# osmocote plus and shrimps



## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

is it true that if you use osmocote plus as root tabs, it will kill the shrimps?


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

happi said:


> is it true that if you use osmocote plus as root tabs, it will kill the shrimps?


Hi, I was looking for an answer to this as well. Is it safe for use in a high grade CRS tank?

Also, why do people use capsules, and make tabs with this fert? It's already in perfect little ball shapes.. wouldn't tweezers be easier, or at least better (use the tweezers to push them under the roots in the substrate)

Thanks!


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## chiefroastbeef (Feb 14, 2011)

ADA said:


> Hi, I was looking for an answer to this as well. Is it safe for use in a high grade CRS tank?
> 
> Also, why do people use capsules, and make tabs with this fert? It's already in perfect little ball shapes.. wouldn't tweezers be easier, or at least better (use the tweezers to push them under the roots in the substrate)
> 
> Thanks!


Are you going to push the hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of tiny balls into the substrate one at a time? People use the capsules so they can push a capsule full into the substrate. Others freeze them in ice cube trays, and push the frozen osmocote cubes into the substrate.


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## ramawo (Jun 12, 2008)

I just did it in my shrimp tank, past this weekned.
No shrimp dead found, so far so good.
Hope it can help !


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## tusk (Jan 30, 2006)

Osmocote has been in my cherry / amano shrimp tank for 4 months without any issues.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

chiefroastbeef said:


> Are you going to push the hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of tiny balls into the substrate one at a time? People use the capsules so they can push a capsule full into the substrate. Others freeze them in ice cube trays, and push the frozen osmocote cubes into the substrate.


If I put hundreds and hundreds of the balls into my tank, there wouldn't be room for water.

(Mini-S 2.9 gallon)

Pushing them in with tweezers would not be tedious. I'd imagine that 1 - 3 balls per square inch would be good.. that's a minute or two's work.




tusk said:


> Osmocote has been in my cherry / amano shrimp tank for 4 months without any issues.


Thanks, that's a relief. There's still the possibility that it may harm high grade CRS though. I think they're much more sensitive than Amano or RCS?




ramawo said:


> I just did it in my shrimp tank, past this weekned.
> No shrimp dead found, so far so good.
> Hope it can help !


What type of shrimps do you have?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

No harm if you bury it in the substrate. Chad320 used it for a long time and I had it in my shrimp tank with no issues for over a year.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

sewingalot said:


> No harm if you bury it in the substrate. Chad320 used it for a long time and I had it in my shrimp tank with no issues for over a year.


Awesome! Thanks. I put some in my 2.9 gallon, which has some low grade CRS and Snowballs.. I think I'll even use it in my high grade CRS tank.

Does it make much of a difference in plant growth? I have Aquasoil too.

Thanks!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

It was my best growing tank for quite a while, it takes a few days for the plants to respond at first. If you uproot any when moving plants around, just push them back down in the substrate. If you are at all nervous, you can always do the wait and see with the 3 gallon and once you see nothing happens, add to the higher grade tank. Honestly, that's what I did when I tried it.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

sewingalot said:


> It was my best growing tank for quite a while, it takes a few days for the plants to respond at first. If you uproot any when moving plants around, just push them back down in the substrate. If you are at all nervous, you can always do the wait and see with the 3 gallon and once you see nothing happens, add to the higher grade tank. Honestly, that's what I did when I tried it.


Actually I did that a few weeks ago, (just in a few small areas of the tank).. so I will put a bunch more in there now that I have your experiences too. You're right about waiting.. I'll see how this smaller tank goes first. Thanks!


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I honestly don't foresee any problems, but I am more cautious than most and always recommend that based on my preference probably. Ha! Let us know what happens. I suspect you'll have healthy plants and happy shrimp.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

ADA said:


> If I put hundreds and hundreds of the balls into my tank, there wouldn't be room for water.
> 
> (Mini-S 2.9 gallon)
> 
> Pushing them in with tweezers would not be tedious. I'd imagine that 1 - 3 balls per square inch would be good.. that's a minute or two's work.


By hundreds and hundreds of balls, he's talking about a much bigger tank. With a 2.9 gallon, yes you won't need nearly as much but it's still a hassle since the balls are so small. Less than 3mm in diameter. If you push them in one by one, the ball might fall out of place between your tweezers thus only placing it near the top of the substrate. The capsule makes it so that you have a bigger target to hold on to so that you can stick it down as deep as possible.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

jkan0228 said:


> By hundreds and hundreds of balls, he's talking about a much bigger tank. With a 2.9 gallon, yes you won't need nearly as much but it's still a hassle since the balls are so small. Less than 3mm in diameter. If you push them in one by one, the ball might fall out of place between your tweezers thus only placing it near the top of the substrate. The capsule makes it so that you have a bigger target to hold on to so that you can stick it down as deep as possible.


So, how many would you use per square inch? I put about 2 balls/inch. Really easy to do with needle pliers. You're right though, that would be tiresome to do in a larger tank.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

sewingalot said:


> I honestly don't foresee any problems, but I am more cautious than most and always recommend that based on my preference probably. Ha! Let us know what happens. I suspect you'll have healthy plants and happy shrimp.


