Dissolving Salt/Catfish & Loaches

[Roan Art]

Two part question here:

1. Dissolving Salts:
I've used salt to treat various ailments, but I've always had a hard time getting it to dissolve fully. Using the drip method is almost dangerous because the syphon hose sucks up any particles on the bottom of the container and spits them into the tank.

Someone please advise on how to ensure that salt dissolves fully .

2. Salt and Catfish/Loaches:
I've heard people tell that catfish and loaches are sensitive to salt, but no one has really said why. Corycats are armored and loaches scaleless, so it's not something to do with epidermis protection, correct? Is it all salts (naturally occuring ie: brackish conditions) or salts added to the aquarium?

If someone is using salt in their tank and they do not dissolve it properly or some grains get into the tank (which can happen) and they are ingested by the catfish/loach or get into the gills it could cause death, correct?

Assuming yes to the above, if a catfish or loach has salt "poisoning" what are the symptoms and is it treatable?

Assuming the above (#2) is all true, is this the real reason why it is said that catfish and loaches should not be exposed to salt?

Thanks,
Roan

 

[wesleydnunder]

Whenever I use salt for ich I scoop a glass of tank water and warm in the microwave. I don't try to dissolve all the required salt at one time. I keep a log book with each tank and use it to keep track of salt dosing. It usually takes me 24-48 hous to bring the salt concentration to 2 tsp per gallon so a drip into the filter outfall usually has no solids if I just dissolve 4 or 8 tsp per glass. I use a 16 ounce tea glass because I cant put anything bigger above the tank. I recently broke a cardinal rule and put a new fish in the tank without quarantine first. I know, I'm an idiot and know better. The flashing started a week later and I started salt dosing when my daffodil showed the first spot. I have clowns and lohachatas in this tank, a 55, and I could tell they didn't care for it but they showed no ill effects, just a duller color. Three weeks later I brought the temp down and started reducing salt conc. with water changes and now everybody in the tank seem none the worse. Ich's gone, I think. Luckily I didn't lose any fish.

Mark

 

[daveedka]

Using the drip method is almost dangerous because the syphon hose sucks up any particles on the bottom of the container and spits them into the tank.

What part of the tank are you dripping it into? The idea of the drip method is to put small amounts in a big tank at once, which will prevent any kind of brine layering. If you slowly drip heavy salt brine into a high flow area it will dissolve quickly and never cause a problem.

additionally as wesley indicated, make sure all of the salt is dissolved in the container before you start adding the brine to the tank. Salt dissolves fairly easily, which means if it is settling at the bottom of your mix container you put more in than the available water can handle. It still won't hurt if you slowly drip it into a high flow area of the tank, but it's better to dissolve it all first.

As far as cories and pleco's My opinion from what I;ve read is this. Cories are bottom dwellers that require high levels of O2 so if you do not mix the salt well and set up a brine layer at the bottom of the tank you have targeted your cories directly into a heay salt brine. Pleco's I have no idea where the myth came from, but imagine it had to do with them not surviving long term in tanks with salt. whether the salt actually caused their death or some other problem doesn't matter to most folks. they will pick the easy target and go with it.
Dave

 

[graphicdesign_r]

As far as cories and pleco's My opinion from what I;ve read is this. Cories are bottom dwellers that require high levels of O2 so if you do not mix the salt well and set up a brine layer at the bottom of the tank you have targeted your cories directly into a heay salt brine.[/QUOTE]

Yep, I would say that makes sense... (although I was under the impression plecos didn't like salt too!) I didn't realize layering would occur, especially to that degree. I have seen salt bother my loach (swollen, red gills), but I assumed because of the current in my tank it was just the salt, maybe he got caught in a "dead zone" with a high salt concentration.

 

[daveedka]

Once the salt mixes well it will not settle, but when it is added if it doesn't mix it will settle into a layer at the bottom. You can actually see this layering in a clear jar. The brine forms a miniscus (I think that is thecorrect term) between itself and the other water. It of course can still be mixed when it does this but can take more than light passive current to mix.

Something I didn't add earlier Roan, I always drip directly in the path of a filter output. And usually try to pick the biggest filter. With my HOB's I will often stick the drip hose right in the filter in front of the media. So the water comes through the media and takes the salt into the tank with it. With a good rate of flow, one drip at a time will never cause trouble IME.
dave

 

[Roan Art]

Nod. I do drip it into the outflow, but I suspect I didn't dissolve the salt well enough and some particles got into my tank.

I lost a spotted cory the other day. He started acting ill shortly after I dripped 1 tsp per gallon salt into the 36g. I think he ingested some salt The other cories, kuhlies and clowns are fine.

His gills looked fine, no redness, no gasping. He just went dark and listless. Tried to swim, but didn't go far before he just stopped. The other two spotteds stayed near him and didn't stray far. He didn't eat, either.

He tried so hard to live and nothing I did helped. Sigh.

Roan