View Full Version : Should I add aquarium salt
tel0004
02-24-2005, 3:25 PM
I was wondering if I should add aquarium salt to my tank. I have one betta, a few zebra danios, and a few gaint black tetras. I also have 2 irridescent sharks, and a few ghost shrimp. The tank is 29 gallons. I am trading the irridescent sharks back to a pet store, and I want to get some easy to breed fish, so I was going to get a Molly. I know they are kind of brackish, but that wont work in my current tank. At the fish store, they are kept in pure freshwater. I have read that these fish can also benifit from aquarium salt. Would aquarium salt hurt any of my current fish. Also, If I added it, how would I measure the amount in the water. Would I just measure for saltiniy, like saltwater aquariast do?
Analog Saint
02-24-2005, 4:05 PM
A little aquarium salt won't harm the betta, danios, or tetras. I used to use a bit of aquarium salt in my betta's tank. Although some people debate this, I've heard that mollies don't really require brackish or even near-brackish water. They'll grow happily and healthily in fresh water, so long as they weren't raised in brackish water.
You don't need a hygrometer to measure your salinity, but I use about 1/4 teaspoon per gallon in with my water for my betta. The ghost shrimp might appreciate it too. Just mix it in before a water change, and over time, the salinity level will gradually increase to about 1/4 teaspoon per gallon and remain constant. Depending on what other people reccomend, you could probably go with even a higher salinity.