Calcium Supplement

[matblack]

Any shrimp in there?

Trout & a tiny spikey crayfish ,I haven't looked for shrimp yet

[jayc]

Any shrimp in there?

LOL, spoken like a real shrimpaholic.

"There's a pool of water over there ... I wonder if there is shrimp in it."

[mr_c265]

i may have another suprise for you guys, i think i can get some native hardwater brackish shrimp from near Sydney, that one might be a flop though, need a better look at them, only got one and it was teeny, might've been a bloody prawn.

[Demondjinn]

What about montmorillonite powder? It's a natural clay powder that contains something like 72 essential trace elements that is beneficial to shrimp for their general health, moulting and gut flora. I've been doing loads of reading on the stuff and some say koi clay is the same thing just marketed differently. Any thought?

Hi btw I'll do a newbie Howdy shortly lol

[jayc]

22 minutes ago, Demondjinn said:

What about montmorillonite powder?

Yep Koi Clay is the product name for  bentonite / montmorillonite clay.

Bentonite differs from Montmorillonite clay only in where it is harvested/collected.

Some same that Montmorillonite clay is superior, because it is richer in minerals.

As you mentioned, it has a heap of minerals. But my experience is that a lot of it is still locked away in the clay and some will leech out slowly. So it makes a good backup for mineral supplement. The problem is, you don't know what is released and in what quantities. A lot of these minerals are not soluble in water. So while the clay can hold 72 essential minerals that might help the shrimp, how many of these minerals are soluble in water and will be release for the shrimp to utilise?  

The other function the clay is marketed as being capable of doing is removing toxins.

Yes it will absorb heavy metals, free radicals, pesticides. But it also absorbs calcium, magnesium, potassium, and all the other good minerals you add in for the benefit of the shrimp. After all clay is good at absorbing stuff, that's how it got those minerals in the first place. I wouldn't count it to absorbing toxins, unless you KNOW you have toxins that needs to be removed. Some of this clay might help, but a big water change in those situations does more benefit than the clay. 

 

It's not a bad product. It just has a small niche area to fill, and not everyone will need this product. I use it myself, as a supplement. But I still add minerals at water change.

It is far more beneficial adding Calcium Sulphate dihydrate and Magnesium sulphate in a 4:1 ratio than relying on bentonite / montmorillonite clay.

Also remember, the clay is only as good as it's source and what it has absorbed.

 

[Demondjinn]

14 minutes ago, jayc said:

Yep Koi Clay is the product name for  bentonite / montmorillonite clay.

Bentonite differs from Montmorillonite clay only in where it is harvested/collected.

Some same that Montmorillonite clay is superior, because it is richer in minerals.

As you mentioned, it has a heap of minerals. But my experience is that a lot of it is still locked away in the clay and some will leech out slowly. So it makes a good backup for mineral supplement. The problem is, you don't know what is released and in what quantities. A lot of these minerals are not soluble in water. So while the clay can hold 72 essential minerals that might help the shrimp, how many of these minerals are soluble in water and will be release for the shrimp to utilise?  

The other function the clay is marketed as being capable of doing is removing toxins.

Yes it will absorb heavy metals, free radicals, pesticides. But it also absorbs calcium, magnesium, potassium, and all the other good minerals you add in for the benefit of the shrimp. After all clay is good at absorbing stuff, that's how it got those minerals in the first place. I wouldn't count it to absorbing toxins, unless you KNOW you have toxins that needs to be removed. Some of this clay might help, but a big water change in those situations does more benefit than the clay. 

 

It's not a bad product. It just has a small niche area to fill, and not everyone will need this product. I use it myself, as a supplement. But I still add minerals at water change.

It is far more beneficial adding Calcium Sulphate dihydrate and Magnesium sulphate in a 4:1 ratio than relying on bentonite / montmorillonite clay.

Also remember, the clay is only as good as it's source and what it has absorbed.

 

That's what I was thinking and had concerns about, one of the powders I was looking at states that it is highly soluble and does all these wonderful things so of course I was very intrigued by this. I'll keep reading up and see if I can get a better understanding and also a betting idea of its source. 

[fishmosy]

On ‎19‎/‎07‎/‎2013‎ ‎6‎:‎57‎:‎46‎, mr_c265 said:

i may have another suprise for you guys, i think i can get some native hardwater brackish shrimp from near Sydney, that one might be a flop though, need a better look at them, only got one and it was teeny, might've been a bloody prawn.

You know what they say. Photos or it didn't happen

Did it have tiny claws? Might have been a baby macro.