Salt in water

[aquariumfishguy]

Spartan, the "gist" of the links we gave you was basically saying salt ISN'T needed.

Long-term, its a waste of money, but like another said... using it short-term for salt baths and so on is actually useful.

 

[dwf73]

I certainly find salt helpful during treatment for disease, and as such I would not advocate using it on a regular basis, just to maintain the efficacy of its medicinal component. I would not worry too much about adding salt to your tank- like others have said, it is not necessary, nor is it particularly beneficial with an already healthy system.

 

[dwayne]

My 29 gallon tank has 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt in it. I initially added it because I had guppies and mollies in my tank, and a pleco and rainbow shark. My guppies/mollies are gone now (some died, others were given away), but I kept the salt, because my pleco and shark were used to the water being salted. I now have 2 cardinal tetras, 4 tiger barbs, the pleco and shark, and they're all doing fine.

My fry tank (when I used it) was a 6 gallon, and I had 1 1/2 teaspoons in there, and higher heat (80 deg.). The fry all thrived in that tank. That tank is running empty now, as a hospital tank, and has 2 teaspoons in it. Salt and extra heat I find help any sick fishie feel better...

~Tara

 

[aquariumfishguy]

Ok, what we are telling you is that salt does nothing for already healthy fish. If your fish has a disease, or something that warrents the use of salt, that is one thing. Simply "adding salt" to add it does no good.

 

[m3th0d]

how about adding salt during fishy cycling? does that help?

i'm in my 4th week now of fishy cycling w/ the fish in my sig and i've always been adding some aquarium salt with the water changes and they're all doing fine, so it seems. i havn't lost any fish yet.. don't know if it's due to the salt or whatever, but it seems to be working.

 

[JSchmidt]

Salt can help the fish tolerate the nitrite in the water, so yes, it can help during a fishy cycle.

I don't recall the concentration or dosing required, but I thought that only a very small amount was needed (e.g., a teaspoon per 10 gallons of water?).

Jim

 

[RTR]

The concentration needed to block nitrite toxicity is small, but I don't have the figures handy. As theraputic uses of salt go, that is one of the better ones.

The thing to avoid is acceptance of bizarre blanket statements such as:

1) "Adding salt is good for your tank, right?" The short and IMHO best answer to that is "No, wrong" An alternate and milder answer is the universal "It all depends..." and then to ask "how much, for what reason, and for how long?"

2) "You MUST use either "aquarium" or sea salt for this purpose." The best response is "Show me the data." But that helps cement your reputation for being a crab.

3) "Iodinized table salt contains chemicals that are harmful to fish." The correct response is is again identical to #2. And although not specified in that post, it is normally the iodide in the salt that is consdiered the culprit. The interesting side of those two statements is there is apparently some lack of information on the concentrations of iodide in the materials suggested and those stated to be bad.

I wish I had the nerve to state that "All blanket statements are false". But then of course I would be caught on my own hook.

Until everybody has some realistic idea of the role and impact of the osmolarity of the surrounding water on the physiology of FW fish and BW and SW fish, or until folks start thinking terms of TDS or conductivity (I should live so long), we can expect to continue having this discussion on salt, and the ones on "pH shock" as well.

 

[QCppg]

When I refer to harmful chemicals I refer to the iodine (which is in too high of a concentration for aquarium use) and various silicates added to make the salt "flow."

 

[OrionGirl]

Originally posted by QCppg
When I refer to harmful chemicals I refer to the iodine (which is in too high of a concentration for aquarium use) and various silicates added to make the salt "flow."

Read the links--the amount of iodine in table salt is harmless at therapeutic levels. You'd have to pickle the fish in salt before the iodine reached lethal levels. This is a fact--I used table salt in FW aquariums for years without any problems. Adding any salt should be done judiciously, IMO--have a specific reason, rather than blanket reasoning, like 'electrolytes'.

The same applies to anti-caking agents.

 

[StreetCypher]

alrighty then

Thanks for all your opinions. I'm not cycling or anything and my fish are healthy, so salt isn't necessary. No salt it is then.