DIY aquarium jar diameter versus water surface area.

The commercial Sea-Monkey aquariums each provided five or more adults in 6 weeks. But, why did all the DIY Sea-Monkeys aquariums fail to grow Sea-Monkeys? I used different diameter jars thinking the aquarium water surface area was critical for Sea-Monkey survival since diffusion of oxygen into the water depends on the surface area.[1] The area is equal to 3.14*r2: where r = d/2. So, the bigger the diameter, the bigger the surface area, the better the oxygen supply. With better oxygen, the more Sea-Monkeys will grow. However, the number of Sea-Monkey hatched was not a function of jar size. No matter what the size of the jar, no Sea-monkeys. Jars #3 and #4 were about the same surface area as the commercial elliptical aquariums. I expected jars #3 and #4 to function just a well as the commercial aquarium. One obvious difference between the commercial control aquarium and the DIY jars was the crushed green glass. The crushed green glass could be a good experimental variable to test.

[1] Mack, Paul. "Dissolved Oxygen and the three S." Sierra Club (2003).

Outcome video of the three Sea-Monkey aquariums kits at week 6

All three Sea-Monkey kits succeeded in harvesting active adults by week 6 as shown in this video. However, there was only one adult in two of the aquariums the first week. More naupliar hatched and grew in the later weeks. In contrast, the 3 DIY jars failed to grow any brine shrimp to adulthood. I have changed my attitude about spending an extra $6 for the kit with a little plastic aquarium. The kit aquariums worked well, had a small footprint, fit on book selves or windowsills, contained magnifying lenses, and provided a broad side for watching. I found that one small level scoop of food weekly kept the Sea-Monkeys alive without leaving excess waste. Once there was more that 5 adults in the aquarium, I change to feeding rate to one scoop both Wednesdays and Saturdays. Finally, each Saturday add distilled water to bring the water level back up to the makers.

The DIY jar aquariums failed to sustain Sea-Monkey life.

These “DIY aquariums” actually prevented Sea-Monkey life after week 4.5. The jars varied in diameters of 2.25”, 2.5”, 3.0”, and 3.5”. The 3.0” diameter jar briefly showed a few nauplii but they died before week 4.5.  So, these 16 oz. jars failed to grow Sea-Monkeys no matter their diameter. I had hypothesized that the jar diameter would be critical for Sea-Monkey growth, thinking the bigger the diameter the greater the dissolved oxygen that promoted Sea-Monkey growth. However, the jar diameter had no positive effect on raising sea-Monkeys. I wondered if the colored crushed glass in the jar poisoned growth and tried a 2.25” jam jar without colored crushed glass. However, still no Sea-Monkeys hatched.  

Pictures of three official aquarium kits after 4.5 wks.

After 4.5 wks,

Aquarium #1: 1 adult and 5+ nauplius.

Aquarium #2: 1 adult and 5+ nauplius.

Aquarium #3: 6 adults.

After 4.5 wks: the number of adult Sea-Monkeys varied a lot between the three aquariums. Initially, the two aquariums on the left only had one lonely adult Sea-Monkey each, while the third aquarium had 6 adult Sea-Monkeys. However, there were hatchlings or nauplius after week 1 that were easy to miss by seeing. These nauplii grew into adults in week 5. So, when raising Sea-Monkeys and seeing no or only one Sea-monkey hatch, it is important not to give up on more sea-monkeys coming visible in weeks 4 and 5.

Three official Sea-Monkey aquarium kits were used as experimental control or "gold standard".

Three commercial plastic aquariums were used as “gold standards” to compare with the substitute jars. All aquariums were kept under the same environmental conditions, such as temperature, light, feeding. The office aquariums kits were compared to the DIY jar aquariums.

We tried different size jars as substitutes for Sea-monkey aquariums.

Four different 16 oz bottles were tested as Sea-Monkey aquariums. They varied in diameters of 2.25”, 2.5”, 3.0”, and 3.5”. Each jar contained 16 oz of volume. However, the commercial plastic aquarium hold 10 oz. For the experiment: 2 oz of stones first placed in each jars. Then, 12 oz of water. And, finally, envelop #1 was added on Saturday and envelop #2 on Sunday. The jars were monitored a least every Saturday and food added.

Sea-Monkeys are sold with and without an aquarium. Experiments in DIY Sea-Monkey aquariums.

