Do you just add aquarium salt to your tank if you have a sick fish. Or do some of you add it every once in awhile for the overall health of your fish.
Aquarium Salt
- Thread starter Kyel
- Start date
I only add salt to my tank if a fish shows signs or symptoms of something that is susceptible to salt treatment. I don't use aquarium salt, it's too expensive. I just buy plain rock salt (ice cream/cooling salt) or canning/pickling salt in the grocery store. The canning/pickling salt is a lot easier to dissolve, since it is a finer grain.
There are many good reasons not to use salt unless absolutely necessary, for instance you don't want to create salt-resistant strains of ich or other pathogens that could be present in your water.
There are many good reasons not to use salt unless absolutely necessary, for instance you don't want to create salt-resistant strains of ich or other pathogens that could be present in your water.
i keep salt in my tanks religously, i also keep the temps at 80 degrees. when i do water changes i add more salt...my fish are very healthy and ya dont have to worry about ich unless your temp drops to much.
Actually, you will not expect to see ich in this environment unless you decide to introduce unquarantined fish which is heavily infested in ich. At this point, ich has not established itself yet otherwise you would already find them by now. There is NO dormancy phase for ich. They can still keep a low profile and continue to attack the gills of your fish incapacitating proper respiration which will eventually lead to their silent death.spadoc79;4780918; said:
Your temperature will still allow ich to survive and replicate themselves. Add salt in there on a permanent basis and you are more than capable of producing salt-resistant strain of ich. That in itself is more dangerous than dealing with ich that is unable to resist salt at all. You will eventually have to use formalin based meds (which should be avoided for two reasons: carcinogenic, and quite potent when combined with salt).
well ya learn something new everyday....not to hijack the thread but....so should i stop putting salt in at waterchanges?
Yep. Start with small water changes. 15% on the first day and add 5% everyday to the water volume changed. Don't change a large portion of water at once or you'll risk putting the fish in osmotic shock. They have been used to salt for a period of time so you need to gradually acclimatize them again to non-salt environment.
Yes, the best water for freshwater fish, is nice clean un-salted water. Do 50% water changes @least 12 hours apart to avoid shocking your fish.spadoc79;4781321; said:
I only add when fish are sick. I also remember reading here on MFK someone say that leaving the salt in for too long can damage a fish's urinary tract.
You don't have to "argue," just discuss. Why aren't sure you sure this salt-resistant strain of ich can be created? You can even start your own thread about it and see what evidence people come up with.
MyFishEatYourFish;4783637; said:
You don't have to "argue," just discuss. Why aren't sure you sure this salt-resistant strain of ich can be created? You can even start your own thread about it and see what evidence people come up with.