Shrimp- Iodine Question

Riso-chan

Riso-chan

The Blue Girl
Jan 17, 2005
322
0
0
40
Florida, USA
I bought 9 cherry shrimp a few days ago to help out with the hair algea problem I've been having. This is a 55gal planted tank, and I add liquid ferts once a week. I've read that shrimp need iodine to help them molt and for halth in general. I bought some regular human use iodine which I don't even know is safe to use for this prupose. Is it? And what about the iodine in the ferts?

The other issue is diet. While they likely have tons of algea and micro organisms to feed on, do I still need to have some supplemental food for inverts? Thanx in advance:) ~ Angela
 
You never, ever put topical/medicinal iodine in a tank, it will do grave damage to anything there.

Shrimp need iodide, just as do people, Rift Lake Cichlids, etc., usually as potassium iodide, but other mineral cations will work as well, sodium, etc. Some folks say that is myth, but I do not agree with that. I lost several $$ Macrobrachium denisonii to molt death/incomplete molting before it was suggested that I try adding iodide. No further problems. So I add reef iodide (I use Seachem's, but there are several comparable products) at one-half the suggested dosage once or twice a month.

The odds are that it is realated to local water supplies and the foods used. It might be not be needed, but the olny way to tell is ny shrimp deaths. When I have had issues in the past and do not when using iodide, I consider it cheap insurance.
 
what all is in the 55? I have a 5.5 that is a cherry shrimp breeding tank and I always use KENT concentrated Iodine and have been having wonderful results. I dont know how much difference it would make in a community tank, but I know in my breeding tank it works wonders. I do feed my shrimp, shrimp pellets, but if there is plenty of algae in the tank you should be okay, plus the food that falls to the bottom
 
Yeah I would just use Marine Iodine when I had my ghost shrimp. They lived 6 months or so, which I think is about they're life expectancy? I used it in my 50 gal community tank, no other problems.

Shrimp aren't too picky on what they eat, flake foods and bottom feeder pellets work well.
 
Thanx for all the advice.:) I picked up the supplies today, got the kent concentrated iodine and some cyclop-eeze wafers for them. The fish loved the food while the shrimp were busy grazing, but I think they'l get privy to it soon. I dosed the iodine today. However I just realized I dosed it in the whole suggested amount, but it's been a few hours and no one's acting strange or ill. I'll just have to wait a month before I dose again.

Other than that, I'm curious of how cherry shrimp breed and what the females look like when they are carrying young. What should I look for?

I guess there's no difference between males and females, although I did read that males are brighter in coloring. I'm also hoping these shrimp are longer lived than the ghosts I had before. Someone mentioned cherries live for 2-3 years which is great compared to the others. True or false?
 
They seem to be long lived for me, I don't have many deaths at all. The females are usually darker colored, the males have more white. Both will darken as they approach molt. The eggs are yellowish white, and fairly good sized. you'll definately see them long before they are ready to hatch. Once Cherries get going well they rival guppies in their production numbers.

As far as Iodine, I have had much better success since I started using it. I dose 1 drop per 5 gallons after my weekly water changes. This is more than most folks reccomend, and less than The shrimp factory reccomends. So I kind of hit it in the middle. I will also say that I only have one shrimp tank with a fish in it, so I do not know if my dosing would be too heavy for fish long term.

Dave
 
my females are bright red and my males tend to be more clear w/ a redish tent. the eggs will be yellow like dave said and you just about cant miss them bc the females will be FAT
 
I'm already noticing the differences! There are a few fat and rich red ones and then others who are more slender and clearer in pigmentation. I think they must've had a molt last night because I spotted a shed skin in the hornwart. So they are seeming to be doing well in my little ecosystem in a glass box. Thanx for all the great advice, and I will be posting some new pics soon, so keep a look out. ~Angela
 
Whoa..I didn't know about the iodine thing...
So you are using the iodine for saltwater tanks? Full dose? Or partial?
Anything else I should be adding?

are there fish that I have that the iodine would harm?
 
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