Kosher Salt

[paradigmcubed]

Can you use Kosher Salt from the grocery store as a substitute for aquarium salt?

Thanks

[tricksterpup]

Some people use it but it is better to use salt that is for saltwater tanks. They have minerals that the fish would use. But is this for a brackish tank or for a regular tank? FW fish should not need to have salt added to their tanks.


jim

[TwoTankAmin]

Some FW fish need some salt in the water. Salt is also an effective med. for fw fish. For these uses, Kosher salt is fine. I have been using it for a couple of years for such applications. The only drawback is my fish insisted I get them small yamulkes (sp?).

[paradigmcubed]

I'm not using it for a salt water tank, I'm just using it for some of my African Cichlids since some of them seem to be sickly.

Thanks

[OrionGirl]

Any type of salt that is NaCl is fine to use in an aquarium as a medication. The Nu-Salt is potassium chloride, I believe, and so is not appropriate for treatment of ailments where salt is beneficial. You will hear not to use iodized salt, but this is a myth. The level of iodine found in table salt is not enough to be harmful; in fact, iodine is needed by fish to survive but they normally obtain it from other sources.

Brackish and saltwater preparation should be done with one of the commercially available mixes--unless you really feel like making your own (not advisable--quite a pain, and no more accurate than the mixes you can buy).

However, salt is not a general remedy for everything that may ail a fish. Make sure that you have a reliable source before using salt in your tank. Recently, salt has been given the reputation of a cure-all, and it by no means is one.

[Slappy*McFish]

What, exactly, is wrong with your cichlids?

[paradigmcubed]

I found they have begun to get HITH and I searched the cichlid forum looking for ways to treat it. I found several articles stating a need for a balanced diet, neccessary filtration, carbon removal, water changes and salt.

Thanks