Itsy Bitsy Sea Dragons and Friends
Created | Updated Apr 4, 2009
Itsy Bitsy Sea Dragons and Friends
Itsy Bitsy Sea Dragons and Friends are a collection of "Instant Hatching" Critters that have been marketed by Little Aussie Products since 2006
What are they?
Sea Dragons and Friends are a variety of interesting, tiny, but tough marine creatures that are well adapted to desiccation, cold and heat, anoxia or a combination of these. These species have been carefully selected for their unique ability to live in a small, low-maintenance aquarium. To be more specific, they thrive in an aquarium without such features such as filters, aerators, or heating elements. Additionally, they are hardy enough to withstand shipping anywhere in the world.
Included in the ‘Friends line’ are Teeny Weeny Winkles and Cocoa Snails, both tiny marine snails measuring no more than 5 mm, and very tiny but active little round crustaceans called Sea Bubbles.
Itsy Bitsy Sea Dragons
First developed for the Australian market back in 2004, international demand for the creatures soon took off, making them a global success. Nowadays, more 'Sea Dragons and Friends' are shipped internationally than are sold in Australia.Sea Monkeys and SeaDragons are of a similar size and shape, although Sea-Dragons tend to be slightly larger. Also, while Sea Monkeys are a pale beige color, Sea Dragons are lighter, often pure white, and thus show up very nicely in a backlit tank.
Sea Snails
Teeny Weeny Winkles are a purplish marine winkle with a delightful knobby shell. Cocoa snails are a marine whelk with a chocolate colored whorled shell. Both live symbiotically with Sea-Dragons or Sea Monkeys.
Aside from their aesthetic appeal as sea snails, which enhance the "miniature ocean theme" of the ecosystem, these herbivorous mollusks also perform an important role in cleaning up waste and overgrowth of algae; a problem often encountered with a mature Sea Monkey set-up.
Sea Bubbles
These are a tiny Ostracod species of shrimp that measure between 1 -2 millimetres and hatch in a similar fashion to Sea Monkey eggs. Once hatched, Sea Bubbles multiply rapidly, often numbering in the hundreds in short space of time.
Sea Bubbles feed on the same food provided for Sea Dragons and Sea Monkeys.
Compatibility with Sea Monkeys Products
The Sea Dragons and Friends collection is selected to live harmoniously with the popular Sea Monkeys brand of pets and equipment.
The food provided for Sea Dragons and Sea Monkeys kits contain somewhat different ingredients, but both are nutritionally balanced and non-polluting for all animals provided in the Sea Dragons and Friends collection. Each species will live happily on the others brand of food with out any problems. Basically if you have a Sea Monkeys brand “Mini Ocean Viewer” already set up, you can easily proceed to keeping the “Sea Dragons and Friends” range of pets as well, including them all in an existing Sea Monkey tank.
The total visual affect that these little critters have on a Sea Monkey tank is both stunning and visually addictive. They go a long way towards making “instant pets” comparable to a miniscule community fish tank, rather than the simple monoculture of Artemia that had been promoted before now.
Moreover, you are free to engage in some personal experimentation with the use of larger tanks, bowls and vases as an interesting and alternative habitat. If you are the type of person who wants to have a creative role and also enjoy tending to your mini-ecosystem, then Sea Dragons and Friends may just be your cup of tea.
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