Shrimp and copper

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C

Crazed Demasoni

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 19, 2010
188
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Massachusetts
I've been dying to get some RCS in my tank, but I treated with algaequel (doh!) A while back twice. I've done a ton of WCs since, and put a few ghost shrimp in as a bit of a reliable copper test (.33 vs. $4 each locally). Its been 24 hours and they're still fine, feasting on whatever they can find.

How long should I wait before I can be 100% sure that there isn't a lethal amount of copper in the tank? I had heard 24 hours, but I may just hold off until Sunday to order them.
 
Personally, I don't know. But I'd give a few days or even a week just to be safe. Better safe than replacing shrimp.
 
I agree with black sun. It's tough to say from a biological perspective how long it would take for copper to completely leave a tank. But more importantly, how long it might take for it to bioaccumulate in a shrimp if there are trace amounts in a tank and how long it would take for it to become deadly. For instance, maybe the ghost shrimp you have do well for a week or two and then they start dying off. Not to sound negative but, I guess, more precautionary. I've heard that once you use any sort of product that contains copper in a tank, it's tough to get rid of it without tearing it down, scrubbing the hell out of it and then setting it back up again-and with shrimp being as sensitive to it as they are...

Give it a couple weeks and see how the ghosts do. Patience is a virtue (trust me... I know with my dealings with shrimp). If they still look good then go ahead and snag a colony of RCS for the tank. I'd hate to see you lose $$ on them and also have RCS die if there are traces of copper remaining. :(
 
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