Although sea monkeys have been very popular for literally decades as a low maintenance, easy to care for pet for children, the launch of aqua dragons that is essentially a very similar product has spike interest in these brine shrimp variants resulting in a huge number of people asking various questions about these great little pets.
As so many people reach out with various questions each month, we have decided to publish our own, dedicated aqua dragons vs sea monkeys comparison article that we hope will be able to help as many of our readers as possible.
In our opinion, both aqua dragons and sea monkeys are great options for most people with both still being very popular.
Although aqua dragons is definitely pulling ahead in terms of sales due to their better marketing and dragons being on trend right now, either option works well as a first pet for children.
As we covered in our sea monkeys vs brine shrimp comparison article, regular brine shrimp, sea monkeys and aqua dragons are all very similar creatures so a large part of it comes down to the marketing of the company.
That said though, we still want to go into the more commonly asked questions that we see from our readers comparing sea monkeys with aqua dragons in the hope that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible.
For the majority of our readers though, it really won’t matter what product you go with and simply going with the look of the tank that comes with the product may be the thing that pushes you one way or the other.
Are Sea Monkeys And Aqua Dragons The Same?
Sea monkeys and aqua dragons are both brine shrimp growth kit products but the actual species of brine shrimp that each use are different and have a slightly different look to them.
Both grow to be around the same size when fully grown adults with aqua dragons confirming that they use the Artemia Salina species of brine shrimp while sea monkeys claim to use their own, unique Artemia NYOS species of brine shrimp.
We say that sea monkeys claim to use their own, unique Artemia NYOS species of brine shrimp as there is increasing push back from experienced fish keepers that sea monkeys simply use the regular Artemia Salina brine shrimp but have tried to market it as a unique species.
It is difficult to prove this either way though where as aqua dragons just confirmed right off the bat that they use the regular Artemia Salina brine shrimp.
Some people have claimed to hatch both sea monkeys and aqua dragons in the same tank and feed them the same with there being minimal difference in the size and growth rate between the two.
They both eat the same food mix that is essentially plankton and algae too with some people feeding them other things too with both types of brine shrimp being so close to each other that there really isn’t much difference between them.
What Do Aqua Dragons And Sea Monkeys Eat?
Aqua dragons and sea monkeys both have the same diet due to both being variants of brine shrimp that are filter feeders with the bulk of their diets being plankton and algae.
Each company use a slightly different food ratio between plankton and algae but the actual product is essentially the same.
Both of the officially labeled food products for aqua dragons and sea monkeys are overpriced and when you need to resupply, you are able to get baby shrimp food that can work very well while also being cheaper.
We have seen some people deviate away from plankton and algae foods for their aqua dragons and sea monkeys though with people feeding them yeast and other products.
Although these other food types can work well, we would always recommend that you stick to some sort of food mix that has been designed for use with shrimp.
Deviating away from the plankton and algae core of the diet can cause health problems in your shrimp and potentially starve them due to not providing a nutritionally complete diet that your shrimp can live on.
Are Sea Monkeys Or Aqua Dragons Easier To Keep?
Sea Monkeys and Aqua dragons have been designed around the same concept of providing a low maintenance, easy to keep pet that children can easily care for without issue.
Both systems come with everything that you need to care for your shrimp with ease but the standard aqua dragon tank that comes with the product is a little larger offering the shrimp a little more room to swim around in.
Unlike an actual fish aquarium, there is generally no real need for tank maintenance provided you feed your sea monkeys or aqua dragons the recommended amount of food using the included server.
This will prevent food from going to waste and make sure that there is little to nothing to fowl the water ensuring that both products are as simple and easy to care for as possible.
Although the brine shrimp that come with both products do poop, it is not much waste at all meaning that there is no real need for regular, weekly tank maintenance.
This is why they are such an excellent water-based pet for children. Even adults are still keeping sea monkeys and aqua dragons with there being a trend of custom tank setups specifically for them on social media a couple of years back.
Should You Get Sea Monkeys Or Aqua Dragons?
There is only a minimal difference between sea monkeys and aqua dragons with most people going with the tank that they prefer the look of.
Aqua dragons are also doing a much better job of marketing their product right now with them beating sea monkeys in sales and the popularity of the aqua dragon product continuing to go from strength to strength with each year that goes by.
In North America, aqua dragons is definitely the more popular product due to a much better marketing campaign that has managed to grab the attention of children and teens.
In Europe, aqua dragons can be difficult to find at the time of writing so sea monkeys are still the more dominant product but we do expect aqua dragons to expand into Europe aggressively over the coming years.
