Sea Monkeys used to help you gather resources?

[MJ2005GUNDAM]

I have something to ask you guys out there. Yesterday I've bred a few sea monkeys from their stolen eggs, and I realized that not only do they reproduce inside the containment, but they also help gather resources for you like titanium, copper and gold. Moreover, they no longer steal your equipment. However, when I tried to replicate the effect in a new creative game, they don't do that? What's the variable that affects the helpful sea monkeys, or is it even an intended feature at all?

[Amrak]

I have seen this in the experimental gameplay yes. Not in stable as of yet I do not think.
Wild sea monkeys will do this as well and they will give you back any tool they have stolen as well.

[Blergh]

In addition they'll place their ill-gotten things in their nests, so if you're like me and happen to have a Sea Monkey nest right outside your base, you can check in it every now and again and score lots of Quartz, Gold and Titanium.

[Miraka]

I thought they simply got used to my presence on the planet after enough time but I guess not according to these comment reports.

I hatched a few of their eggs out of sheer curiosity, released all but one of them and they still live around my base, but before release, pretty much as soon as I collected the first of the eggs, I noticed the wild adults stopped trying to steal my things. Moreover, they regularly try to bring me gifts of quartz/gold/copper/titanium no matter where I am in the world (usually they intentionally get in the way of my seatruck and I have to go outside to accept the offerings lest I accidentally run them over).

I ADORE the happy little gestures they make, offering their gift and that silent little squee-face of delight when you take it.

They seem a tad put down if you refuse it.
How can you refuse that sweet face, you monster.

Really helpful to build a seabase right above one of their shallow nest mounds. You can find one a little ways leftish of your initial pod, a hill amid the kelp with handy holes all around it; only one crashfish to worry about that's completely avoidable using the proper entrances. When you aren't around to give shinies to, the sea monkeys will continue to place the four basic items in the nest over time to ridiculous, overflowing amounts (extremely handy for furniture recipes that use titanium and glass).

You will be swimming in endless quartz and metal. I have no idea where they keep getting it. Too bad they don't do this with lead too so I can make enameled glass easier.

Have yet to test if they'll do this with rarer materials like nickel should you manage to build a base out in the Lily Pads. Probably not, if they aren't grabbing lead or silver in the shallows.

[Satin Finish]

This just happened to me. I was quite surprised but its wonderful experience to have them offer you stuff. For me the trigger was either finding the Sea Monkey's in the vicinity of the lilly pads or after one of them took an item ( seaglide ) and I was left in the dark and unable to grab it back so they got away with it and I had to make a new one.

Personally i'm favouring the second option, that maybe once they take something from you and get away they become more friendly.

[Marstil]

The behavior change is now tied to an event in the game (experimental version) and explained. I located my main base to take advantage of this.