Sea-Monkeys are sold with or without an aquarium. The picture on the left shows an aquarium stuffed with envelopes 1, 2, and 3 inside. The picture on the right shows only a package with envelopes 1, 2, and 3. With the aquarium, the envelopes sell for as little as $14.99. Without the aquarium, the envelops sell for $7.99. The difference is $7. So, to save $7 and get your Sea-Monkey for only $8, one has to provide their own aquarium. This experiment explored the use of 4 different bottles as DIY Sea-Monkey aquariums.

The Urban Legend that Artemia NYOS is a New Species Continues?

Today, the Sea-Monkey company continues the claim on their website, “Well, the Sea Monkey® ,( Artemia nyos) is a relative of the brine shrimp (Artemia Salina ). Teaming up with marine biologist Anthony D’Agostino at the New York Ocean Science laboratory in Montauk, Harold mastered the instant life process and created “super” Sea Monkeys® (Artemia NYOS) out of common brine shrimp (Artemia Salina). Two refinements, in 1970 and then again in 1995, resulted in a larger and hardier Sea-Monkeys® that can live up to two years.” www.Sea-Monkeys.com:

“Artemia NYOS is a patented breed of brine shrimp commercially sold as Sea-Monkeys. The breed is a hybridization of different Artemia.” https://aquafauna.fandom.com/wiki/Artemia_NYOS

“They're an artificial breed of brine shrimp. Sea-Monkeys are a hybrid breed of brine shrimp called Artemia NYOS invented in 1957 by Harold von Braunhut.” https://www.livescience.com/33907-sea-monkeys.html

I could not find any scientific articles, patents, or legal documents showing evidence for the claim that Artemia NYOS is a new species. If it was a hybrid, then there would be the identification of the other Artemia Species that it was mixed with.

I could find no evidence in the literature on DNA evidence that the Sea-Monkey is an interspecies hybrid.

So, I ask you, the audience out there, do you know of any evidence that validates this new species claim?

Are Sea-Monkeys a new species called Artemia NYOS?

Harold von Braunhut[1] claimed that “The species now grown in labs and widely used in today’s Sea-Monkey kits are called Artemia NYOS (for New York Ocean Science). They are hybrid species of brine shrimp within the genus Artemia, but you can just call them Super Sea-Monkeys”. However, the claim is hearsay quoted by Tim Walsh in his book “Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and Playmakers who Created Them” allegedly from an interview with Harold.[2] The creation of a new species is a scientific claim and today there is no scientific proof or public documentation for this claim. A scientific claim is made through a peer review process within a scientific organization. We cannot ask Harold or Anthony directly since Harold died at the age of 77 on Nov. 28 2003 at his home in Indian Head, Md.,[3] and Anthony D’Agostino, Marine Biologist, died on June 20, 2017 at Stony Brook University Hospital at the age of 86.[4] This claim may be just an Urban Legend about Sea-Monkey.

[1] https://seamonkeys.fandom.com/wiki/Harold_von_Braunhut

[2] Walsh, Tim (2005). "Ant Farm and Sea-Monkeys". Timeless Toys: Classic Toys and the Playmakers who Created Them. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 124–129. ISBN 978-0-7407-5571-2.

[3] Tribune Newspapers Daily Press, Novelty Inventor Harold Von Braunhut Dies, published December 29, 2003, https://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-xpm-20031229-2003-12-29-0312290020-story.html (accessed 2021)

[4] The East Hampton Star, Anthony D’Agostino, Marine Biologist, Jun. 29, 2017 By Star Staff, https://www.easthamptonstar.com/archive/anthony-dagostino-marine-biologist (accessed 2021)

Distribution of Brine Shrimp Species Throughout the World

TY  - THESES

AU  - Muñoz, Joaquin

PY  - 2009/07/01

T1  - Implicaciones de la dispersion actual e historica para la biologia evolutiva y conservacion de Artemia y otros invertebrados acuaticos con estadio de diapausa (Implications of the current and historical dispersal for evolutionary biology in Artemia and..)

University of Cordoba

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200439743_Implicaciones_de_la_dispersion_actual_e_historica_para_la_biologia_evolutiva_y_conservacion_de_Artemia_y_otros_invertebrados_acuaticos_con_estadio_de_diapausa_Implications_of_the_current_and_historica

Artemia franciscana, C. Drewes 2002, Iowa State University.

•A species name is written as a binominal name. The first part of the name identifies the genus, Artemia, while the second part identifies the species, franciscana. The name is written in ancient Latin.

