Fish eggs and fry are more sensitive to CuSO4 compared to the adults of each species. See a link in my post below for more information about overall copper affects. It is not advised to use CuSO4 when fish are spawning, during the hatch and early development if recruitment is desired. Minnows, trout and possibly shad tend to be most sensitive to Cu ions compared to other common fish species. Cu sensitivity of fish species is on a scale of most to least sensitive. Different species of fish have different sensitivities to copper ions in the water. IMO the biggest impact of using copper is its affect on the lower levels of the food chain (plankton and simplier micro and macro-invertebrates) that tend to be more sensitive to copper compared to adult fish. The food chain is better with biodiversity, keeps the pond 'healthier', and grows your fish. Copper as a metal accumulates in the sediments as a complex heavy metal - copper carbonate. As 'esshup' mentions Phycomycin and the other sodium carbonate peroxyhydrate products (hydrogen peroxide - hydrogen dioxide, Green Clean Pro) are less harmful to the overall ecosystem.
If you are having filamentous algae(FA) issues that indicates you have excess unused nutrients in the system and the nutrient basis or regime is favoring the filamentous algae growth. Reduce the nutrient load or channel it toward other pathways (rooted plants = fish habitat) that are not creating a nuisance. An bio-option is to use tilapia to consume the algae and channel the nutrient plant biomass into fish biomass. Blue tilapia are proven to be the overall best strain for FA control.
Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/11/13 03:06 PM.
