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I'm going to setup my pleco and shrimp only tank soon,
the tank will be 340L(90G), heavily planted, with 216W T5 and a canister filter and CO2 system.
I want to add iodine foe the shrimps(tiger and cherry)
I will add Kent Iodine, I talked to the Kent's head chemist, and he told me to add 1\4 the amount said on the bottle cause the product is meant for saltwater.
so I will add, 1.78MM per week.

could it hurt the plecos?

First of all, it's iodide, not iodine. The difference is that iodide is very weakly toxic, while iodine is very toxic.

Secondly, no it wont hurt your plecs, but you should be aware that it's not necessary to add iodide for freshwater crustaceans, at least not shrimp. Mainly it's heavily armored marine crustaceans, e.g. large crabs, which benefit from extra iodide.

I'm not a crustatia expert by any means. I was under the impression that minerals were very important to the multing process in all of them thouhg.

Mike_Noren wrote:First of all, it's iodide, not iodine. The difference is that iodide is very weakly toxic, while iodine is very toxic.

Secondly, no it wont hurt your plecs, but you should be aware that it's not necessary to add iodide for freshwater crustaceans, at least not shrimp. Mainly it's heavily armored marine crustaceans, e.g. large crabs, which benefit from extra iodide.

then why do they (Kent) call the product iodine? in the contents it says iodide but the name is iodine. check for yourself:http://www.kentmarine.com/saltwater/io.html

Each shirmp forum i've been too it seems all the people there add iodide to their tanks.

Actual pure iodine is a nasty chemical not dissimilar to chlorine. It exists as either bluish-black crystals which are almost insoluble in water, or as a purplish gas. The gas is corrosive with pungent smell, and is almost as unpleasant to breathe as chlorine gas. Iodine is extremely toxic to aquatic organisms.

Iodide, often in the form of sodium iodide, is white crystals easily soluble in water. In pure form it is somewhat toxic and may cause rashes. Chronic exposure or ingestion of large amounts may cause thyroid-related problems, and possibly birth defects.

Pure iodine you will likely ever encounter in the form of disinfectants, e.g. as Lugols solution, which contains an iodine & iodide mix.

What is added to table salt, and what is present in the sea or lakes for crustaceans, is iodide, never iodine. While it is conceivable that the iodine supplement you have contains a small percentage of pure iodine, I strongly doubt it - I'm guessing it's a solution of sodium iodide, as that's cheaper and much easier to handle than pure iodine.

Try dripping a drop on something containing starch, and see if it turns purple - it will if there's free iodine around.

Exactly why iodine is so often confused with iodide, to the point even salt manufacturers seem to have got them mixed up, I do not know. It must have historical roots, as it's so pervasive. This confusion is, for instance, the basis for the "never use iodized salt in aquaria" myth.

As for adding iodide to shrimps.... the concept comes from the observation that heavily armored marine crustaceans (lobsters and crabs, mainly) after a couple of years in captivity typically die through failing a molt.
AFAIK no-one actually know what causes this, although crustacean experts I've talked to think it's diet related. Anyway, as iodide is vital for the production of the hormone which regulates molting in crustaceans, aquarists have come to the conclusion that it is iodide deficiency which causes this phenomenon, and add iodide to their (marine) tanks.

However, that's heavily armored marine crustaceans, which have considerable problems molting at the best of times. Freshwater shrimp are lightly armored, with largley uncalcified shells consisting almost entirely of protein - their shells are soft and their molts are much less problematic. I've never added iodide to my shrimp tanks, and I've never lost a shrimp to a failed molt.

I did lose crabs & lobsters to failed molts when I had a marine tank, though, despite adding iodide.

Mike_Noren wrote:Actual pure iodine is a nasty chemical not dissimilar to chlorine. It exists as either bluish-black crystals which are almost insoluble in water, or as a purplish gas. The gas is corrosive with pungent smell, and is almost as unpleasant to breathe as chlorine gas. Iodine is extremely toxic to aquatic organisms.

Iodide, often in the form of sodium iodide, is white crystals easily soluble in water. In pure form it is somewhat toxic and may cause rashes. Chronic exposure or ingestion of large amounts may cause thyroid-related problems, and possibly birth defects.

Pure iodine you will likely ever encounter in the form of disinfectants, e.g. as Lugols solution, which contains an iodine & iodide mix.

What is added to table salt, and what is present in the sea or lakes for crustaceans, is iodide, never iodine. While it is conceivable that the iodine supplement you have contains a small percentage of pure iodine, I strongly doubt it - I'm guessing it's a solution of sodium iodide, as that's cheaper and much easier to handle than pure iodine.