•Artemia franciscana: Artemia is the genus and fransicana is the species. Sometimes, the name indicates its location habitat. Fransicana came from its habitat in San Francisco, California, USA.

•The binomial name is followed by the person who identified the species, the year, and the location of the record.

•Binomial names are printed in italics with a font style different from that used in the normal text. If handwritten, the binominal name is underlined.

Wikipedia claims that there are 7 to 9 naturally occurring species of brine shrimp. A species is the lowest group classification of a living organisms. They share common physical characteristics, are capable of interbreeding, and often geographically isolated. The brine shrimp species Artemia franciscana is the main North American species that occurs in vast numbers in Great Salt Lake, Utah.

Sea-Monkeys Belong to the Linnaean Family of Artemiidae that have only One Genus and Therefore also Belongs to the Genus of Artemia aka Brine Shrimp.

Sea-Monkeys belong to the family Artemiidae that are aquatic crustaceans living in inland salt lake and are also called brine shrimp. Since, there is only one genus is the Artemiidae family the genus of Artemia is also called brine shrimp. Brine shrimp avoid most predators by living in very high salinity (up to 25%) water. They inhabit inland saltwater areas, such as brine pools and other highly salty habitats, and are not found in ocean environments. This picture shows brine shrimp harvesters in the Great Salt Lake in Utah.

The Anostraca order divides into 8 families as shown on the right branches. Sea-Monkeys are found in the Artemiidae Family.

The Anostraca Order ,AKA fairy shrimp, divides down into 8 families: Polyartemiidae, Chirocephalidae, Branchinectidae, Streptocephalidae, Thamnocephalidae, Artemiidae, Brachipodidae, and Tanymastigidae. Artemiidae is the family that Sea-Monkeys beong too. However, Artemiidae contains only one genus, one further division, and that is Artemia or brine shrimp. So, the common name for the family and genus are “brine shrimp”.

How to pronounce Anostraca: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zha2af3Oj7Q

How to pronounce Artemiidae: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ4If3-Q6Dg

How to pronounce Artemia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuSJlzN1CQE

The Crustacean Phylum further divides into 5 classes

The search to find the Sea-Monkey’s place among the living thing on earth has taken us five levels down the taxonomy chart to the Class level. The taxonomy levels are shown on the left. The Crustaceans Phylum is divided into five classes: Branchipoda, Maxillopoda, Ostracoda, Malacostraca, and Remipedia.[1] The figure on the right shows examples of each class. This image shows Brine shrimp as an example of the class of Branchipoda.  Sea-Monkeys belong to the class of crustaceans call Branchiopoda and they are brine shrimp.

[1] Marine Education Society of Australasia, Crustaceans, http://www.mesa.edu.au/crustaceans/ (accessed 2021/01/21)

The Arthropod phylum further divides into the four subphyla of Chelicerates, Crustaceans, Myriapods, and Hexapods.

We are still classifying the Sea-Monkey on the Phylum level, the 4th level down on the left. Sea-Monkeys are in the major classification of arthropods. The Arthropod major phylum is typically subdivided into five subphyla, of which one is extinct called trilobites. So, that leaves four as shown in the picture. The four phyla in the picture are 2) Chelicerates that include scorpions, 3) Myriapods that include millipedes and centipedes, 4) Crustaceans that include crabs, and 5) Hexapods that include. Look at the picture on the right. Which animal is the most similar to the Sea-Monkey? If you picked Crustacean, then you are correct. Sea-Monkeys are Arthropod-Crustacean.

Phylum: The Animal Kingdom has 9 major phyla that further subdivide into a total of 35 phyla total

Wikipedia reported that the animal Kingdom is divided into 9 major phyla as shown in the image to the right.[1] The 9 major phyla shown on the chart continue to subdivide into a final 35 phyla.[2] Carl Linnaeus organized life forms by their overall similarity with other life forms. For example, lizards and snakes are both reptiles. Look at the 9 animal phyla chart on the right. Compare Sea-Monkeys with the nine types of animal in the taxonomy tree. Which animal on the chart is the Sea-Monkey is the most similar too. If you concluded that Sea-Monkeys looked most similar to the crab, you are correct. Sea-Monkeys are Arthropoda. An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages.[3] Invertebrate means having no backbone. So, Sea-Monkeys belong to the crab family of animals.

