Salt!

[pzuzu]

I had just gotten a Molly and had posted about it getting tailrot. I have examined everything I have been told and still cannot find the problem. All I know is that my molly died in less than 24 hours from the first sign of tailrot. I once had a platy get tailrot and I treated him with Jungle Fungus tablets and Melafix. He's still alive to this day. YAY!!! But because I got nervous and didn't trust myself to save my molly, I took someone's advice and placed salt in the aquarium. It died a few hours later. My platy had gone days with tailrot, and eventually developed ich, cottonmouth and body slime. He was covered in white, and he's a black and yellow platy. I mean he was COVERED!!! And he pulled through it and now he's incredibly healthy and happy (and quite fearless whenever my hand's in the tank...I think he knows I saved his little life). I never added salt...was fine. My molly, I added salt and just died.

Never messing with salt again.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[Blueiz]

For all of the ppl who are using aquarium salt and think that this is what you need for brackinsh water, please read the label on your bottle/box of aquariums salt. 99 % say tor tropical fish and goldfish, in know way does it say you can use it for marine or brackish water. Shouldn't that give the clue that this is not meant to be used for that purpose? The mixing directions on the 5 different kinds I looked at this am at the pet store only had mixing instructions for stressed fish, recovery from diseases, hatching brine shrimp, and to clean your eqipment.

I do not think this is the way kas inteneded for this post to go. I believe, and you can correct me if i am wrong, that he wanted ppl to post what they know about aquarium salt and how it help fishes, specifics, not vague ideas. Reason being he wants to pput together an article of some sort to help ppl know when to use salt, and what to use it for.

Have a Nice Day!

 

[Kasakato]

Exactly what I was trying to do. Thanks for that Blue.

 

[jaylin]

Mollies are fresh, brack, and full salt. As long as the levels go up or down slowly it would be fine. Just tossing some salt in doesnt help anyone.

Kas ... have you ever kept mollies with salt?

 

[Blueiz]

http://www.****************/information/aquarium_salt.htm#top2

Here is a link to a page that may help you . It explains, not in detail, about aquarium salt. Just thought it would be useful. There is a little mis informatio in here about brackish water, but as far as disease is concerned it prety much sums it up.

 

[bob1962]

http://www.****************/information/aquarium_salt.htm#top2

Here is a link to a page that may help you . It explains, not in detail, about aquarium salt. Just thought it would be useful. There is a little mis informatio in here about brackish water, but as far as disease is concerned it prety much sums it up.

Well that pretty much sums up the qualities of salt, the only bad thing about adding salt, is adding too much. Now one person had an experience with a molly dying from adding salt, that fish could have already been a gonner, maybe it would be alive today if it lived in a tank with a little salt. Now another good question would be. Are all lakes ponds and rivers 100% salt free? I bet you would find they all contain some amount of salt.

 

[TKOS]

So does your tap water. If it were free of all salts then you would be drinking distilled water.

Kas,
definatley add something about Freshwater Aquarium Salt and how it is not the same as the salt mixtures needed to make brackish and marine water.

 

[StreetCypher]

Thanks Dav. Lots of info for me there.
And BTW Bob, your wrong on a few of your points.

I think very few people (sorry man, but you're not one of them) on this board have enough knowledge, education or understanding on exactly how things work (in this case salt) to straight out tell someone is wrong. Just one of my pet peeves, unless you are an expert (and even they are wrong sometimes), i don't think anyone has the grounds to say "you're wrong" about anything. Phrases such as "i disagree" and "here its generally accepted that ..." are more warranted in these cases.

Some people express opinions like they are cold hard irreversible facts, yet in the end they are just opinions.

And i have had great results using table salt in a few situations (so i don't get flamed for not adding anything)

 

[Larissa]

I personally believe that salt is really only beneficial on a temporary basis for illness, healing, etc. if we're talking about NaCl. Most other people on this board also feel that way, however, I really think that it shouldn't really matter if someone choses to use aquarium salt in their tank if they want to. I personally don't see why the "no salt routinely added" camp gets so worked up about other people adding in to their tanks. I say let it go. If others want to add it then I say add it.

 

[CajunCC]

Don't forget to note that some species, specifically most catfish and other scale-less fish, are sensitive to salt and it should be avoided or kept in low concentrations in tanks with those fish.