Salt does no good on most diseases that are caused by bacterial infections. It is however, a preferred method to treat parasitic infections.
Epsom salt as digestive system aid in main tank
- Thread starter efors
- Start date
Salt does no good on most diseases that are caused by bacterial infections. It is however, a preferred method to treat parasitic infections.
Bravo Vader you got to it before i did..
wow grandpa efors gettin grouchy in you old age hehehehe hey dont hate me.. your still my buddy.. who's your buddy!!!
Well i will weigh in here pappy and vader are so right with their info.. that API salt is just regular table salt but in a chunky form most likely non iodized salt which in its self is great for treating ich and other parasites not really a great remedy for anything else and to add it on a regular basis would be wasting time and money the only other fuction it will perform is slime coat replacement which the salt acts like a slime producer in fish and could actually help in fish repair with wounds but stress coat would be a better choice.. i am not knocking it if you want to add it than have fun but be careful on how much you add.. in high doses it will stress your fish out.. and can burn scaleless fishes skin..
As for the epsom salts its up to the keeper if they want to add it in the correct dosage than you will have fish that feel better at pooping and a cleaner digestive tract.. no other benefits that i know of except the TDS that rift cichlids can utilize.
wow grandpa efors gettin grouchy in you old age hehehehe hey dont hate me.. your still my buddy.. who's your buddy!!!
Well i will weigh in here pappy and vader are so right with their info.. that API salt is just regular table salt but in a chunky form most likely non iodized salt which in its self is great for treating ich and other parasites not really a great remedy for anything else and to add it on a regular basis would be wasting time and money the only other fuction it will perform is slime coat replacement which the salt acts like a slime producer in fish and could actually help in fish repair with wounds but stress coat would be a better choice.. i am not knocking it if you want to add it than have fun but be careful on how much you add.. in high doses it will stress your fish out.. and can burn scaleless fishes skin..
As for the epsom salts its up to the keeper if they want to add it in the correct dosage than you will have fish that feel better at pooping and a cleaner digestive tract.. no other benefits that i know of except the TDS that rift cichlids can utilize.
No, I don't hate you; I feel cool buddy
mad2. Grouchy?...Did I sound too much latino macho man? 
Well, from now on, I think I'm going to use the Epsom salt dosage suggested by mostlycichlids in every water change; to help my mbunas in keeping a cleaner digestive tract as you say. I decided that, because I have a few big guys in my tank eating like pigs; even if I spread the food so that everybody can eat and even controlling carefully the amount of food I give them. Right now, I have an acei constipated for second time in the last 4 months. What do you or anybody else think about my decision to add Epsom salt for this purpose, in every single water change?
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What do you feed and how much, Efors?
There is an excellent article here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/malawi_bloat.php
In it the author lists epsom salt as a treatment. I would use it as a treatment, but not for maintenance. For Bloat I would use Metronidazole in combination with epsom salt until there are no more signs of disease. I'd check my feeding regimine and make changes if needed.
Remember: When you do a water change, you're only dilluting the salt you added during the last water change. For this reason I do not advocate adding salt over a long period of time without a way to monitor the levels in the tank.
There is an excellent article here: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/malawi_bloat.php
In it the author lists epsom salt as a treatment. I would use it as a treatment, but not for maintenance. For Bloat I would use Metronidazole in combination with epsom salt until there are no more signs of disease. I'd check my feeding regimine and make changes if needed.
Remember: When you do a water change, you're only dilluting the salt you added during the last water change. For this reason I do not advocate adding salt over a long period of time without a way to monitor the levels in the tank.
Great advice here as usual Afro... interesting twist however is if the regular addition of epsom salt or baking soda (with water change) might actually help him achieve a higher TDS and/or pH
efors, I may have missed it but what are the GH/KH and stable pH readings in your mbuna tank?
Thanks for giving me a hand, Afro and DrV!
Afro, I feed them this:Monday- NLS Cichlid Formula 1mm pellets. Tues.- ON Cichlid Vegi Formula flakes. Wed.- Dainichi Cichlid Color FX 1mm pellets. I repeat the same foods in that order from Thu. to Sat. and Sunday is their weekly fasting day. Originally, I was feeding them once a day for 3 min. but for the last 4 months I have followed mostlycichlids's advice: giving them the same amount of food but divided in 2 feedings per day. That has worked nicely and I don't think there is a Malawi bloat issue. The acei is still eating like a pig and without any other symptom other than looking fat. IMO, he is just constipated for second time in last 4 months as I have said.
DrV, I don't have a GH/KH kit (LOL!) but I will get one soon. The pH is 7.8 and the tank's substrate is CaribSea Eco-Complete African Cichlid substrate. With aragonite as it's main ingredient, I think the water is well buffered with this substrate.
Any other comment having now this new info? Thanks a lot for your help!:thm:
Afro, I feed them this:Monday- NLS Cichlid Formula 1mm pellets. Tues.- ON Cichlid Vegi Formula flakes. Wed.- Dainichi Cichlid Color FX 1mm pellets. I repeat the same foods in that order from Thu. to Sat. and Sunday is their weekly fasting day. Originally, I was feeding them once a day for 3 min. but for the last 4 months I have followed mostlycichlids's advice: giving them the same amount of food but divided in 2 feedings per day. That has worked nicely and I don't think there is a Malawi bloat issue. The acei is still eating like a pig and without any other symptom other than looking fat. IMO, he is just constipated for second time in last 4 months as I have said.
DrV, I don't have a GH/KH kit (LOL!) but I will get one soon. The pH is 7.8 and the tank's substrate is CaribSea Eco-Complete African Cichlid substrate. With aragonite as it's main ingredient, I think the water is well buffered with this substrate.
Any other comment having now this new info? Thanks a lot for your help!:thm:
Nice! I'll be interested to see what your GH measures to (which seems to be more important for Rift cichlids general health). I would guess your pH (and associated KH with aragonite substrate) is nice and stable. If your GH comes back on the "low side" you could consider adding in epsom salt in with every water change, as I do. My water has very low TDS and needs the GH kick of the Epsom salt to keep it around 17. Otherwise, don't bother as it is just one more step needed with every water change.
For our purposes:
- Epsom salt increases GH only with little change to pH and KH
- Baking soda increases KH and pH dramatically and raises GH to a smaller degree
Nice info, DrV!
Then, what should be the GH value for rift lake cichlids's good health? You said around 17?
Then, what should be the GH value for rift lake cichlids's good health? You said around 17?
mostlycichlids
Cichlid Specialist
Well if you are using The Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit it reads GH (General Hardness) Test measures GH in German degrees (°dGH). A °dGH of 17 would be equal to a hardness of 300ppm. A good range would be 11-22° (200-400 ppm) I use baking soad to get mine to that point and replenish with every water change. 1tsp per 10gal of water works for me but you would have to see what work for you. It usually keeps the Phat 8.2 Dvader is correct....the baking soda will effect the KH and Ph much more than the GH. I personally dont pay too much attention to the GH...if the KH is high then the GH is not that far behing and will be stable.
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