[1] MS. ANDERSON'S ZOOLOGY CLASS, http://msandersonzoo.weebly.com/phyla.html (accessed 2021-01-18)

[2] Wikipedia, List of animal phyla, https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animal_phyla (accessed 2021-01-18)

[3] Wikipedia, Arthropod, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthropod (accessed 2021-01-18)

Kingdoms: Eukarya Domain further divides into four Kingdoms; Protozoa, Plantae, Fungi, Animalia (13)

Pretend that you are a Zoologist and you are studying the Sea-Monkey. You have already determined from the characteristics of life that Sea-Monkeys are a life form.  Secondly, you determined that they were made of many cells combined and were thus Eukaryota Domain. Now, you have to look at the Sea-monkey to determine if they are plant, fungi, protists, or animal.  You noticed that Sea-Monkeys swim in saltwater. Plants and fungi do not move[1], but Protista and animals do. So, Sea-Monkeys are Protista or animals.  Animals are multicellular, while protozoa are microscopic single-celled organisms.[2] Sea-Monkeys are not microscopic and they are multicellular. Sea-Monkeys are animals!

Wiki, Kingdom (biology), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_(biology)

A Level Biology, The Five Kingdoms Classification System, https://alevelbiology.co.uk/notes/the-five-kingdoms-classification-system/

[1] Study.com, The Evolution of Plants and Fungi: Characteristics & Evolutionary History, https://study.com/academy/lesson/the-evolution-of-plants-and-fungi-characteristics-evolutionary-history.html

[2] WikiDiff, Animal vs Protist - What's the difference?, https://wikidiff.com/animal/protist

Linnaean Taxonomy Domains: Are Sea-Monkeys bacteria, archaea, or eukarya?

It was previously shown that Sea-Monkeys fit the characteristics of Life. So, we move down to the next level of Domain as shown on the left.[1] The Domain level of classification was added after Linnaean died. The three Domains are bacteria, archaea, or eukarya. So, the next question to ask is... “ are Sea-Monkeys bacteria, archaea, or eukarya”? Bacteria and archaea are single-celled organisms whose cells have no nucleus also called Prokarya.[2] All life that has a cell nucleus and eukaryotic membrane-bound organelles is included in Eukarya.”[3] Looking at the image of the two Sea-Monkeys, one can conclude that they are more than a single-celled life form and they are eukarya.  Bacteria and archaea are microscopic single-cell life forms. So, why even consider them? While microscopic domains can’t be seen, they are abundant and can cause disease or can be vital to human life. In conclusion, if a substance is alive and can be seen, then it is probably a eukaryote. It seems safe to say: if you can see it, then it is of eukaryote domain. Let move on.

[1] Wiki, The basic scheme of modern classification, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxonomy_(biology)#/media/File:Biological_classification_L_Pengo_vflip.svg

[2] Ameoba Sisters, Prokaryotic vs. Eukaryotic Cells, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxujitlv8wc&t=175s

[3] Wiki, Domain (biology), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_(biology)#:~:text=According%20to%20this%20system%2C%20the,organelles%20is%20included%20in%20Eukarya.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-Monkeys#/media/File:Artemia_salina_2.jpg

Linnaeus taxonomy: Is Sea-Monkey packet #1 a mineral, plant, or animal?

Sea-Monkey packet #1 was poured onto a dish in picture (a). Carl Linneaus would have asked, is it a mineral, plant, or animal.[1] It looks like a mineral, salt. Was von Braunhut right that the dead mineral pile magically turns into instant life?[2] I saw a speck in the mineral salt that looked suspicious. I scooped that speck onto the microscope plate shown in picture (b) and looked at it with a Celestron 5MP USB microscope. Picture (c) was taken with the microscope and a round brown object was seen. In their handbook, they describe the Instant-Life crystals in which the eggs are enclosed. The packet contained Artemia Salina eggs mixture with salts. Packet 1 contains iodine-free sodium chloride, sodium sulfate, sodium carbonate, magnesium sulfate, magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, a chlorine removing agent such as sodium thiosulfate, and some dried eggs of Artemia Salina according to the patent.[3]

[1] Wikipedia, Linnaean taxonomy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linnaean_taxonomy

[2]  Transcience LLC, Sea-Monkey Handbook, https://www.sea-monkeys.com/sea-monkeys-handbook/

[3] US3673986A Patent, inventor: Harold N Braunhut