Why we need to add salt in fresh water tanks

When a fish is in a tank with clean water, no parasites, is not stressed, is not being moved, has no injuries, and is feeding, the value of salt is much less supported.

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I totally agree with you, and personally do not add salt on a regular basis to any of my freshwater tanks.

Having said that, certain pathogens/parasites are often found on a regular basis in most tanks, and only surface when a fish comes under some form of stress. F. columnare is a perfect example of that. From the link that I previously posted:

The bacterium can keep its infectivity in lake water in laboratory conditions for at least five months

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So how does one know exactly what is lurking in their tank water at any given time? Regardless of when they last introduced a fish, plant, a piece of driftwood, etc. For most hobbyists it would become a case of probably never being 100% certain whether there is an absence of need, or not.

For those that are buying new fish on any kind of regular basis, I'm thinking that a low dose salt regimen might not be such a bad idea. Case in point, see post #21 from the following past discussion.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?527245-COLLUMNARIS-DUCK-LIPS-DISEASE

As an example, if I was importing and/or breeding certain species from certain areas known to carry some of these pathogens, I would most definetly be treating my tanks with a low dose of salt (1%) and/or with copper. In this case the pros would outweigh any potential negatives. Some species that come to mind are some of the highly inbred designer lines of fish, such as discus, flowerhorns, EBJD, etc. I don't personally keep or breed those types of fish, so for me personally it's a non issue.

RD. said:

So how does one know exactly what is lurking in their tank water at any given time? Regardless of when they last introduced a fish, plant, a piece of driftwood, etc. For most hobbyists it would become a case of probably never being 100% certain whether there is an absence of need, or not.

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I'm big on long and active quarantines. Prevention now, not cure later. Why can't people treat new arrivals as if they have ick, parasites, worms. bacterial infections rather than wait to see what happens? Wood, gravel, sand can be sterilized. Why can't live plants be quarantined and sterilized as well?

I keep Africans and use salt mainly for shredded fins and other injuries, I do however believe they benefit from the minerals they would not otherwise get.

The same minerals that are found in the Rift Lakes are found in my local tap water.

freshwater fish doesn't need salt..as far as i know

Its seasonal for me. I use a lot of salt in the summer when temps get high, around 90. My tank has columnaris and ich, its been impossible to get rid of. Its only an issue when the water temps get high and then the reproduction rate of these things overcome the resistance of the fish. I found salt offsets this perfectly to where I was able to stop attrition completely.

The rest of the year I have no issues and don't need the salt.

There are salt made specifically for freshwater to improve gill function, which can be added to aquarium after water changes. Unless the fishes require brackish water it is not necessary to add salt to freshwater aquariums.