copper and inverts

[gothicgirl]

ok so here is my situation.

i work at a pet store. we have cryptocaryon. we have a 120 gallon system (split into 12, 10 gallon tanks) with live rock, inverts (shrimp, snails, not coral or anemones) and fish. the salt water guy to my horror has put in a med that contains copper and formalin. we made a bet. i bet the inverts would die. this may be a little premature, but im a little irked because the inverts were still alive since ive seen them!!

how fast does this kill them or if he put in a very low dose, would it kill them at all?

ahhh i cant believe they are still alive (its within a day or two)

also i think he said he just took out activated carbon (maybe today) and turned off the skimmer (should have done that before)

thanks guys!!

 

[Recty]

It would depend on the dose, they can tolerate small amounts of copper and other non reef safe meds.

If carbon and protein skimming has been going on the whole time until today then those meds will be being removed from the system so that could prolong the life of the inverts.

What med is it exactly?

 

[RBU1]

Listen I don't mind giving adice, but when people don't follow it then come on here and ask more questions it really bothers me. TAKE THE INVERTS OUT OF THE COPPER TREATED TANKS.....Sounds to me like the person running your saltwater doesnt know what he/she is doing.......

 

[skibum9884]

I'm confused as to why you're "betting" that the inverts die.....it is well documented that copper will kill them. If they don't die, it is because you've done something wrong with the dosing.

That aside, why are you doing this? I'd recommend removing the inverts. Why are you going to purposely kill them?

 

[gothicgirl]

omg omg omg!! no no no!! I AM NOT TRYING TO KILL THEM!! I would never hurt another creature, i don't even eat meat lol! The guy made the bet with me, and I made it to prove a point that I was serious and that he should take my advice (and the bottle of med's advice) and remove them. its very frustrating at work to not have any control over the tanks but i can't mess with it and can only give advice. sigh...also what now? I can't sell the live rock that's in the tank, because they absorb copper right?! oh goodness, i don't want them to die!! please dont think that.

 

[RBU1]

Maybe you should have the guy in charge of the tanks come on the forum....Or let us know the name of the store and his name so we can all call him LOL

 

[NoBigDeal]

Just take the inverts out. Who cares what he says.

 

[skibum9884]

I understand wanting to keep your job. I also would recommend whoever is responsible for the husbandry at your shop come onto RC. There is a lot of advice and experience on here that could certainly benefit your shop and your customers.

 

[skibum9884]

Oh, and if there's any good that can come out of this, maybe having a bunch of dead inverts and un-unsaleable live rock will get this loser fired.

 

[gothicgirl]

i know. look I'm not an idiot, I really know my salt water and I study marine chemistry etc. but this guy just won't listen and going onto a forum won't do any good to someone like that. all i really wanted was confirmation, i thought that inverts died within a few hours (2-3 maybe??)of putting any copper and formalin meds since they are osmoconformers.
i don't think he'll learn his lesson but thanks guys for all your help

 

[NoBigDeal]

i know. look I'm not an idiot, I really know my salt water and I study marine chemistry etc. but this guy just won't listen and going onto a forum won't do any good to someone like that. all i really wanted was confirmation, i thought that inverts died within a few hours (2-3 maybe??)of putting any copper and formalin meds since they are osmoconformers.
i don't think he'll learn his lesson but thanks guys for all your help

So you're going to sit back with a bag of popcorn and watch them perish?

 

[RBU1]

:worried::worried::worried::worried:

Thats what it sounds like to me.........But wait she doesnt eat meet...

 

[Recty]

It's easy to be high and mighty and tell someone they need to do a potentially job threatening action... it's a different matter when you're the employee who needs the wages and arent the person in charge of things.

Getting herself fired wouldnt fix the situation, all that would happen is she would be fired and the inverts would still be dead.

She's stated multiple times they have one setup for their salt water and the whole thing is being treated with copper. Do you suggest she break into the stores tanks for sale, set up a new system, make all new water and hold all the inverts there, all the while running the register and helping customers?

I'm sure the guy in charge of everything would just sit back and watch that right no problems, right?

Be realistic.

 

[RBU1]

But if she knows she can't do anything about it why ask?

 

[NoBigDeal]

It's easy to be high and mighty and tell someone they need to do a potentially job threatening action... it's a different matter when you're the employee who needs the wages and arent the person in charge of things.

Getting herself fired wouldnt fix the situation, all that would happen is she would be fired and the inverts would still be dead.

She's stated multiple times they have one setup for their salt water and the whole thing is being treated with copper. Do you suggest she break into the stores tanks for sale, set up a new system, make all new water and hold all the inverts there, all the while running the register and helping customers?

I'm sure the guy in charge of everything would just sit back and watch that right no problems, right?

Be realistic.

It's also easy to be high and mighty to tell us who care about the inverts to be realistic. No one knows the full extent of the situation. She never said she would get fired if she took initiative to save the poor animals. When I was younger, I worked at two saltwater fish stores and were always messing with the tanks i.e. treating tanks, feeding, dosing, relocating fish, medicating etc. She may not have that authority but I'm just proving a point. Anyways, I'm not going to beat a dead horse. It is what it is.

 

[RBU1]

Yeah lets not :uzi: the Goth girl......

If the store only has 10 - 12 gallon tanks they are not that big of a store. Let your boss know if he wants to increase his buisness become a sponsor on RC and take the advice of its members. We can make him a fortune 500 fish store....LOL We can call it the fish store RC built..