# Flourish Excel vs Shrimp



## NatMat283

I have read that SeaChem Flourish Excel can harm your shrimp. Is this true? It would be nice to not have to invest in Co2. Thank guys.


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## willknowitall

NatMat283 said:


> I have read that SeaChem Flourish Excel can harm your shrimp. Is this true? It would be nice to not have to invest in Co2. Thank guys.


could depend on shrimp and dosage
no problems with my rcs even at double dosage for short time
have over population problem though


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## Kayceekins

Does anyone know if it will bother bamboo shrimp? I'm planning on trying it too.


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## FlyingHellFish

Pretty sure if the shrimps die, those bamboo shrimp will die too.


As for excel, I found no problem with Amano and Cherry shrimps (both very hardy), I do have to warn you about the doses tho. I found that my shrimps are less active when I dose excel but if I miss a day, they are more adventurous around the tank.


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## wetworks

I have not noticed a change in my shrimps due to Excel, been using it in one tank for several months with no ill effects. It can kill certain plants though- it decimated my anacharis, and I have gotten weird effects on my crypts including melting and holes in leaves, especially when using it to get rid of algae in larger doses. I have BBA in one of my tanks now that has CRS, RCS and Bamboo Shrimps in it. I also have some nice crypts in that tank, so I am going to have to find an alternative way to get rid of it.


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## NatMat283

I don't know what to do. I know pressurized is the way to go but I just can't drop $100-$300 for a decent set up. I am looking at DIY setups. Does it harm your tank to leave the Co2 in at night? I don't see a way (with a DIY) to stop night diffusion like I read you should. I don't want to go complete DIY if I can help it but I would like to get away as cheap as possible. 

What about a non Co2 tank if I pick the right plants/moss? I am aiming for a tank somewhere between 4 and 9 gallons.


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## maverickbr77

easy enough to do a non co2 tank all of mine are


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## CrazyMidwesterner

NatMat283 said:


> I have read that SeaChem Flourish Excel can harm your shrimp. Is this true? It would be nice to not have to invest in Co2. Thank guys.


I dosed 20 ml a day in 75 G tank with Cherry Shrimp for months without issues. Did about the same dosage on a previous tank for years and the shrimp were quite prolific.


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## CrazyMidwesterner

NatMat283 said:


> I don't know what to do. I know pressurized is the way to go but I just can't drop $100-$300 for a decent set up. I am looking at DIY setups. Does it harm your tank to leave the Co2 in at night? I don't see a way (with a DIY) to stop night diffusion like I read you should. I don't want to go complete DIY if I can help it but I would like to get away as cheap as possible.
> 
> What about a non Co2 tank if I pick the right plants/moss? I am aiming for a tank somewhere between 4 and 9 gallons.


These can be done well you just need patience ;-) I have a tank injected with CO2 and a non CO2 tank. I love them both but the injected one gives me more to tinker with. Honestly I'm not sure I could do injected on both. Would just be to much to keep up with for me. Non CO2 definitely has it's place!

Also, you don't have to be as picky with plants in a non CO2 as you might think. Some definitely won't flourish but many will. You just have to be very patient.


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## HD Blazingwolf

C02 iwll not make a low light tank harder to keep. that's the beauty of c02. light controls the demand for c02. even low light takes can benefit from its enrichment but it is not needed. my 10 gallon shrimp tank does fine with or without it. i can turn it on, i can turn it off. i never get algae in it. just REALLY SLOW GROWTH.. however adding it speeds thigns up a little and allows plants to utilize nutrients faster. running 1 bubble per 2 seconds on my 10 gallon. my rcs respond positively to it definitely more active.

diy is great for shrimp tanks. running it at night is normal as c02 lvls actually increase at night when plants are respirating, just keep good water movement and surface agitation and u'll never have to worry about gassing ur shrimp

paintball c02 setups work great for low light tanks which is exaclty what im doing. my cost was roughly 80 bux to get it going


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## morninglight

I just got 2 tiger shrimp last Sunday for my new but cycled 5 gallon hex (it had plants and snails but nothing else). This morning when I put in the tiny bit of excel my size of tank calls for, one of my shrimp started suddenly being really active -- swimming up, "head bumping" the surface of the water in the tank, going up and down and around, doing a lap around the bottom outside area of the tank, etc. 

