Iodine

Chrisreefer · Apr 30, 2013

Help! I have. Problem keeping shrimps alive, had no problem till about 6 months ago all my shrimps died. And now can not keep more then a week. Means all make it 5 days and then lay on side and flutter then die. People keep asking me if I dose iodine. I used to but then stopped, due to was reading online and everywhere I saw was don't dose what can not test. Can not find a way to test iodine so stopped. But I should be able to get iodine when I do water changes. Right? I have a 75 gallon reef do 10 gallons every other week. Reef crystal salt. Also I have an electric scallop and a dancing scallop both which have had no problems and have had for over a year and a half. So lost.... And first shrimps had for over a year

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Connie · May 1, 2013

I think you have answered your own question. It's just my opinion which will probably be unpopular, but I dose iodine about every other week. My Toadstool and Xenia will let me know when I need to add it.

Chameleon · May 1, 2013

How do you acclimate. IME shrimp are the most finicky when it comes to acclimation. I drip acclimate at a slow rate 3-5 hours

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AZDesertRat · May 1, 2013

Forget the iodine, its in your salt mix.

What shrimp and what are you feeding them? Many eat things like aiptasia or asterina stars and can starve if you don't have the proper foods. What other inhabitants do you have that would be agressive to shrimp like hermits, fish etc?

46gReef · May 1, 2013

I dose lugols iodine daily in my reef, I also test it dailt. While there is iodine in salt mix iodine is used by inverts on a daily basis so the levels in salt mixes don't last forever, they are eventually depleted. I have actually found it surprising the amount of iodine I have been dosing, I have a 46g reef with hundreds of zoas, softies, & LPS. Before I was testing regularly I would dose 2 drops of lugols every Sunday. Now I'm dosing about 8 drops/day(I am also testing daily, both before & after dosing)....1 rule I always go by is I don not dose what I do not test....HTH

AZDesertRat · May 1, 2013

You do understand Lugols is iodide and not iodine? I also dosed 8 or 10 years ago but quit after about a year and never saw any changes. The tests for iodine all suck.
The â€œHow Toâ€ Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners Part 2: What Chemicals Must be Supplemented by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Good salt mix and regular changes is all most reefs need.

46gReef · May 1, 2013

Yes I do, sorry I may have miswritten that, I will check out that article as well.

Chrisreefer · May 1, 2013

I never acclimated the first blood fire"I know tisk tisk" I was a newly but he lasted haha. And now I have drip acclimated for two hours should I do longer? Also I feed carnivore frozen food everyday occasionally will throw in garlic pellets. Mainly care to keep a fire blood.

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Chrisreefer · May 1, 2013

Also mention I have a possum wrasse. Many try to tell me he's the killer. But I never see the fish messing with the shrimp.

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46gReef · May 1, 2013

Probably not the wrasse, two hours is plenty. I always base my acclimation time on he difference in salinity. I keep mine at 1.025, if whatever I'm acclimating is 0.02 or greater difference then I usually do about 90 min or so, if it's less than an hour is usually good. IME it's hit or miss with shrimp, for example I had a cleaner shrimp in my reef for about a year & a half, when he died I went through 3 others until finally the fourth one made it & has been going strong for about 6 mos. now.

Chrisreefer · May 2, 2013

Ok so you test the salinity that shrimp or fish whatever you are acclimating and then go from there? Ill try that good idea. Just annoying to me never being able to keep them alive..

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46gReef · May 2, 2013

Yes, I test the salinity of the water they come in vs. my tank...I always do at least an hour for inverts & make sure the water volume is at least doubled.....