Pennies in tank

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Dershum

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Dec 30, 2003
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I'm currently maintaining a freshwater tank here at work, and lately someone has taken to dropping pennies into the water. I've been trying to figure out who is doing this, but I've been having a hard time narrowing it down. I'd like to send out a company-wide email saying "please stop putting pennies in the fish tank", and include specific reasons why not.

I can't imagine that the heavy metals that are in the penny being any good for the tank, so I would think that would be the biggest reason not to. Can anyone point me to some specific information on the affect on this aquarium would be if people keep putting pennies in it?

Thanks!
 
Do you have any invertebrates in there? Snails, shrimps? Copper is lethal to most invertebrates of both fresh and salt water. A build up of copper can be harmful to the microfauna that inhabit a healthy tank, as well as causing problems for many fish.

You may have someone who used to keep fish, and thinks they are helping--putting in a penny was actually advised to many aquariasts not too long ago to help control hydra and algae. See here for more: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/copsul.shtml
 
In addition to being a fantastic carrier of all kinds of pathogens (ever culture bacteria from a coin? yuck!!!), copper leaching into the water can be harmful for a variety of species. If the coin is old and has some patina (the greenish color copper gets with age), I expect even more bad stuff could be released into the tank.

Whoever is dropping pennies into your tank isn't playing a harmless prank.

Jim
 
:OT:


The 55 GAL that I have now I got from a friend (for free - woo-hoo). He had it setup up salt water. Well, as I was cleaning it out I noticed a lot of what looked like copper strips bent into a knot sorda. I asked him what they were and he said he used them to anchor his plants. I dont know it they were actually copper or not, but if they were ... his tank was niiiiiiice.
 
OrionGirl said:
You may have someone who used to keep fish, and thinks they are helping--putting in a penny was actually advised to many aquariasts not too long ago to help control hydra and algae. See here for more: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/copsul.shtml
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Back in the '60s I would do this, but I thought the habbit died out long ago!

You could also use this as an opportunity to explain to your co-workers that you are maintaining a delicate eco-system and that ANY additional additives could prove to be destructive. They are probably use to seeing "wishing well" type fountains with fish in them and full of pennies.
 
I don't mean to defend or offend anyone but whoever is dropping coins in the tank isn't necessariily being malicious at all.... How many people have gone somewhere and saw a koi pond or what have you with a sign indicating "drop a penny, make a wish".... If I weren't aware of the rules of fish-keeping, I wouldn't even think the coin would matter to the fish.... I think it might be a good idea to place a sign on the tank or around it as was mentioned explaining the evils of coin dropping for the fish and friends.
 
Pennies

If I were you, I'd ask for a dead fish from a local fish store. And I'd show the dead fish around the office telling people "look what the pennies have done to this beautiful fish". Then I'd open the bag and ask people to smell the poor dead fish. People need to be reminded that actions have consequences.

But that's just me. Anyway. I don't think pennies would have a significant effect on the fish unless there are a lot of them and unless they are left in the tank a long time. Since 1982 pennies are made of 98 percent zinc and 2 percent copper. But heavy metals are not good for fish. Copper binds with blood cells. Very bad.
 
Thanks everyone for the thoughts and comments. I essentially sent a message asking people not to put foreign objects in the tank, and that copper (and other metals) can be toxic to aquarium inhabitants. I also mentioned that many people stop by regularly (which they do) to see the fish, and that I would hate to have to break down the tank and take it home if someone kept doing this and it started killing fish.

I'm 99.99% sure who did this, but I wanted to make a more public scene out of it. We have a very vindictive and borderline lunatic for our "janitor", and I'm guessing that someone dropped a couple of pennies in the area we work in, and isntead of putting them on someone's desk, decided to drop them in the tank.
 
I wouldn't take any more chances. I would find a way to lock the hood, if there is a hood. If so, buy a few latches or something like that at home depot and glue it on somehow.
 
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chefkeith said:
I wouldn't take any more chances. I would find a way to lock the hood, if there is a hood. If so, buy a few latches or something like that at home depot and glue it on somehow.
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If it does happen again, I can come up with proof that it was the janitor. I was the last person in the building last night, and one of the first in today. I'm the only person who would have come into that room other than the janitor (the lights were on when I came in), so I'm pretty positive. I know if I asked him point-blank, he would admit to it, but then there would be hell to pay as the guy would go absolutly nuts.

If worse comes to worst, I'll take it to the owner (who is one of the ones who stops by to see the fishes BTW)...
 
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