Iodine with Shrimp

[kirkdgxp]

Hi fellow Members:

Wondering how much Iodine to put in my shrimp tank and if it will hurt my guppies?

Thanks,
Kirk

[Ulli Bauer]

Hi Kirk,

why would you want to put iodine in your shrimp tank?
I know seawater crustaceans need it for molting, but haven't heard so far that freshwater crustas also do.

Cheers
Ulli

[kirkdgxp]

Apparently, Iodine promotes molting and breeding.....I have just e-mailed Seachem and will provide the form with an update

[Ulli Bauer]

Thanks, that ought to be interesting.

Cheers
Ulli

[sorab]

It would be interesting to see what Seachem has to say, but it is true that iodine dosing is not needed to keep shrimp healthy and happy. I wouldn't bother with the iodine.
Cheers
Peter

[Palinurus]

Hi

Maybe, that iodine, or better iodide works via thyroid gland or something similar in crustacean. I once red about a theory, that in the rain period in tropical regions, iodides are washed out of the air and release via thyroid the mating of (some?) tropical freshwater-fish.

Cheers
Wolfgang

[Kim]

Yes this is a topic on bca, wondered if Kirk would post here you have Ulli jump over there. I had never heard it before Kirk posted it, but there is some interesting suggestions about it, not that I am willing to try

[Cichlid_Bob]

I use Lugols solution in my invert tank along with dissolvable calcium.

Lugols should be at your LFS. The purest iodine in the world. 1 drop per 25G.

It does help with molting.

[Ulli Bauer]

Hi Bob, nice to meet you, and welcome!

a year later... Now I know why freshwater shrimp also need iodine, and that they basically take it up with their food. If it's just in the water they get a lesser amount of it into their bodies.
Shrimp have a hormone triggering the molting process, crustecdyson, produced by their prothoracical gland. The equivalent of this in higher organisms is the thyroid gland.
The key triggering this gland is iodine. That's why they need it. They also need cholesterol to produce ecdyson.
The guy who told me that (thanks Roy) also thinks it might be better to give crustaceans the iodine as well as the cholesterol in their food. IN TRACES. Iodine might act noxious if overdosed, so careful there .
Cholesterol is not only contained in egg yolks (if you want to feed them, use only tiny amounts - really, really tiny!) but also in brine shrimp naupliae, mosquito larvae and so on. It might not harm shrimp if you add these to their diet. Not too many, though, once or twice a week is plenty!

Cheers
Ulli

[CRS Fan]

Hello Kirk.

Get ahold of Cyber-Ecco (Gord) from our home based forum. I know he used to dose his Cherry/Green Shrimp with Iodine. I'm sure he would not mind sharing his experience.

Good Luck,

Stuart