Still doing it 10-15 minutes later. Is that an effect of the excel? Is it a response that indicates distress? The other one is just sitting on a plant about half an inch from the top of the water.

Any thoughts? :help:

Oh, I should add that I've put in excel at least once before -- so I don't think they're going to die this time. I'm just wondering if I'm going to need to stop using excel from now on.


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## morninglight

I just discovered a new molted shell from one of my shrimp and I think it might be the active/racing one. So maybe it's just going nuts because it's newly molted? It was stopping at the flake food I put in and eating in between rounds around the tank. I also don't think I had a chance to observe whether it was already racing around before I put in the excel.

The tank light has turned on and the active shrimp looks really bright and clear with a kind of shine and almost color to it.

Any thoughts? It's been 30-45 minutes since putting in that little bit of excel, and the one shrimp is still very active -- up, down, and around. Especially making rounds around the bottom edge of the tank by now -- and stopping to eat at the flake.


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## eklikewhoa

organic pcp for shrimp.


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## somewhatshocked

I think the moral of the story is this: If you have any concerns about Excel and shrimp? Don't use it. Because you _can_ easily over do it without meaning to.


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## variable

@morninglight: My male shrimp go a bit crazy after a female molts, because that's when she's ready to mate. Does your calm one have a saddle?

I think many people use excel with shrimp, just do so carefully. I dose according to directions and my cherries seem ok, but I agree with somewhatshocked on this one -- if it worries you, don't.



morninglight said:


> I just discovered a new molted shell from one of my shrimp and I think it might be the active/racing one. So maybe it's just going nuts because it's newly molted? It was stopping at the flake food I put in and eating in between rounds around the tank. I also don't think I had a chance to observe whether it was already racing around before I put in the excel.
> 
> The tank light has turned on and the active shrimp looks really bright and clear with a kind of shine and almost color to it.
> 
> Any thoughts? It's been 30-45 minutes since putting in that little bit of excel, and the one shrimp is still very active -- up, down, and around. Especially making rounds around the bottom edge of the tank by now -- and stopping to eat at the flake.


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## morninglight

Thanks for your answer!

I've quit using excel for now, but every once in a while, one of my shrimp spends a long while going crazy like that anyway. 

I know one of them is female for certain, but the other one I'm not positive about. I haven't seen any signs of the female getting pregnant again or even showing a saddle, and it's been a while since the babies hatched. They also look very much alike now that the one isn't pregnant anymore -- I can only tell them apart by markings. That kind of suggests 2 females to me. I did spot a molt skeleton on the day that the one shrimp spent several hours swimming like crazy, so maybe it's just high spirits. Dunno.

After I manage to get my fish (LFS still doesn't have them in yet), I'll be getting more shrimp. At that point, it'll be a lot harder to tell them apart, I'm sure.


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## sketch804

I have always heard that shrimp do best in the minumal low tech set up (mine do)..CO2 is not really the best thing for shrimp IMO..they are the first ones to get stressed out when just a little too much CO2 is added. Mine do decent in my tank with CO2 also, but they did a lot better before I added it. And if you dose flourish as per directions then you should have no problem, though I cant say much for excel cause i dont use it. Also you can make your own pressurized co2 system for farily cheap..just get a cheap dual stage regulator off e b a y and get a post body kit from one of the few guys that sell it in the powerseller section...might be a lil over 100$ but totally worth it and works much better than a paintball setup, that truthfully if done the right way, that is if you get more than just an asa valve, it will cost about the same. Just get a cga320 to paintball converter..thats what i did and works great!


Oops didnt notice this was for excel and not flourish comp....


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## xgteen

It's not exactly harmful to shrimp if you are not dosing too much. As far as I know, there is no copper in Excel. Copper, as you might have already known is really toxic to shrimps...


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## chiefroastbeef

When I was dosing excel, I tried multiple times to keep shrimp (red cherries, amanos), and they always died. I stopped any sort of carbon source, and now my red cherry population has been thriving. If you care about your shrimp and don't want to take risks, I would advise not to dose, because you can overdose (accidentally, or intentionally), and it may wipe out your colony.


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