Thanks!  I suspect the same. I'll update here in a few weeks and let you know.


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## jkan0228 (Feb 6, 2011)

ADA said:


> So, how many would you use per square inch? I put about 2 balls/inch. Really easy to do with needle pliers. You're right though, that would be tiresome to do in a larger tank.


I calculate mine by grams and I use about 5g per square foot


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## MsNemoShrimp (Apr 25, 2011)

I am thinking about getting some, but what should work better. 

Osmocote Outdoor & Indoor 

or

Osmocote Plus?


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

If you don't want any loose little resin balls, make 'em into sausages with PC wire sleeving.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

NeoShrimp said:


> I am thinking about getting some, but what should work better.
> 
> Osmocote Outdoor & Indoor
> 
> ...


ONLY Osmocote Plus is safe.. the indoor outdoor has ingredients that will harm livestock.


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## Kitty_Kitsch (Apr 27, 2011)

I imagine I could start out with layering them into my substrate? I heard that they last about 6 months?


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

I doubt they last six months underwater. That six months is based in air/soil with wet/dry watering cycles. Constant water soaking would leach out the ferts in those porous resin balls much faster. Still worth using even if they leach out in a month or two. I'm hoping to only refresh the substrate every 3-4 months.


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## Buff Daddy (Oct 19, 2010)

Kitty_Kitsch said:


> I imagine I could start out with layering them into my substrate? I heard that they last about 6 months?


It's not unusual to put a _very thin_ layer of osmocote/multicote/etc on the bottom of the tank before adding the substrate. I've also put it on top of a bottom layer of laterite, then capping the laterite with 2" of pool filter sand. This is one of those "less is more" situations... a little goes a long way.


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## Buff Daddy (Oct 19, 2010)

ADA said:


> ONLY Osmocote Plus is safe.. the indoor outdoor has ingredients that will harm livestock.


What ingredients would those be?


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## Kitty_Kitsch (Apr 27, 2011)

I think I will be trying it when I get my ebi


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## Born4spd (Oct 22, 2010)

Crap I had no idea that only the "plus" was safe and I already put indoor/outdoor in both of my tanks :/ 
What should I look out for?


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## audioaficionado (Apr 19, 2011)

Born4spd said:


> Crap I had no idea that only the "plus" was safe and I already put indoor/outdoor in both of my tanks :/
> What should I look out for?


Don't panic just yet. No one has qualified that earlier statement. The main difference is that the NPK ratios are somewhat different and there are no micro nutrients in the regular Osmocote. I too would like to know what was harmful since they don't have the urea based nitrogen either.


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## ADA (Dec 31, 2010)

audioaficionado said:


> Don't panic just yet. No one has qualified that earlier statement. The main difference is that the NPK ratios are somewhat different and there are no micro nutrients in the regular Osmocote. I too would like to know what was harmful since they don't have the urea based nitrogen either.


That's my mistake.. when I went to get Osmocote, I had the same question, and remember reading somewhere that the regular Osmocote is dangerous, and that only the PLUS version was okay to use. I just tried to find info on it now, and couldn't find anything indicating that the other versions of Osmocote are harmful. Sorry about the mis-info.


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## Tacct (Jul 25, 2010)

As far as I've read the only difference between osmocote plus and normal osmocote (indoor/outdoor) its that plus includes the trace ferts.


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## akidd (Sep 4, 2020)

ADA said:


> That's my mistake.. when I went to get Osmocote, I had the same question, and remember reading somewhere that the regular Osmocote is dangerous, and that only the PLUS version was okay to use. I just tried to find info on it now, and couldn't find anything indicating that the other versions of Osmocote are harmful. Sorry about the mis-info.


I was reading about this topic earlier today and I found an article that I wish I could find the link again to share...But from what I read, the Osmocote Plus has minimal trace amount of copper and as long as it is buried at least 1" or more under the substrate, it should be safe for invertebrates. If any of the Osmocote pellets emerge from the substrate, remove immediately and/or bury them again so the copper doesn't get into the water column. 

Many inorganic fertilizers have higher concentrations of copper...plus manganese, zinc, boron, lead, cadmium, chromium, and even arsenic. Pay close attention to any fertilizers with high content of Nitrogen and Phosphorus, which deplete the oxygen from the water column as it breaks down. All of these can be toxic to your livestock in high doses. As I understand the process, when the solid root type fertilizers are buried in the substrate, the toxins and minerals are absorbed by the roots before they get into the water column. And the Osmocote is a slow-release type fertilizer, so they don't spike the levels. Majority of the liquid fertilizers that are specific for aquariums have safe amounts of the contents, or they give cautions/warnings on their labels for specific livestock.

I am certainly not an expert. I've been researching off and on for several months now. Some of the best advice I've been able to find comes from Aquarium Co-Op (website and YouTube channel), Aquarium Breeder .com, Aquarium Advice .com, research done by Takashi Amano. YouTube has been my go-to. I hope this is helpful.


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