Brine Shrimp

What are brine shrimp? Brine shrimp are small crustaceans. Sometimes they are called “sea monkeys”, but they don’t live in the sea and they aren’t monkeys!

Where do they live? They live in inland seas, salt flats and evaporating salt ponds; they don’t live in the ocean. They are found throughout the world, in places such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Great Salt Lake, Utah Salt Pond in Northern California

Why are they important? Brine shrimp are food for a number of animals, such as flamingos. Many people feed brine shrimp to fish in aquariums.

What is their life like? Brine shrimp grow from eggs to larvae to adults. When the water in their ponds evaporates, brine shrimp adults produce cyst-like eggs. The eggs can lie dormant in the dried- up pond for up to 13 years! Dried-out eggs will hatch when rain falls. Dried up salt dissolves in the water, creating saltwater and a place for the eggs to hatch.

When the rains come back, the cysts will hatch.

“Sea Monkeys!”