Q&A for How to Find and Care for a Pet Tardigrade (Water Bear)

Yes, you could name your water bears. However, it would most likely not be recommended with more than one tardigrade, seeing as they are almost identical, and you would most likely get them mixed up. Maybe you could give them all the same name.

When you bring it fresh moss every month, there are little microorganisms that are plentiful for it to eat. It don't need anything other than that.

Yes, as with any living creature. However, it is the strongest living being known, it can 'revive' with water after total lack of water and when water reaches these bears, their bodies absorb fragments of DNA around them and mutate. In some cases, some get stronger.

Any microscope that can see 1 mm - 1/2 mm will do. It doesn't have to be a heavy-duty microscope.

The largest ones are visible as specks to the naked eye, although a magnifying glass can be used for a more detailed view since they are usually only half a millimeter long.

They were first discovered by the German pastor, Johann August Ephraim Goeze, in 1773.

Tardigrades can survive in ice unscathed. Don't warm it up too quickly, though.

No, it is actually good, because the tardigrade eats bacteria and viruses sometimes.

Take your dry moss and soak it over night, the water bear may be dormant inside.

They can live in any country. You should be able to find them in any still body of freshwater.

Try a swampy/wetland area, or any still body of water in nature. Taking samples from the very bottom or at the very top will get you better chances at finding microorganisms.

Most tardigrade live from several years to several decades, and it is almost impossible to kill them. They can also go for a long time without food.

Most tardigrades have predators like spiders, insect larvae, and mites, but surprisingly, they are often their own predators.

I'd just set it outside in some moss. They are pretty hardy creatures, so it will survive.

Yes, it could. Tardigrades are very resilient.

They won't look like much more than a speck to the naked eye if you can make them out at all. A good magnifying glass might work just to see them moving around, but you really need a microscope to get a proper look. It doesn't have to be a good one though -- a $10 pocket microscope will work fine, and they're really easy to get online.

Water bears don't need much at all. They just need a small piece of moss that holds their prey of nematodes.

Tardigrades are pretty common. You shouldn't have too much trouble finding them if you look in the right areas.

Yes, water bears can be found in any body or supply of water, including saline and chlorinated tap water.

Most range from 0.3 to 0.5 mm (0.012 to 0.020 in) in length, although the largest species may reach 1.2 mm (0.047 in).

Probably not. If it can survive in deep space, then it will survive someone trying to crush it.

No, they're more like much smaller insects. They do not harm humans or pets.

They can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Some colonies have been found to contain no males!

All species of tardigrade are around the same size, but the largest adults grow up to 1.5 mm (.059 inch).

No. The iPhone camera would not be able to zoom as much a real microscope, and Tardigrades are extremely small.

It will be unlikely, but if it happens, get another one. They are rather common, especially in wet places.

Water bears suck up food through their mouths and use small, tooth-like structures to break it up.

It depends on how hot the lava is. Tardigrades can stand temperatures up to 150 C, and lower than -200 C.

Tardigrades have been found dormant in deserts, waiting years for the next rainfall. Chances are slim, but you can try sprinkling some dirt into a wet petri dish, giving it 24 hours to soak, and checking under the microscope. If you do find one, don't forget to get it some aquatic plants to eat!

Tardigrades don't really have any noticeable sense of intelligence.