After two decades of Harold von Braunhut managing most of the logistics of the Sea-Monkey® brand, Larami Corporation, based in Pennsylvania, United States, became the first licensee of the Sea-Monkey® brand, with Transcience becoming a division of said company during that period.

While we don’t have an exact start and end date of Larami’s time with the brand, a few things give us an idea of the time frame. In 1982, Sea-Monkey® ads made their last appearance inside the pages of comic books. The following year, we saw a TV commercial for Sea-Monkey® products that featured Larami’s packaging. Forward to 1992, and Sea-Monkeys® still appear in Larami’s toy trade pages, but by 1994, this licensing deal between Harold and Larami had come to an end.

Larami gained recognition in the toy market due to the successful line of toy water guns called Super Soaker. In 1995, Larami was acquired by Hasbro, mainly for the assets & production of the Super Soaker line. In 2002, by which point Larami’s assets and operations had been integrated into Hasbro, Larami’s name was retired, thus bringing Larami Corporation to an end.

Sculpted art by Paul & Sue Krosnick. This sculpted art and its variants seen on other packaging defined this Sea-Monkey era under Larami.

This sculpted art was subsequently used by Basic Fun, Educational Insights & Moose Toys during the 1990s.

Ocean-Zoo®

Standard Sea-Monkey Ocean-Zoo aquarium produced by Larami. Known colours included blue, green & red; some versions were packaged in shrink-wrap, while others were sold in blister packaging.

Light-Up Ocean-Zoo®

While previously Sea-Monkey aquariums had a light-up option one could attach, it was a rudimentary system that the consumer had to assemble manually. With Larami, we saw the introduction of a built-in lighting system in the Ocean-Zoo cover.

From blister packaging to different boxed versions, the “Light Up” kit received various packaging options throughout the Larami years. Known colours it was produced in included blue, green & red.

Sea-Monkeys® and their Light-Up Sea-Circus®

Item 1010

The “Light-Up Sea-Circus” was a large kit packaged in a circus-themed box and included many additional accessories & supplies. This kit included a Light-Up Ocean-Zoo aquarium, the four primary packets, a packet of “Cupid’s Arrow” Mating Powder, a packet of “Red Magic” Sea-Monkey® Vitamins, an Aqua-Leash, a feeding spoon, a handbook, “snap-on” color filter, a Sea-Monkey “projector” (a small cardboard assembly where one would place the light-up cover), and a “projector” screen.

Instant Life® Kits

Handbooks

Packet Numbering Changes

It was during this time under Larami that we started seeing a transition in the packet numbering. Packet #3, which initially corresponded to Plasma II, was also assigned to the Sea-Monkey Growth Food, initially packet #4 at the time. As noted by the difference in the packets included in various kits, we had two different numbered Growth Food packets being offered simultaneously.

Since then, Sea-Monkey Growth Food has remained packet #3 and one of the three primary packets included in kits.

Even after the introduction of the Growth Food packet #3, Plasma II remained with its original large number 3 packet design. It’s unclear if Plasma II ever received a packet variant with the large number 4 design. By the time we saw the large number 4 packet design return during the Educational Insight years, it was for the succeeding formula, Plasma III.