# Iodine



## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

I have been dosing iodine in all my tanks for one month now and, unless I'm crazy, I'm seeing discernible differences. Namely, better color, instant breeding, faster fry growth, and cyp "goiter" almost gone in those fry which seemed effected by it a month ago.

Just thought I'd publish those results.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

What iodine product are you using, and how much are you dosing?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

And how much was already in your tap? Maybe you are basically iodine free?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Or how much was in the food you'd been feeding? Was there sufficient amounts of iodine? If you're feeding food that's already got an adequate amount of iodine, then dosing shouldn't be needed.


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## jh82 (Oct 26, 2007)

What is cyp "goiter"? What food has adequate iodine?


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## dmiller328 (Nov 17, 2008)

Great findings BioG.I would think most hobbyist tap water has none or little iodine unless their tap water in saltwater.I add Seachem lake salt which has iodine in it when I do water changes,but it still might benefit to add iodine b/c it gets absorbed by the fish.Fresh shrimp or krill has iodine in them but pellet's iodine is probably lost from the process of making them.


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## TangSteve (Sep 20, 2009)

What is the level of Iodine in the lake?

I


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> pellet's iodine is probably lost from the process of making them.


I'd disagree with that. I recently posted up the iodine question on the NLS forum and was satisfied that iodine levels in the food meet the requirement of fish. I've never dosed iodine and my fish are fine without dosing iodine. Here's the link.

On the other hand, if fish have been fed a diet that doesn't contain iodine, and are refusing the pellet food, then dosing may get them back on track. Just saying it's possible, not recommending dosing of anything necessarily. This may have been what occurred with BioG's fish. I believe they were fairly new fish that were refusing the pellet foods.


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## dmiller328 (Nov 17, 2008)

Seachems lake salt has a min of .02mg per gram and the Cichlid trace elements has .1,so having the iodine present in the water surely helps the health of the fish no matter what they eat.A lot of my fish scrape the algae growth in my tanks and I am sure that algae has absorbed trace elements and iodine.I don't know for sure if fish absorb iodine directly from the water but it sounds like they do from the NLS rep saying he cured a fish of goiter by using iodine from the link provided.


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## Jolly cichlids (Jun 19, 2009)

i am also curious as to the ratio used iodine to water and brand used


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## BioG (Oct 12, 2008)

Not sure what the lake has but have read that it contains "much more iodine than seawater". My NLS doesn't list iodine in its ingredients but the Dai-Nichi I feed does, along with kelp which contains some I'm sure. My iodine test revealed no iodine present in my water, even though I use Dai nichi in my food regiment.

I dosed at 1 drop of lugol's iodine solution per 25 gallons (the recommended dose for marine tanks)

It's true this is only what I have found with my fish and, for the record, my fish were "fine" before this test, with the exception of the goitered cyp (she's new). I was only optimistic because I honestly didn't expect noticeable changes but I did. I also didn't put much stock in the "goiter" thing and was getting ready to treat for internals, however, the iodine has all but eliminated the symptoms in that fish it seems. There is, of course the possibility that the fish just improved via his own immunities etc.

Also, in one of my main show community tanks, the runt tri color cyp, an adult, has always presented the swollen head slim bodied goiter look slightly for the year or so I've had her. She, since the iodine, has improved completely and is, it appears growing rapidly. Huh?

For the record I was as skeptical as many of you sound, and still am a bit. I just thought I'd post the "so far" of it all.

"Cyp Goiter" as I have had it explained is a literal enlargement of the thyroid gland which constricts the ability for fish to swallow adequate food. Thus, the slimming of the body follows. I added "cyp" to "cyp goiter" because the condition, it seems is prevalent in fish with longer slender bodies.

I am, however no expert on the condition at all. I simply googled something like "Goiter in aquarium fish" and read for awhile


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

You convinced me to test my iodine, LOL. Thanks for posting.


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