What is the deal with salt? Good, Bad?

One other point;Lets say you have a 30g tank and upon setup you follow whatever guide and add salt accordingly.Most people while I was in my formative years of fishkeeping recommended when you do a water change and re-dose salt per how much water you changed.This is bad because the salinity in the tank is still at or near what it was after you origionally dosed it.Now you add more salt and you have raised it even further.Pretty soon you have a marine tank and a bunch of sick or dead freshwater fish.Do your research on whatever species you keep.And,keep compatible species that all require the same water parameters.But,my 30+ years of experience advises,NO SALT!Good luck...
 
OldMan47 said:
. . . Salt is a decent treatment for many common fish ailments but is not for everyday use.
Penicillin is great for many people diseases but I don't take a daily dose of it to help me lead a healthier life. Instead I try to keep things clean and myself well fed. Much the same applies to fish. Keep their water clean and the fish well fed as a disease preventive.
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^^^Best answer you will ever get^^^

IMO-There is much supporting evidence that salt has beneficial properties when used in the aquarium setting. I agree that it is not a preventative but a good and cheap remedy for some fish and some ailments.

There are a vast amount of opinions on the use of it with no clear answer. It is one topic that has the Ford/Chevy argument. Many of these opinions do have scientific research to back up the claims with no clear winner.

I would suggest that anything added to the water should be avoided except in cases of a treatment. There are far too many fish that are salt intolerant to say you should use it as a regular water treatment. In some cases I suspect it has a placebo effect on the hobbyist and little to no value on the fish. Like anything else, it can be abused and over-used with the outcome being what the owner wishes to see or believe.

Bottom line is that anything you can do without should be omitted in respect to water treatment. If you must use it, do so cautiously.
 
The use of salt in freshwater as a general tonic is an old recommendation that will never die. This topic has been beaten to death. ;)
Salt is not required to successfully keep freshwater fish.
 
apolloobserved said:
If you are using RO water-definately yes.
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No need to be using RO strictly on a FW tank...maybe add back minerals, but not just "salt".

OldMan47 said:
As BettaFishMommy said, freshwater fish like fresh water, not salty water. Salt is a decent treatment for many common fish ailments but is not for everyday use.
Penicillin is great for many people diseases but I don't take a daily dose of it to help me lead a healthier life. Instead I try to keep things clean and myself well fed. Much the same applies to fish. Keep their water clean and the fish well fed as a disease preventive.
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Top notch advice!

Slappy*McFish said:
The use of salt in freshwater as a general tonic is an old recommendation that will never die. This topic has been beaten to death. ;)
Salt is not required to successfully keep freshwater fish.
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yeppers! :thm:
 
cobfreak said:
I went through this same dilemma at one point. When I started an LFS employee told me to always keep salt in the tank. So I bought a box of aquarium salt from him. I followed the instructions and always added salt with water changes. Eventually I had fish die, including a pleco, and some of the advice I got (here) indicated I should stop using salt as a regular additive.

I've now got five tanks running without salt and all of the fish SEEM perfectly happy. So as far as anecdotal evidence, there you go. Unfortunately I find that you'll never get a consensus on this sort of thing. I think in nature there IS some tiny amount of salt in freshwater. For whatever that's worth.
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There is same salt in freshwater- it gets filtered out of drinking water.

Also, I have never had any problems when I add a small ammt of salt to my aquariums. My fish don't die, and I have corys, so if any would be affected negatively, it would be them. A small ammt of salt is good for fish gills, it keeps them healthy and it is also good for their fins. More salt is necessary for treating ick, but for regular water, a small bit of salt is not going to hurt anything. I have bamboo shrimp as well, and they also are fine with a little salt.

This issue is contentious, and you will probably find many differing opinions. It is ultimately up to you.

Also, do not use iodized salt. the iodine is not good for the fish- even though it is more expensive, use aquarium salt. Like I said though, I use very little salt, but I do believe that a little is good for the fish-but it is your tank and your fish, so it is all up to you!:)

Maribeth
 
Also, do not use iodized salt. the iodine is not good for the fish- even though it is more expensive, use aquarium salt. Like I said though, I use very little salt, but I do believe that a little is good for the fish-but it is your tank and your fish, so it is all up to you!
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Nothing wrong with using table salt. Many people use table salt when treating ich since it's cheaper. The iodine won't hurt anything, in fact some invert keepers add iodine to the water to help with molting. Aquarium salt is basically the same thing repackaged and put out for a higher price.
 
Haha . You should add salt to ur aquarium if a certain type of fish you have or are planning on getting needs it to survive. this wont harm or affect the other fish living in your aquarium, so really, its no big deal. but dont just do it because you want to, do it because a fish needs it in ur aquarium! :]
 
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