Kelp Powder

[Acro]

After buying some kelp powder, for mixing into jell food, I read that humans can overdose on the stuff! Can happen with goldfish?

Anyone ever used kelp powder in their jell food?

[Captain Findus Goldfish]

that's interesting. I give a similar supplement to my dogs. They get half a teaspoon daily. So I guess the fish would need to eat LOTS of gel to overdose. Just don't put it in every gel food.

[lynda441]

Well, kelp, simply, has iodine in it which can affect the thyroid in large amounts. It can make it work too fast or too slow if used improperly, causing hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. It can also cause indigestion, stomach upset and diarrhea. Also, depending on where the sea kelp was grown, certain metals such as arsenic, mercury, chromium and lead may be present which can cause neurological problems and nerve damage. Arsenic is commonly found in seaweeds used as food. With the exception of hijiki, most arsenic found in food seaweeds is the organic form, recognized as less toxic than the inorganic form. It should be noted that the Scandinavian kelps usually have the highest levels of these toxic metals.

So, the question is, what is a large amount for a goldfish? For humans, it's generally considered that an "overdose" of kelp is a continued usage of two to four times the suggested amount, that is, two to four tablets per day instead of one for a long period of time. Of course there isn't going to be any information on dosage for goldfish, but as most gel food recipes I've used call for one multi-vitamin and one lactobacillus tablet in a whole recipe, I should think that one tablet or the equivalent of one tablet of the kelp in a full recipe shouldn't be too much.