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hey ok i hear alot of talk about aqua salt now what i need to know is whats it for how to use when to use do you replace after every water change ect,ect,ect

Some say salt improves gill function though I'm not sure how or even if it does. If a fish is recovering from an injury salt is supposed to help the healing.

If you use salt only replace the amount for the water you have removed and replaced. In other words if you have a 55 and have added the initial recommended dose and do a water change of 20 gallons, only use the recommended dose for 20 gallons, not 55 gallons.

Do not add salt for water you replace due to evaporation. Salt does not evaporate.

Mike

I have never used it. I am of the school "if it aint broke don'f fix it"

Just my luck i would have a tank going along fine, add salt and all my friends go belly up!

I also have clown loaches and i'm not sure that salt is their best friend.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

deschazkody,

If I am not mistaken then you use this salt also to maintain a brackish tank. Various species live in the waters where ocean and river “mix up” and as such the water has a certain salt concentration. Some of these species can be adjusted (over time) to thrive in pure fresh- or saltwater, although all of them really like their natural habitat better.

IMO, Mike is right about the dosing during water changes.

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Hi,
Another "touchy subject" on this site is the use of salt
in a freshwater aquarium.

Salt was initially used as one might use a modern day
vitamin or take something because it is thought that it
might help prevent some disease.

In this case, it was put in the tank mainly to prevent
outbreaks of the parasite, Ich.
When you put salt in a freshwater aquarium, you change the
metabolism of the fish, increasing it so that it produces
more of the protective slime coating. It was felt that if
the coating was produced faster, it would be thicker, and
slough off the fish faster, thus making it more difficult
for the free swimming stage of the parasite to attach to
the fish. It also affects the gills of the fish drawing
more blood into them. This can be a good or a bad thing.
It can cause scarring and rupture of the blood vessels.
Or, it can increase the oxygen exchange and increase the
colors of the fish. IMO,it is a very fine line and that I
know of, no one has published anything that says use "X"
amount to treat, and "Y" amount to enhance coloration.

The use of salt, especially by folks who have not yet
taken basic science courses or have forgotten them can be
very dangerous. Salt does NOT evaporate. As the tank water
evaporates, the salt becomes more concentrated and thus
the solution becomes stronger. Not realizing that,
newbes will top off the tank with a gallon or two of
water and then add more salt to the tank because they
just added more fresh water.
Eventually the system fails, and the fish sicken
and plants die and they wonder why.

Many plants will not tollerate salt in the water. It will
cause them to weaken and die.

With today's medications, there is absolutely no reason
to add salt to a freshwater tank - Period.

Tanks that house fish such as mollies should be brackish
water tanks, and only brackish water fish should be in that
tank. Mixing mollies with most other fish will eventually
kill one or the other. Wild caught Bettas, may benefit
from some salt... Only because they lived in stagnant ponds
where the evaporating water concentrated the salts within
the ponds. However, I doubt that the concentration ever
reaches the dosage that I've read folks recomend.
Any other bettas are "home grown" and don't live or
breed in stagant, tropical, jungle ditches or ponds.
They have acclimated to our "freshwater" and don't need
the salt either.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

great info thankyou i personly don,t use never saw a reason but i hear it alot on other sites thought i,d ask thanks stallion great post you stated you oppinion but did,nt force it some need to take note

Last edited by deschazkody at 26-Aug-2005 19:58

Well I have to disagree with the statement "with todays medication,no salt is needed period". Salt is really not a medication, but an irritation to the fish to cause more slime coat. IMO using meds is what causes the strains of a disease to become less vulnerable to the treatment(meds) . I personally use salt and high temps for ICK. I have done this with success with CLs and Synos(scaless fish). I believe salt is a better way to go, and nasty meds are not needed. Help the fish help themselves in a more natural way. I donot keep salt in FW tanks, only as a "treatment". But to each his own, and this debate will go on for a long time. I'm sure Frank has had great luck with meds, its just a choice people have to make themselves. Do what works for YOU.

Hi,
You missed the point (I think), Stallion.
"Temporarily" adding salt and increasing the temperature
is a way to resolve an outbreak of Ich.

What I am NOT advocating is that salt be used constantly
in a tank as a prophylactic, hoping to reduce the likelihood
of an outbreak.

In either case, (increased temp &amp; salt or
medication) one needs to do at least a 50% water change
after the course of treatment to begin to return the tank
to "normal."

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 27-Aug-2005 01:49

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

The only times I have used salt is when my gouramis were ill and then only till I got the right meds, and when my mollies were lookin a bit peaked. Some (dare I say most?) species simply do NOT like salt, whereas others (mollies) do like a little bit in their water. It is not recommended for scaleless fishes I think. The mollies perked right up after saltin the tank and adustin the temp.
Wether to salt or not, please understand that we talking about aquarium salt, NOT marine salt and not table salt. There is a difference.

Cool Frank. I did miss that. I agree 10 fold. Never run salt as a constant, only temporarily. I might add if using salt(aqua), please add more oxygen to the water as the salt depleats it a bit. And also work your way up in amount, then water changes after will work it back down to 0.