gaines, even if there is no reason why you can't have salt in the water all the. time, it's still your money that your spending on unesisary stuff. Why not spend it on stuff your fish would actually like?
Salt in the water all the time?
- Thread starter D-Bak
- Start date
dorkfish said:
My perspective could be unfounded as I'm far from an expert on fish diseases. I'm not very experienced in keeping aquariums and am sure I have a lot to learn. I'm only going on what I've read and experienced myself. With that said, what I've experienced myself is ich and dying fish without salt, and ich cured healthy fish with salt. If it really is as helpful as it has seemed then it seems a small price to pay. *shrug*
interesting , but consider that if you keep salt in the tank..the fish become accustomed..
I suspect that the ich could also become accustomed and become a strain resistant to salt treatment.
to some degree humans have used antibiotics to the point that some bacterial strains have become resistant to the antibiotics..it stand to reason that this is a possibility with diseases in the aquarium that are treated with salt.
the big strike against this theory is that the aquariums are fairly closed systems..and the chances that this strain gets out is low but..the possibiltiy exists.
just food for thought and me tossing around random thoughts
I suspect that the ich could also become accustomed and become a strain resistant to salt treatment.
to some degree humans have used antibiotics to the point that some bacterial strains have become resistant to the antibiotics..it stand to reason that this is a possibility with diseases in the aquarium that are treated with salt.
the big strike against this theory is that the aquariums are fairly closed systems..and the chances that this strain gets out is low but..the possibiltiy exists.
just food for thought and me tossing around random thoughts
By adding salt, you're increasing the TDS, and actually promoting changes, since the salt won't evaporate out. As water evaporates out, the salinty increases (same amount of salt, less water).
The bigger issue for me is that there isn't a benefit to adding salt, so why do it. There are entirely too many potential problems, and no benefits, which = bad thing.
The bigger issue for me is that there isn't a benefit to adding salt, so why do it. There are entirely too many potential problems, and no benefits, which = bad thing.
The arguement should be brough up that as an aquarist your hobby is simply to create an environment for your fish that is nearly the same as the one they would be in naturally (even though the fact that these fish have been bred in captivity for generations makes this a bit of a moot point). You don't find salt anywhere other than in marine environments and a river mouths in brackish water situations, so adding it to your tank as anything other than a means to cure a disease is somewhat contradictory to the hobby. Adding salt in the case of disease is only a good solution because medications and other chemicals that you can buy off the shelf are even more unnatural than the salt. If you have unhealthy fish without salt in your water that would seem to indicate another problem that you are solving temporarily by adding salt that will eventually lead to gill function problems and whatnot. Unless you keep levels incredibly consistent as suggested in an earlier post (I would need to see some actual evidence of that), I think adding salt to a FW tank on a long-term basis will always be negative.
Just so we are all on the same page..when you are talking salt you are referring to sodium chloride?
I do not agree with the general statement that "you don't find salt anywhere except a marine environment or brackish water"
in fact most of the minerals we see in the water or anywhere, are actually mineral salts(ions).
I do not agree with the general statement that "you don't find salt anywhere except a marine environment or brackish water"
in fact most of the minerals we see in the water or anywhere, are actually mineral salts(ions).
The salt additive is most likely NaCl, yes.star_rider said:
You're correct, Na is found everywhere. However to clarify, we're talking very trace amounts. I think the poster meant in the same quantities as someone would throw in their tank, which is usualy (to quote Daveedka) 12 times more than the saltiest African Rift. That's a lot of salt.
All the salt any freshwater fish needs is found in trace amounts. There's no need to add any more.
Roan
actually sodium chloride is only one salt
there are other salts that naturally occur like ammonimum salt, potassium salt, and lots of other minerals that exist as salts.
so when the term salt is thrown out..I think of many of the others that exist as trace but essential minerals.
having spent too many years studying biology and chemistry..it is a misconception when the term salt is used. I learned long ago to make sure the prof was clear when I mentioned salt as to which salt I was referring to.
I think here, many refer to it as table salt or NaCl but I think of the minerals in general.
there are other salts that naturally occur like ammonimum salt, potassium salt, and lots of other minerals that exist as salts.
so when the term salt is thrown out..I think of many of the others that exist as trace but essential minerals.
having spent too many years studying biology and chemistry..it is a misconception when the term salt is used. I learned long ago to make sure the prof was clear when I mentioned salt as to which salt I was referring to.
I think here, many refer to it as table salt or NaCl but I think of the minerals in general.
