I look at salt a bit like sunscreen. There may be some long term effects from using it, but if I don't use it I'm going to get burnt. I'm in the tropics in Australia here and it seems you reliably have problems without a little salt...
Aquaruim Salt + Scaless Fish = Death?
- Thread starter Kabong
- Start date
I'm confused? Are you saying that your fish get sunburnt without salt? How does being in the tropics make giving freshwater fish salt make sense?
If humans eat too much salt you get high blood pressure due to increased water absorption. While not exactly the same for fish, prolonged exposure to the wrong environment can have long term effects on things like kidneys. And if the salt content is in such a low concentration that it won't hurt the fish then it probably also isn't really doing anything to help them.
Salt on fish is good in a restaurant.
As for treating ich, do a quick search on the forum and you will find lots of great (and a few bad I am sure) links.
If humans eat too much salt you get high blood pressure due to increased water absorption. While not exactly the same for fish, prolonged exposure to the wrong environment can have long term effects on things like kidneys. And if the salt content is in such a low concentration that it won't hurt the fish then it probably also isn't really doing anything to help them.
Salt on fish is good in a restaurant.
As for treating ich, do a quick search on the forum and you will find lots of great (and a few bad I am sure) links.
Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
I was told 'freshwater' fish do not ever need salt. If they prefer salt, like platy, and mollies (for example) they are brackish fish. Mollies, and platy will, however live in freshwater and thrive, if the ph of the water is over 7. But they are in fact brackish water fishies. As a general rule, freshwater is freshwater, NO Salt. Salt is sometimes added as a treatment for high nitrItes or for medical problem as ICH, but otherwise not necessary and may even be detrimental in the long run. (Kidney needs to work harder to excrete it as in humans.)
Scaless fish are sensitive to water conditions. If you have a water problem, it will usually show in the scaleless one first. I'm keeping a watchful eye on my ghost knife for this reason, and I added another filter to keep the water cleaner, and I do faithful water changes. If it weren't for having him, I'd probly be alot lazier lol. But he's worth it.
Scaless fish are sensitive to water conditions. If you have a water problem, it will usually show in the scaleless one first. I'm keeping a watchful eye on my ghost knife for this reason, and I added another filter to keep the water cleaner, and I do faithful water changes. If it weren't for having him, I'd probly be alot lazier lol. But he's worth it.
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sleepygrl said:my silver tip shark has no problem with salt treatment.
That's because it's a brackish water fish and prefers marine salt in it's water. Any kind of salt would make it happy.
Salt for Ich treatment should be 1-3 teaspoons per gallon 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons may not do the job, but as said do a search and read up there is a lot of detail that is important to know. If you are using aquarium salt, and not just good old fashioned table salt, be sure to read the ingredients, and make sure it's just salt and not a marine mix. Long term you will see problems with your pictus and in reality any other fish, although the pictus will show the problems first as said. Short term for treatment it will be OK, and definately less stressful to the pictus than ICH meds.
Here is an article on ich, one on salt, and one on the Molly myth. There are plenty of other articles and threads available for research as well.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml
http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/salt.shtml
http://tcoletti.tripod.com/molly_salt_debate.html
And fully agreed, salt should be put on fish in a restaurant. :laugh:
Dave
Here is an article on ich, one on salt, and one on the Molly myth. There are plenty of other articles and threads available for research as well.
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml
http://www.aaquaria.com/aquasource/salt.shtml
http://tcoletti.tripod.com/molly_salt_debate.html
And fully agreed, salt should be put on fish in a restaurant. :laugh:
Dave
That's not quite true, already we eliminate the majority of the salt we consume. Folks who get high blood pressure from salt have an inborn intolerance, most people don't have any problem removing up to 90% of salt consumed. However, it's not easy to test for so doctors just prescribe a low sodium diet to folks with high blood pressure.TKOS said:
Now, back on topic...
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Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
on excess salt
Hypernatremia in humans:
Water content of body fluid is deficient compared to sodium content (serum Na > 150 mEq/L [150 mmol/L]) This condition can happen to people undergoing saline intravenous solution, athletes who lose water by sweating, or accidently ingesting a large amount of salt, as in seawater.
A condition which likely wouldn't occur in fish because of the prescence of large amounts of water. Unless someone added a heck of a lot of salt!
Hypernatremia in humans:
Water content of body fluid is deficient compared to sodium content (serum Na > 150 mEq/L [150 mmol/L]) This condition can happen to people undergoing saline intravenous solution, athletes who lose water by sweating, or accidently ingesting a large amount of salt, as in seawater.
A condition which likely wouldn't occur in fish because of the prescence of large amounts of water. Unless someone added a heck of a lot of salt!
