Sea Monkeys Ocean-Zoo Review

Reviewed by Jane Warwick

This product arrived in a bubble wrap envelope. When the envelope was opened, the product was clearly visible; a small plastic tank with a bright pink plastic base and a bright pink lid with holes. The front states it is easy and all you need to do is add water. This sounds like an ideal activity for a child! The paper inside the tank is of a picture of the ocean so you feel quite excited and the paper informs you of what is included: tank, feeding spoon, 3 pouches and instructions. We could not wait to see what they say are the world’s only instant pets. The plastic tie keeping the tank and lid together needed to be removed before the lid could be taken off and the contents revealed. This is something either an older child or an adult should do as the tie is quite tight. I question whether this tie is necessary as a plastic sticker placed on the front and back of the tank connecting to the lid would suffice. Once the lid is removed, the contents could be examined.

The three small pouches are instantly recognisable as different as each one has a separate number written on it in bright colours. Also, the contents of each pouch is clearly mentioned below each number. The small plastic yellow feeding spoon shows that only a very, very small amount of food needs to be given and last but not least an instruction leaflet. This leaflet is A4 size. One side explains what sea monkeys are, but I am not going to reveal this; you will have to find out for yourself. The other side provides helpful hints on how to grow sea monkeys and very simple but clear instructions that even young children should be able to “read”. Children will need some assistance to open the pouches and though it does not say use tap water – the instructions have a picture of a plastic water bottle so that is something you need to be aware of when you have an excited child who wants to see the instant pets now!

Stirring the water after emptying number one pouch is fun and then the hardest bit for any child and that is to wait for 24 hours which is what the instructions say. I was so glad when the 24 hours was up! The next bit was to add the contents of pouch two and then leave the tank with lid on in a sunny spot. Well that is what I thought as the picture showed a sun but luckily, I looked at it more carefully and there is a possible blind between the tank and the sun. Thank goodness, I noticed this otherwise I may have killed the instant pets before they really had a chance to start.

We spent many minutes peering into the tank and the four little magnifying windows on the side of the tank were very useful for this. After five days there was no sign of anything happening, but we followed the instructions and on day five some food is added to the tank using the tiny spoon. This must be done by an older child or adult otherwise too much food can easily be added to the tank. (On the instruction leaflet, it states that too much food can cause the sea monkeys to suffocate). After a week we thought that our sea monkeys were not going to hatch but thank goodness for the keen child whose eyesight is much better than mine, she saw “bits” moving around. On closer examination using the magnifying windows on the side of the tank, these “bits” turned out to be little creatures, the sea monkeys. It is interesting to watch them and already they have grown a bit. I do not know how long they will last but they have been a source of interest for the whole family even the cat so let’s hope we continue to do everything correctly. Certainly, if you want some entertainment and something a little bit educational to keep children occupied, then this is worth getting.

Presentation: – Good

Value for money:- Very Good

RRP Range: £14.95

Rating: 4.5/5

This product can be purchased from: Amazon, Argos, The Entertainer… For more information please visit the Seamonkey website here.