NanoAddict

at what point does copper become hurtful to shrimp? i have a planted tank and i just realized my fertilizer has .005 or.0005 percent copper in it. I have low light plants so I hardly dose them, i only put a few drops in a week. I fertilized several times and my ghost shrimp don't seem hurt or stressed

sirdarksol

I'm not sure. Copper is a necessary part of life in extremely tiny quantities. Beyond that minuscule amount, it becomes pretty quickly toxic. Inverts and plants are more susceptible than vertebrates, it seems, so if it's an amount that's safe for plants, it may be an amount that's safe for your shrimp.

NanoAddict

The plants are doing great and the ghost shrimp don't seem affected at all, so I'll keep using small doses of the stuff.

musicman4567

I would second that notion. Small amounts of copper naturally exist in drinking water. The only real way to get rid of it is to use RO water. I've used tap water the whole time and never had any problems. I think so long as you aren't dosing a parasite killer that uses copper, you should be ok.

NanoAddict

okk

soldieroffortune1974

here's a good synopsis to answer your question:

Copper’s toxicity and its effect (Cu2+).
Copper is found in enzymes capable of carrying oxygen as hemoglobin does and is actually required in the formation of this substance; it is essential in a number of enzymes. Excessive intake of copper however results in its accumulating in the liver. Generally, copper toxicity increases when Mo, Zn, and SO42- intake is low.
In this experiment, a solution was used with 100 μg/l Cu2+ a concentration that is poisonous to shrimps. Copper metal excites the mucous membranes and speeds up the transformation, leading to confusion of the biological mechanism and causing death.

Let me see if I can break that down from all the scientific jargon. Cu2 is copper per the elemental table. 100 μg/l is 1 milliliter per liter or 1 PPM. 1 ppm of copper is lethal for shrimp as well as most invertibrates. So,the dose you give of .005 or.0005 percent copper would be .005 ppm or .0005ppm,so you would have to increase the dose by about 200% or 2000% to reach the lethal range. I think you might be in the clear.

NanoAddict

ok cool thanks very much