, for example, bacteria that
spreads in the water because of dirty utencils you put in it (dirty Aqua-Leashes,
Million-Bubble Air Pumps, etc.) or polluted air or dust particles flying in the
surroundings (Insecticide or Aromatic sprays, cigarrete smoke, etc.) or who knows, you
just forgot my advice and used soap to wash the tank!
Susan Barclay reported last month (thanks! :), regarding the 'longevity' of Sea-Monkeys
discussed in our last edition, that her friends managed to maintain a 1 year old tank,
until they decided to move them to another bigger tank, using Jumbo Living Plasma, and the
Sea-Monkeys just didnt make it.
Jumbo Living Plasma fault? not a chance, they just dont like environments other than the
one they were born in. This is very odd, because they're very "hardy"
animals, they can tolerate extreme temperatures, extreme salt concentration changes, can
survive human handling when playing racing games or when bringing them for a walk in a
portable watch, etc. but they are not that hardy when moved to another house.
What can you do then? dont throw out ALL of the "old" water!.
When you buy a new fish for your home or office fish tank, you know that you must let the
bag float over the tank water for several minutes until both waters reach the same
temperature. Then you have to open the bag and gradually "mix" both waters
until your fish gets confortable. Well, it seems like Sea-Monkey is no exception!
You must "change" their water gradually.
From time to time (that means, maybe every month or more,
if your tank doesnt have overfeeding problems) if you really want to get rid from the
debris found at the bottom, just empty the contents from the tank to a clean container,
carefully , so as to leave only a small amount of water on the bottom (where all the
sedimentation is found), clean the tank with some distilled water (be sure to throw out
the wash water), then empty the formula in the clean tank. The amount of formula
that you threw out with the sediments can be replaced with some prepared "Jumbo
Living Plasma". Or you may try using your Aqua-Leash and suck the
debris from the bottom of the tank, and again, replacing the water you threw out with some
prepared Jumbo Living Plasma.
If you are doing this "cleaning" job because you
accidentally overfed them, after changing their water, a little pinch of Sea-Medic
medicine can help to eliminate some bacterias and help to chemically balance their water.
That means, that you need, tools and extra supplies, in the
form of an Aqua-Leash, a packet of Jumbo Living Plasma, already prepared in a 1 quart
mason jar or equivalent container, and a Sea-Medic just in case.
To maintain a good and healthy environment,
Sea-Monkey tanks need a very good illumination and to be out of cold places.
To maintain a good and healthy environment, Sea-Monkey tanks need a very good illumination
and to be out of cold places.
No, not a misprint, many of you know that this is an important factor that I also stress
in my emails.
Do you know that a high percentage of problems reported like
"my Sea-Monkeys are swimming slow and appear to be dying" and "my
Sea-Monkeys didnt hatch" are solved with my old-time favorite suggestion...
"Keep the container near (BUT NOT SO CLOSE!) a 4 to 15 watts night light, day
and night, untouched for 2 or 3 days"
A very good percentage of users with these problems, write
back to tell me that it worked for them,... Sea-Monkeys swim friskier, water is more clear
and lazy babies started to hatch. Actually there's a chemical reaction inside the
egg that needs light to help the hatching process.
I have 3 ocean zoos with strong algae growth thanks to this constant illumination
method. You can imagine how happy these Sea-Monkeys are. Adult Sea-Monkeys can
actually feed from the algae, but I still have to feed them regularly because the algae
that usually grows in their water is not easy for the babies to 'harvest'.
If you still think that your Sea-Monkeys are doing their
dissapearing act and they are showing no sign that "things are going well" in
their tank, you can try, at your own risk, my ultimate remedy. When cleaning the
tank, instead of just leaving a small amount of water of the bottom, leave the exact
bottom half of the tank water and throw it out (be sure there's no Sea-Monkeys left
please!) Wash the tank with hot water and rinse with fresh bottled water, let it
cool, pour an entire packet of Plasma 3 into the tank with 6 ounces of fresh bottled water
(notice how I stress the use of 'bottled water' too?) and replace the other half with the
old water and the Sea-Monkeys, then, set aside the tank in a well iluminated area
(near a night light, 4 to 15 watts) day and night for 2 or 3 days (remember, the method I
just explained?) |
