coral banded shrimp

[caz]

to assure proper molting, how much iodine, and what brands should i add to the water?

[mogurnda]

There is no documented requirement for iodine in crustacean molting. I can't even find where the original rumor started.

Although it is true that organisms require iodine, like other trace elements, it is unlikely that it is depleted in your tank. Unless you have a lot of macroalgae growth, enough will come in with food and water changes.

[caz]

thanx :) i guess i shouldnt belevie everything i read hehe

[Sregnar35]

Man, I wish I knew that before I dropped $9 on Kent Tech-I this weekend!!!

[caz]

one more quick question about banded shrimp. do i need to feed them specialy, or do they do pretty well on what the fish leave behind?

[mogurnda]

Man, I wish I knew that before I dropped $9 on Kent Tech-I this weekend!!! As I have said before, Kent is getting rich off unnecesary additives.

I tend to target feed my shrimp. It will probably help to keep your CBS from becoming troublesome.

[Sregnar35]

I have 2 peppermint shrimp, and when the flake food hits the surface of my tank, they both swim upside down at the surface and grab what they can, very fun to watch!

[mogurnda]

Yeah, I suppose "target feed" is a bit of an overstatment. It's more like they grab the food out of my hand. I often have to whack them so that everyone else can have some food.

[Sregnar35]

I was moving a rcok in my tank 2 days ago, and couldn't see one of my shrimp sneaking up on me, next thing I know he's pinching my knuckle, and he wouldn't move away. They are fearless!

[liquafaction]

I wish I could remember the kent addative I use at the moment, but it is the stuff in the blue bottle, and the liquid is blue. It contains a lot of elements, one being iodine. I have read in books about using iodine adative for proper molts as well. Anyway, I picked the kent addative that contains more than one specific element, and it seems to work well, it is supposed to be a growth inhibiter for corals.

[mogurnda]

I have read in books about using iodine adative for proper molts as well. Let me know which ones. I have been on a quest to find any data at all in this regard. I have searched databases, scoured my books, asked Ron Shimek and even offered a $10 reward on Reef Central. Nada.

My belief is that someone conflated the vertebrate requirement for iodine in molting and metamorphosis (real) with that in arthropods, which is triggered by chemically unrelated hormones.

[caz]

i read mine in live aquarias website. but didnt read anything in the book that i have

[liquafaction]

When I get home, I will pull out my books, and I will let you know

[liquafaction]

I was thinking I read that shrimp need iodine to molt. I also was thinking that it was in one of my books. After not finding it in my books, I was thinking that maybe I am nuts. I started looking through everything I have ever read about shrimp, and finially ran across this........... This is where I learned that shrimp need iodine for molts. Here is the paragraph:

It is a good aquarium inhabitant, however, it is not very compatible with Triggers or Wrasses, and can destroy corals and anemones by nipping them open to feed on ingested food. Provide sufficient room to allow it to move without its long antennae touching neighboring corals or anemones. Banded Coral Shrimp must be kept singly, or as a true mated pair, being intolerant of other Banded Coral Shrimp. It may harass other smaller shrimp of different species. It is intolerant of high nitrates or copper levels, but iodine levels in the water must be correct to promote proper molting.

here is the web site, and I know that I have read it more than just on this web site:


http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=23&pCatId=698

[caz]

thats where i got it from. :)

[liquafaction]

thats where i got it from.

lol, I just noticed your post before mine about:


i read mine in live aquarias website. but didnt read anything in the book that i have.

If I would have read you post, I would not have had to pick my brain so hard on where I got this info.......... oh well

[liquafaction]

Also, I read it here. what I try to do is compare notes on what other people say about a specimen that I want to buy, and usually go with a majority rules type of decision. I knew that I read it in other places than live aquaria. I had to get back to my computer at work, and sift through my favorites folder.

http://www.marinedepotlive.com/1273494.html

[mogurnda]

That's why I think that vendor web sites are not very good sources of information. I have combed the scientific literature for the source of this belief, and have found nothing.

Majority rules can help, but that approach can also perpetuate myths.

I have a little more time now, so a little better exposition.

[rant on]
Although I rely a lot on the personal experience of others, I expect that I can find an experimental basis for many of the statements made in this hobby. When Martin Moe states in his books that calcareous gravels can't raise the pH above 7.9 in a tank, he cites data. Terry Bartelme cites a list of papers in his recent articles about cryptocaryon treatment in Advanced Aquarist. And so on.

So, if iodine is so important in molting, why is there no trace of it in the scientific literature? I am a biologist, I know how to do searches, and have access to all the relevant databases. Bliss and Mantel's "Biology of Crustacea" has several chapters dealing with the hormonal control of the molt (see vol 9), but iodine does not even appear in the index. Not a whisper in the mariculture databases. It only shows up among hobbyists. When I ask where the information comes from, no one seems to be able to track it down.
[rant off]

If this is a myth, is there any harm? Probably not. It seems like a waste of money and another thing to mess with. Plus, there are rumors (I have tried really, really hard to track down the source) that too much iodine can induce precocious molts and harm your crustaceans. A lot of people don't add anything if they don't test for it, and I'm one of them.

[caz]

this morning i woke up and my cbs was dead :sad

[mogurnda]

Any news on this guy? I am still hoping what you found was a molt. Was there meat inside it?

[caz]

yeah. he was dead. i think what happened was my nitrates got a little high, not sure why though. did a check one day, then a few days later it was up to 40. as well as my ph dropped. he could be hiding in one little crevice, but i dont think so. im pretty sure his hole body was intacked when i scooped him out. anyways, i think im gonna wait a little while on inverts and get a really really hardy one. i also bought shrimp pellets so i can target feed(also might have been another problem, that i wasnt feeding him properly) anyways, im still bumming about it, he was very neat to watch. not sure if i will get another one, or get a shrimp thats a little more peaceful. thanx again.

[OrionGirl]

Just thought I would add this---there is some support for iodine assisting in FW shrimp successfully molting. RTR indicates that his shrimp do much better with iodine supplements than without. Maybe it's a crossover thing?

[mogurnda]

I have been chewing on this for a while. There is actually some data out there regarding the minimum requirements for iodine (as well as other elements) in shrimp aquaculture. It's not clear whether that has anything to do with the molt, though. That's what bugs me. People know the endocrinology of crustacean molting pretty well, and there doesn't seem to be anyplace where iodine fits in.

I don't know. Maybe there is some truth to the iodine thing. But why isn't there any real data?

Maybe I should just join the fun and make a little money along the way. Because cholesterol is required for the biosythesis of the streroid molting hormone, maybe I should start marketing the "DaveCo Reef Cholesterol Supplement." Of course, I should talk to Habib over at Salifert about putting together a test kit first.

[caz]

hehe sounds like a multi million dollar buisness :)

[Turbo]

I never see my coral banded shrimp eating...he just hides behind the same rock all day long and does nothing...my roommates on the other hand is moving around all the time eating and cleaning stuff....im not sure whats wrong...he did molt the other day though.