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 need begins to decay, the Mermaid first will get the "Chapped" moodlet with no mood effect, but if it gets lower, it will turn into "Flakey" moodlet. If the Mermaid still doesn't seek water, they will get "Dehydrated" moodlet and the Mermaid will pass out. The player might direct other Sims to revive them with a bucket of water. Nearby Sims may also help. Good and Friendly Sims are more likely to help, while Evil and Mean Spirited Sims are less likely to.

A Mermaid needs to swim in the ocean at least once every 48 hours, or else they will get "Salt Water Deficiency" moodlet which turns into "Adapting to Land" moodlet that lasts one day each. When the latter moodlet expires, the Mermaid will turn into a normal Sim. Purchasing Permanent Mermaid lifetime reward will prevent the Mermaid from losing their occult status.

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. This makes the Steel Lungs lifetime reward useless for mermaids. 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.

Hidden Island
One of the hidden islands in Isla Paradiso can be unlocked by becoming good friends with a Mermaid. These mermaids can be found in the diving areas. After befriending them, the Mermaid will come up and offer to show the location of Mermaid's Secret island, and then the player will unlock it.

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.
 * 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.
 * Pregnant Mermaids can swim at the water's surface, but cannot visit underwater dive lots for the duration of the pregnancy.
 * If a Mermaid goes into labour, 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 Ariel's name for a fork, as told to her by Scuttle, a seagull. He also told her it was for combing hair.
 * 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.