Mermaid

Mermaids are a life state that was introduced in The Sims 3: Island Paradise. They are creatures of the ocean and water, that can be encountered diving or just taking a stroll by boat in the sea. They have also adapted to land living.

Becoming a Mermaid
A Sim can become a Mermaid by ingesting the special mermadic kelp. Mermadic kelp can be obtained either by becoming good friends with a mermaid and using the "Ask about Fish Parts" interaction while both the Sim and the mermaid are underwater, or by purchasing the Mermadic Kelp lifetime reward which costs 25,000 lifetime happiness points. Note that other life states cannot turn into a Mermaid even if they eat the mermadic kelp. They have to become a normal Sim first to turn.

Mermaid characteristics, like most other life states are genetic. Thus meaning that if a Mermaid has a child with a human or an other type of supernatural creature, the child will have a 50% chance to either be a Mermaid or be like the non-mermaid parent. If both parents are Mermaids, the child is guaranteed to be a Mermaid as well.

Even if Supernatural is installed, Mermaids cannot be created in Create a Sim.

Appearance
Above the waist, mermaids look just like other Sims, but instead of legs they have scaly fish-like tails. Each gender has its own unique tail fin design. Males have a classic mermaid tail but females have a more swirly fin design. When a mermaid goes on to land, they have legs covered in scales.

The scales first appear when a Mermaid Sim reaches the toddler stage. Although children and toddlers have scaly legs, they do not morph their legs into tails when they swim in the pool or the ocean. Mermaids first gain the ability to morph their legs into tails once they reach the teen age.

Mermaids can change the color of their scales using the "Change Scale Color" interaction via mirrors. The color of the tail is the same as the color of the scales on their legs while in their human form. Females also have seashell bras, and their color can also be customized with the "Change Scale Color" interaction.

Needs
The color of a Mermaid's needs are blue instead of green, which the normal Sims have, and their needs are not much different than that of normal Sims, except for two differences.

Their hunger need is a little different than that of normal Sims. Mermaids do not get much satisfaction from eating normal meals, thus it doesn't fill up their Hunger as much as it does for normal Sims.

A Mermaid's main food preference is kelp and fish. Fish can be caught from fishing or while scuba diving in diving areas. Mermaids can eat fish raw and it does give them a large boost to their hunger need. Vegeterian Mermaids get nauseous from eating fish, so it's advised that they only eat kelp.

Even though fish gives a Mermaid a lot of hunger satisfaction, the primary food preference for a Mermaid is kelp. It can be harvested from diving areas. Eating two pieces of kelp is enough to restore a Mermaid who has a really low hunger need, to full.

Another big difference is the fact that Mermaids do not possess the hygiene need; in its place they have the hydration need, which is fairly identical to PlantSim's water need.

Hydration works just like hygiene. Mermaids should be constantly kept hydrated, thus requiring frequent swimming sessions either in a pool or in the ocean. Their hydration can also be satisfied by taking showers, baths, or relaxing in a hot tub. If The Sims 3: Seasons is installed, they can also satisfy it by standing in the rain.

Once a Mermaid's hydration need goes too low, they will start to dehydrate and dry out. First they become "Chapped", which is a neutral moodlet, and then they become "Flakey" which is a negative moodlet. Eventually they will pass out, and if another Sim does not splash water on them, the Mermaid will die and become a ghost from dehydration.

When the Hydration Motive begins to decay, you'll first have a Chapped moodlet with no mood effect, but at around 10% it will change to a -40 12h Flakey moodlet. If the Mermaid still doesn't seek water, a -80 Dehydrated moodlet will kick in, and the Mermaid will go unconscious. If you have other Sims under your control, you can easily revive them with a bucket of water. Nearby Sims may also help, with Good or Friendly Sims guaranteed to help, while Evil and Meanspirited Sims will simply walk by or enjoy the show.

All Mermaids' favorite foods change to Kelp, and they are capable of eating raw fish on the go - so can simply catch them underwater for a snack later. Mermaids are 25% less satisfied by normal Sims' foods. Kelp can be found underwater or at the grocery store.

Abilities
Mermaids have various special abilities and advantages that make them different from normal Sims.

For instance, Mermaids can breathe and stay underwater indefinitely, and will not get the "Depressurising" moodlet when returning to the surface. They also swim much faster than normal Sims, both underwater and above. Once a Mermaid becomes a teenager, they will automatically maximize their Scuba Diving skill.

Like normal Sims, Mermaids who possess a conch shell are able to summon another Mermaid they have met. Also, Mermaids who have the Evil trait are able to summon sharks to attack other divers.

Mermaids are perfectly safe in the sea and cannot be attacked by the Kraken, cave monster and sharks.

As should be expected, Mermaids grow legs when walking on land and fish tails when swimming in the water. Mermaids are immune to Drowning death thanks to their gills and Steel Lungs would be a useless Lifetime Reward for them. Naturally, they Swim much faster than normal Sims. Because of their expertise in the water, Mermaids automatically get level 10 in the Diving skill upon aging up to teen but still need to complete the Skill Challenges. As Mermaids are naturally attuned to life in the water, they do not suffer Decompression when they are done with a Dive. The 'Scuba Dive' option on Dive Spots changes to 'Dive Underwater' instead.

In order to stay a Mermaid, a Sim needs to Swim at least once every 48h, else they will get an 'Adapting to Land' moodlet that lasts two days. When this expires, your Mermaid abilities disappear but you keep the diving skill. To avoid this, simply go for a Swim, Dive Underwater or Snorkel once in a while. You can also buy the 5,000 point Lifetime Reward Permanent Mermaid, which will prevent your Sim from ever losing Mermaid status to lack of Swimming.

Evil and Mean-Spirited Sims can click themselves to Summon Shark, but this doesn't really do much. Sometimes, a Shark won't even appear anywhere around you, and if it does, it may very well do nothing when it arrives. On my first try, a nearby Sim did pee himself in terror at the Shark that was already there, but that was the most I got out of.

Mermaids Secret Island
One of the eight uncharted islands you can unlock are found through Mermaids. You need to get a Mermaid to be your Best Friend, then hang out with them. Simply idle, and eventually the Mermaid will come up and offer to show you the location of the Mermaid Secret Island. When you arrive, your Sim will claim ownership. There is no treasure chest on the island, but there is a nice 30x30 plot of land on which to build a lovely home. Most of the island is blocked off by mountain, so there's not much to explore.

Trivia

 * The mermaid was mentioned in The Sims Medieval, in one of the random events in docks.
 * The Sims 3: Seasons has two clothing pieces and a hairstyle which have a look akin to a mermaid.
 * Mermaids are unable to get a tan.
 * Just like other life states, Mermaids cannot become another occult without having their Mermaid status revoked first.
 * Mermaids cannot skinny dip in a hot tub, but can still WooHoo.
 * If Mermaids get pregnant, they can't have their baby in the sea, they must go to land to give birth, and Mermaid babies must grow on land.
 * Some Mermaids have pale skin like Vampires.
 * There are several Easter eggs that reference Disney's film The Little Mermaid:
 * When a Sim explores an underwater cave, sometimes a pop up message appear saying, "(Sim Name) has not found anything big, but he/she found a dinglehopper." A dinglehopper is a fork which Ariel named after.
 * Another message Sims will get could be "How many wonders can one cavern hold?" It's a reference to the song "Part of Your World".
 * Some premade mermaids name have references to the movie. Triton King is based on Ariel's father King Triton. Mia Azul bears a striking resemblance to Ariel, having red hair and sea green tail.