Try dripping a drop on something containing starch, and see if it turns purple - it will if there's free iodine around.

Exactly why iodine is so often confused with iodide, to the point even salt manufacturers seem to have got them mixed up, I do not know. It must have historical roots, as it's so pervasive. This confusion is, for instance, the basis for the "never use iodized salt in aquaria" myth.

As for adding iodide to shrimps.... the concept comes from the observation that heavily armored marine crustaceans (lobsters and crabs, mainly) after a couple of years in captivity typically die through failing a molt.
AFAIK no-one actually know what causes this, although crustacean experts I've talked to think it's diet related. Anyway, as iodide is vital for the production of the hormone which regulates molting in crustaceans, aquarists have come to the conclusion that it is iodide deficiency which causes this phenomenon, and add iodide to their (marine) tanks.

However, that's heavily armored marine crustaceans, which have considerable problems molting at the best of times. Freshwater shrimp are lightly armored, with largley uncalcified shells consisting almost entirely of protein - their shells are soft and their molts are much less problematic. I've never added iodide to my shrimp tanks, and I've never lost a shrimp to a failed molt.

I did lose crabs & lobsters to failed molts when I had a marine tank, though, despite adding iodide.

man thats a great answer, I think I wont use iodide at all.
thanks.

Mike_Noren wrote: Exactly why iodine is so often confused with iodide, to the point even salt manufacturers seem to have got them mixed up, I do not know. It must have historical roots, as it's so pervasive.

The reason for this, is because iodide IS iodine, combined with another element (or more). The reason for adding potassium iodide (or sodium iodide) to salt is for the iodine content, (element 53 on the periodic tables "I") not for any other reason. It does not matter the form of iodine, it is still iodine that is being sought.

I have no idea about freshmater shrimps and their use of the element iodine. But why it is added to salt (and other foods in other parts of the world) and its affect on the thyroid gland and the uptake in the human body I do.

Chris

Christopher wrote:The reason for this, is because iodide IS iodine, combined with another element (or more). The reason for adding potassium iodide (or sodium iodide) to salt is for the iodine content, (element 53 on the periodic tables "I") not for any other reason. It does not matter the form of iodine, it is still iodine that is being sought.

I'm sorry, but you are simply muddying the water now, and contributing to the confusion.

Iodide is the ion of the chemical element iodine. It is iodine with one extra electron "donated" by some other substance, for instance sodium. This is important because the chemical properties of iodide are _completely different_ from the chemical properties of iodine, and that is what matters here.

The situation is analogous to the chemical element chlorine (a greenish-yellow gas which is corrosive, exceedingly poisonous, and used as a weapon in world war I) and chloride (the ion of chlorine, found in e.g. table salt, and a vital electrolyte in our bodies). Would you then say that our bodies need chlorine?

Mike_Noren wrote:

Christopher wrote:The reason for this, is because iodide IS iodine, combined with another element (or more). The reason for adding potassium iodide (or sodium iodide) to salt is for the iodine content, (element 53 on the periodic tables "I") not for any other reason. It does not matter the form of iodine, it is still iodine that is being sought.

I'm sorry, but you are simply muddying the water now, and contributing to the confusion.

Iodide is the ion of the chemical element iodine. It is iodine with one extra electron "donated" by some other substance, for instance sodium. This is important because the chemical properties of iodide are _completely different_ from the chemical properties of iodine, and that is what matters here.

The situation is analogous to the chemical element chlorine (a greenish-yellow gas which is corrosive, exceedingly poisonous, and used as a weapon in world war I) and chloride (the ion of chlorine, found in e.g. table salt, and a vital electrolyte in our bodies). Would you then say that our bodies need chlorine?

In any case I am not going to argue over this and this is the last I will speak on this subject. Simply put your body needs the element iodine, your thyroid gland will remove the molecule from any form it is presented with (iodide) and use four of them to create T4 (thyroxine). You will die without it. Since your body needs the molecule iodine, stating a salt is fortified with it (in whatever form) is clear and acurate. It gives you what you need to live, the element iodine.

Christopher wrote:Simply put your body needs the element iodine, your thyroid gland will remove the molecule from any form it is presented with (iodide) and use four of them to create T4 (thyroxine).

What's present in thyroxine isn't neutral-charged iodine, it's the iodine ion, iodide, covalently bonded to carbon atoms. There is no neutral-charged iodine in the body, just like there is no neutral-charged chlorine. It's always the ions.

Mineral wise I would suggest that the shrimp and the Plecos would do well together with Fulvic Acid (Agri grade).