Copper sulfate?

[Anonymous]

I just bought new fish food, by a company called New Life. I bought spectrum small fish formula. After I fed some to both my tanks, I read the lable. In the ingredients, it lists copper sulfate! COPPER! IN FISH FOOD? okay,it's not reef food, but still...

Should I be using this, or should I take it back and trade it in? I did a search for New life food, and couldn't find anything. What do you all think?

Thanks
Brett

 

[tanzy]

I have the same fish food too! I only saw the copper sulphate last week. The corals and inverts seem fine to me, but I always run carbon or poly pads.

 

[wade1]

I would highly suggest returning the food and not feeding it in your reef. CuS tends to be very hard to break down and so should remain innocuous, but.... As with any natural system, there could be a situation in which the copper and sulfur separated making it dangerous. I wouldn't use it. If you are feeding anything with shellfish/crustaceans in it, your tank will get all its needed sulfur through that.

I make my own meaty food with the following (just made some this morning) - all ingredients are raw and unpreserved:

scallops/mussels/clams/oysters (any or a combination of them shelled)
shelled shrimp
white fish
mysis
nori
selco
dab of lemon juice (for vitC)
tank water, microwaved (8min per liter on high)

I typically add more shrimp and scallops than anything else to the mix.

Grind until smooth in a blender, add few more shrimp that don't get as finely chopped. Spread mixture out on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer to harden, then break into smaller pieces and place in ziplock bags until use. I thaw them in a cupful of tank water and break it up with a baster then feed the tank, it comes apart and feeds the tank all various size particles.

My tangs, clowns, rabbitfish, lawnmower blenny, and even the copperband butterfly love the mash.


Wade

 

[tanzy]

Wade,
The ingredient is CuSO4, not CuS. It has Cobalt, Iron and Manganese too. Any idea what all these metals are for? Anti-parasitic?

The link to the Spectrum website is http://www.nlpublish.com/
I've been using it for about 2 weeks and I do not notice a change in my fish colour. :roll:

 

[wade1]

DOH! I misread that, thinking there is no way they'd use ionic copper in a fish food! My mistake...

I would DEFINTELY NOT! use that food in a reef tank. Thats the same ingredient commonly added to kill algae in ponds (as well as any inverts). As for what the other metals are for, I really have no idea. Iron should just cause more algae growth in your tank... all of those metals should be available from the food itself and not need to be exogenously added...

I would doubt seriously that any metals will affect coloration of fish :twisted: , so if the food is claiming enhanced color its most likely just a bs claim. As to other ingredients... the only thing I have seen real data on increasing fish color is different phytos and unsaturated fatty acids in food.

I would seriously stop all use of the food right away.

Wade

PS- CUSO3 is very soluble in water and immediately breaks into Cu and SO4.

 

[O P Ing]

PS- CUSO3 is very soluble in water and immediately breaks into Cu and SO4.

hi.
It will add nice aqua-marine blue color to the water, and make you tank looks very nice even under halogen lamps :wink: