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I have added aquarium salt occasionly to my 55gl. How often should this be done?
1-jack dempsey
1-fire mouth
1-green severum
1-dwarf gourami
1-golden gourami

Last edited by jacnyr at 28-May-2005 00:35

I personally think that it unneeded. I have never used it and all my fish are fine

jacnyr

I have not used it for 20+ years and then I think it was only used for live bearers. But things change sorry that is the best I can do.

Keith

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Salt at this point in time is still a debatable issue. Some swear by it while others swear at it. Personally I use it in all but my planted tanks. I feel that the help it gives in wound healing and slime coat production outweighs the potential drawbacks. It can also help in fighting off disease in your tank. As to how much and how often, I vary my salt content with each water change. In order to help combat potential disease salt must be fluctuated as simple structures like ich don't tolerate fluctuations in salt levels. I may do 1 tsp per 5 gals on one change and only do 1 tsp per 20 gals on the next, this way I maintain a slime base yet am constantly changing the parameters and killing off any parasites which may have found their way into my tanks. Before you add salt tho, keep 2 things in mind, snails won't tolerate salt at any level, nor will certain species of fish. Make sure you aren't poisoning your fish before you add any salt to your tanks. As with any additive, always start small and work your way up gradually. Another thing to keep in mind, salt buffers your water as well, so if you are trying for a low PH you are banging your head against a wall.

I also vote for the "No salt in Aquariums" party. If you really think fish need it - go to a local water way that has good fish stock, and do a salinity test. Then, work out the concentration of salt you should be adding to your tank to replicate the water way. The numbers come so close to zero, you'll never bother doing it.

Healthy, disease free fish/aquariums can be maintained by properly monitoring water quality. If you can constantly keep your Ammonia at zero (or rather, undetectable by testkit), Nitrites at zero (or same as ammonia) and Nitrates <10ppm and pH/kH/GH nice and constant, then your well on your way to never having to add another med to your tank.

On the topic of improving slime coat - my attitude is if the fish doesn't need salt added to a river to heal from a cut, then why should it in my tank? Keep your water quality good, and 99% of injuries will self heal just as they would in the wild.

Summary: Water quality.

Oh, did i mention how important water quality was?

Last edited by jester_fu at 02-Jun-2005 06:07

I think I missed something there, what was that about water quality?

Hi All,
this one has been done many times before. If you do decide to use Aquarium Salt, please make sure you use the correct salt ( flossy salt) not pool salt or similar as this will add to your woes, instead of fixing things. 1 teaspoon to 1 gal for tropicals, 1 tablespoon to 1 gallon for livebeares and goldfish (Goldfish do better with salt as well) Cichlids do alright with out salt. Its up to you in the end. Muss

Thank you, everybody.
I'll just do every other month or so. I think it does prevent illness and helps gill function and slime coat as well.

jacnyr

ok, maybe this is just me, but isn't that tank overstocked?

Wait i put a little bit of salt in my 10 gallon but i have plants will salt harm the plant?

10gallon: 8neons 5gallon: 1betta
1oto
2platys

smilingpiranha

If it is not over stocked now because the fish are small it will when they get bigger......but hey thats just me.....

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
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i have never used "aquarium salt" but when i used to breed feeder fish (guppies) i used to put non iodised table salt in my tanks. i have noticed that the majority of guppies imported into australia are in saline water. whats the go with that.