huntingtrees Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 I've been feeding my shrimp Hikari Shrimp Cuisine and I noticed one of the ingredients is copper. I've always heard copper is bad for shrimp and to avoid it at all costs so I researched more and found this answer from Hikari: "... too much copper in the diet will kill the shrimp. But, shrimp need a very small amount of copper in their food for good health. Not like us(humans), animals or fish, most shrimp use copper to deliver oxygen inside of their body. For example, we (humans) have red blood cells which contain hemoglobin. Hemoglobin contains iron metal (Fe), and this iron actually absorbs oxygen at large and delivers this oxygen to every part of body and organs. However, in the case of Shrimp, they have Hemocyanin in their blood cells, with copper metal. They use copper to deliver oxygen to their vital organs and circulatory system. That is why their blood is clear or green color rather than red color like ours (humans). We hope this additional information helps!" Is this stuff safe for all shrimp? I have cherries and tigers and they love to eat this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMG Aquatics Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 The only time copper is a problem for shrimp is when you use a copper based medication. huntingtrees 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chappy6107 Posted May 2, 2017 Report Share Posted May 2, 2017 I have used Hikari shrimp cuisine past/present/and future as part of my rotation of foods. Never had a problem. huntingtrees 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGlassBox Posted May 18, 2017 Report Share Posted May 18, 2017 My shrimp prefer it over the $$$ shrimp food. And I also like it because it has calcium which of course is good for their shells. I often don't know what's in the $$$ shrimp foods because they're from Japan and although they often list ingredients, they don't often list nutritional content. I had been feeding it for about a year when I noticed the copper sulfate in the ingredients...Duh! Guess I didn't bother to check because Hikari is a pretty respectable company and it had a picture of a shrimp on the package... So I e-mailed Hikari and got the same answer as you. It depends on the form of copper as to whether it's poisonous or not. It's cheap, it's got vitamins and calcium and my shrimp scramble after it like it was pizza! Go go Hikari! afeather 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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