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	How Much Salt to Add to Goldfish Tank?
Paulette Small Fry Posts: 10 Kudos: 14 Votes: 0 Registered: 06-Nov-2004	I just posted this in general aquaria and realized it should be here. How much salt should I add to a 6-gallon goldfish aquarium? I think I've got a case of velvet and sources have said to add salt to help get rid of it. I'd also appreciate recommendations for meds for velvet and ich. Thanks, Paulette
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:36
Cory_Di Ultimate Fish Guru Posts: 7953 Kudos: 2917 Votes: 25 Registered: 19-Dec-2002	Hi Are you in the US? It is helpful to know for med recommendations. Lets be sure you are dealing with velvet. What are the symptoms? Are they flicking on objects or flashing, which suggests they are itching? Does it look like golddust? If they are flicking and have a golddust appearance than you probably are dealing with velvet. If this is the case, my guess is that they have been subjected to a drop of several degrees in water temp in very short time. This is what brings it on along with ich. Water changes need to be identical in temp (+/- 1F). Unheated tanks should be in places where they won't be subjected to open windows/doors dropping the temp. If it was neither of these, then think about when the fish were chilled? It is important to know what else is in the tank. Snails? Scaleless fish? Etc.? How many fish are in this tank and what kind of goldies are they (more streamlined comets or fancy, short bodied types)? How long has it been running? And, how big are the fish? Are you checking for ammonia, nitrite and watching your nitrate levels? Unfortunately, goldfish, which can grow to a foot or more, are still living in their mythical surroundings. Latest recommendations are that goldfish should be kept in miminmum 20 gal tanks to start (for one goldfish) and at least 10 gallons for each goldfish thereafter, but preferrably 20 gal each. I know this sounds like a lot, but if we look at the water chemistry it is easy to see why. Nitrate levels need to kept below 40ppm and you should never see ammonia or nitrite. I have two fancy goldies in a 36 gal and I do weekly water changes of 30%. Even at this rate, the nitrates easily rise back up to 40ppm. With the body mass of a goldfish, waste is very high causing more food for nitrifying bacteria. I'm wondering if these fish are experiencing the effects of toxins (ammonia/nitrite and possible pH crash) in such a small tank, as opposed to Velvet (if they are not flashing/itching). We can see this by testing for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. If you don't have test kits, take a bag of water to the lfs and ask them to test it, but write down the numbers they give and bring them back here. Salt is good, but all things should come gradual. Doc Wellfish's Freshwater Aquarium Salt recommends 1 rounded Tsp per gallon. However, this needs to be predissolved. I use an empty 16 or 20 oz water bottle that is half filled with hot water and water conditioner (1 drop) and the salt. I then shake vigorously, then dribble in a little of the solution throughout the day, or even two days. This gradually raises the salinity. If you have no snails, no scaleless fish or other inverts (ghost shrimp, etc.) and have not used anything containing malachite green, victoria green, acriflavine or other anti-parasite meds, I suggest using CopperSafe by Mardel according to instructions. This is good for velvet. It should never be combined with other anti-parasite meds Last edited by Cory_Di at 28-Nov-2004 21:40
Posted 26-Jan-2006 11:36


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