Niko is the second pet that you can get. He is a dark teal oyster with black eyes and purple "lips" that produces pearls for the player.
Behavior
Niko quietly sits atop of a pillar or in an alcove in each tank, bobbing up and down until he opens his mouth to reveal a pearl worth $250. This can be very useful in earlier levels and as a Presto transformation in the beginning of each tank to produce the much needed money near the start of the level.
Niko opens up after 34 seconds and every 40 seconds after the first and will continue producing pearls even during an alien attack. Niko produces an average of $6.25/sec. This is less than Shrapnel's $8.33/sec, but does not bear the risk of killing fish.
In Virtual Tank, the pearl's value is 10 shells which is worth 100% more money than in Adventure Mode.
Locations
Tank 1 - In an rock alcove decorated with corals
Tank 2 - Sitting on top of a short, marble column
Tank 3 - On a flat rock under the bonsai tree
Tank 4 - Sitting on top of the wooden barrel
Tank 5 - Skewered on the giant fork
Exclusive tank - Atop of the castle's left turret
Story
"One question that always comes up when talking about Niko is: Why doesn't Niko open his mouth more often? There is a reason for this. It is because Niko thinks that opening his mouth may allow demons to steal his soul. Therefore, he keeps mouth opening to a minimum."
Trivia
- Niko's pearl is worth $250, which is half of value produced by beetlemunchers.
- He resembles to the oysters that appear in bonus rounds on Typer Shark Deluxe, another PopCap game.
- If Presto is transformed into Niko, he will drop to the bottom of the tank instead of Niko's usual location.
- In Sandbox Mode, if the player spawns multiple oysters, they will appear as one.
Gallery
