Is Flourish And Flourish Excel Safe For Shrimp?

Flourish and Flourish Excel (commonly referred to as just Excel) are both used to improve the health of the plants in your tank. While the can be great in plenty of circumstances, they also need to be used with caution to ensure you’re not harming the marine life.

Are Flourish and Flourish Excel safe for shrimp? The answer is complicated but the short story is that they are both safe for fish when used in the right way. It’s important you know exactly how to use them to keep your shrimp, and the rest of your aquarium, safe.

Flourish And Flourish Excel Safe For Shrimp

Why would I use Flourish or Flurish Excel?

Why are they used? Well, Flourish is a fertilizer that is going to be able to give your plant almost everything that it needs to thrive. It’s ideal for beginners as it doesn’t have a lot of nitrogen and phosphorus as this will be fund through your fish waste.

Excel is different as works in two ways. It is a source of liquid CO2 and that is going to help promote plant growth to ensure they thrive. While that is a great benefit, Excel will also be able to prevent the growth of algae as it’s an algaecide.

How to use Flourish and Flourish Excel safely

They are both safe, if used carefully. The last part of that sentence hints that there is a little more to the question as it’s not black and white. As long as you take the right precautions then you should find your shrimp have no issues at all.

It’s important when you put Flourish or Excel into your tank is to follow the instructions closely and avoid the temptation to guess at the perfect dose. Both solutions will have precise guidelines that come with them and they should be followed to the letter.

A trick that many aquarium owners used is to use a syringe with insulin syringes being a popular choice as they are easily found. This will allow you to perfectly regulate the amount of solution that you’re putting in your tank.

Should I use Flourish?

If you need a plant supplement for your freshwater aquarium then Flourish is going to be a great option. It contains a wide source of nutrients that are going to allow your plants to thrive such as iron, magnesium and calcium, among many others.

Flourish doesn’t try and overdo it with the supplements and there may be others that you need depending on your tank. It’s important that you don’t overdose on the nutrients as this is not going to be beneficial for either the plant or marine life.

The problem when it comes to shrimp is copper, which Flourish contains. This can be toxic to all aquatic animals with shrimp and snails being particularly vulnerable. That being said, copper can have its benefits when given in trace amounts.

When it comes to Flourish, the amount of copper is incredibly small. In fact, there is a good chance that tap water would contain more copper than Flourish. Due to that, it means that you can be confident that Flourish won’t damage your marine life when used in the right amounts.

Should I use Flourish Excel?

Plants need carbon to be able to survive and that’s what Excel gives them. It’s a liquid CO2 that acts as a great boost got your plant life. It does this while also being able to reduce the number of algae on your plants which can become a problem.

Excel allows the plant to produce the right compounds it needs to be able to excel in its surroundings. It’s ideal for treating plant life in your aquarium and keeping them healthy. It’s not a replacement for a traditional CO2 system but can be a great aide. The downside to this can be the effect it has on the rest of the aquarium.

Plants will only use the solution during photosynthesis and therefore it’s best to use it after you have turned the lights on. This will also allow the plant to use up the solution as quickly as possible, minimizing any other risks.

It’s important to know the volume of your tank while using Excel and take other considerations into account such as the amount of plant life you have, the lighting and also what other types of fertilizers you’re using.

The danger from Excel is that in agriculture, the main compound used inside it (glutaraldehyde) is used as a pesticide which shows how dangerous it can be. It’s great for killing algae but you don’t want it killing anything else.

 

FAQs

 

What are the dangers of Flourish and Flourish Excel?

Flourish (copper) and Flourish Excel (glutaraldehyde) both contain parts that can harm shrimp, snails and fish. Due to this, you need to be careful when using them and don’t overdose. When used correctly, it can be part of a healthy and thriving environment.

 

Should I use Excel to kill algae?

While it’s a good by-product of Excel, killing algae is not its main goal. If you wanted to reduce the number of algae in your tank then it’s a good idea to either get a solution specifically made for it or add more algae-eating marine life into your aquarium.

 

How can I minimize the risks?

Precise measurements are needed and you should always avoid the temptation to guess at a dose. A syringe can be helpful with this. Also if you can, remove the plants from your aquarium into a separate bucket and treat them away from any marine life.

 

Is Flourish safe for snails?

The advice for shrimp here is the same for snails. Both can be sensitive to these solutions which means you need to be extra careful. Snails need to be protected in the same way as shrimp and ensure that any product is used in the right way.

 

Final thoughts

An aquarium is always a delicate balance. Whether it is ensuring that all the marine life in there can cohabit together, or checking any solution or medication used is safe for everyone can be a bit of a headache at times.
Both Flourish and Flourish Excel can be perfect for giving your aquarium the right conditions to be able to thrive. It’s important to know the risks but if you’re careful and sensible then both of them can help you to have healthy plants without affecting the health of your shrimp.

jbarr3tt1979

Hello, I'm Jason. I'm the guy behind HelpUsFish.com. I volunteer at my local fish shop and I created this site to offer tips and advice on the fish I care for.

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