When, as a child, I used to read comic books I remember being very interested in an advertisement which appeared in the inside covers. It was a Sea-Monkeys ad like the first photo above. The ad promised you could grow this 'extraordinary and fantastic marine creatures'in your own home with a minimum effort. The Sea-Monkeys would play, feed and perform acrobatics for your own enjoyment! I always wanted to buy the Sea-Monkeys kit. My parents never allowed me. They said it was too expensive and, probably, a scam. It would not work. The eggs would not hatch and it would be a waste of time and money. I insisted, but the answer was always no. Then I grew up and forgot about the Sea-Monkeys. Until last weekend. We were doing some shopping and went to have a look at a curious and miscellanea artifact shop. And..well, the Sea-Monkeys were not there, but something quite similar. The Triops! (second photo above) Prehistoric creatures which you can grow at your own home! said the packaging. Pour water in the tank, drop the eggs in, feed them..and presto! your own Triops! It seemed incredibly easy. And cheap, now that I am not a child anymore. So we bought the Triops kit. When opening the box at home, however, it didn't prove to be as easy as the instructions outside the box. Spring water and only spring water had to be used or the eggs would not hatch. Temperature had to be constant, in fact, you have to place the tank under a 60 watt bulb table lamp, feeding has to be almost at the exact time and the quantities have to be carefully measured...gosh, it's not as simple as the box said it would be! And then, doing a bit of research on the net...I have now discovered that the Triops have shorter lives than the Sea-Monkeys, are uglier and are cannibals! It seems the biggest Triops will eat the smaller Triops so you cannot hatch new eggs while the adults are in the same tank! What a horror. As with the Sea-Monkeys, these creatures tend to die very easily. A change of temperature, too much food, not enough food, lack of oxigen in the water, a tank too big, a tank too small...for heaven's sake, will they die by just looking at them, I wonder. What is clear is that my parents were wrong. It is not a scam. There are thousands of people who have grown Sea-Monkeys and Triops at home. But it is not easy. And I wonder if the ugly Triops are worth the effort. As you can see, the Sea-Monkey appeal from my chidhood has not gone away with ahem...adulthood!


Los tebeos que leia en mi niniez acostumbraban a tener una serie de anuncios en las contraportadas que siempre me llamaron mucho la atencion. Era el anuncio de los Sea-Monkeys (Monos marinos, no recuerdo si esta era la traduccion exacta en espaniol. El anuncio prometia que podias criar 'estas fantasticas y extraordinarias criaturas en tu casa con minimo esfuerzo'. Los Sea-Monkeys te entretendrian durante horas con sus juegos, acrobacias y vida familiar. Yo queria los Sea-Monkeys. Vaya si los queria! Pero mis padres nunca me dejaron comprarlos. Decian que eran demasiado caros y que seria un timo, una estafa. Que los huevos no eran de verdad, que los Sea-Monkeys no existian. Una perdida de tiempo y dinero. Yo insistia e insistia, pero nada. La respuesta siempre fue negativa. Pasaron los anios y me olvide de los Sea-Monkeys. Hasta el fin de semana pasado. Estabamos de compras y entramos en una tienda de esas de objetos curiosos y regalos varios. Y...no habia Sea-Monkeys, pero habia Triops , algo muy similar. Criaturas prehistoricas que puedes criar en tu propio hogar! decia la caja. Pon agua en el deposito, coloca los huevos en el agua, dales de comer y ya esta! tus propios Triops! Parecia muy sencillo. Y barato, mi presupuesto ha aumentado conforme he ido creciendo. Asi que compramos la caja de Triops. Sin embargo, cuando abrimos la caja en casa, resulto que no era tan sencillo. Las instrucciones del interior detallaban que solo habia que usar agua mineral natural, si no, los huevos no se convertirian en Triops. La temperatura habia de ser constante. De hecho, habia que colocar el acuario debajo de una lampara con bombilla de 60 watios. Las horas de comer tenian que ser regulares y las dosis muy exactas. Vaya con la sencillez prometida. Ahora, buscando por internet, he descubierto que los Triops viven menos tiempo que los SEa-Monkeys, son mas feos y para mas inri..son canibales! Parece ser que el Triops mas grande del acuario se comera a los mas pequenios, asi que si ponen huevos, ninguno crecera mientras esten en el mismo acuario que los adultos. Que pesadilla. Lo que comparten con los Sea-Monkeys es que mueren por cualquier razon. Que cambia la temperatura, que les das mucha comida, que no les das suficiente comida, que el agua no tiene suficiente oxigeno, que el acuario es demasiado grande o demasiado pequenio...por favor, pero es que se van a morir si les miro o que? Asi que no es tan facil. Pero mis padres estaban equivocados. No es una estafa. Hay miles de personas que han tenido Sea-Monkeys y Triops en casa. La unica pega es que es complicado. Y ahora empiezo a preguntarme si los feisimos Triops valen la pena. Ya veis, la obsesion con los Sea-Monkeys no desaparecio por completo con el fin de mi infancia. Suponiendo que mi infancia terminara, claro. Que lo dudo.


The weather today:
Cloudy and Windy
13C
UV Index: 0 Low
Wind: From the East Southeast at 25 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 74%
Visibility: 7 miles
Barometer: 994.2 mb