Do you add salt to your tank ? (Freshwater)
- Thread starter tcarswell
- Start date
Also I have VERY hard water and I heard it helps that as well? I just set up a 55 gallon today and I put half the recommended amount in the container and let it sink. I like to stay on the side of caution till I hear from you guys.
Sorry, but your friend's word is a load of bunk. I have not anything nicer to say about this. Salt will not prevent anything from causing issues towards your fish. In fact, adding salt on a permanent basis will harm your fish more than help. Why? Salt adds electrolytes. The osmoregulation of the fish can handle only so much and any added electrolytes will harm the fish i.e. those who live in soft acidic waters where the conductivity is very low comparable to hard alkaline waters.
The only benefits you can get from salt is destroying the protozoans once they are introduced in your tank and neutralizing the nitrites which is very damaging to the fish. But I will not suggest adding salt in your tank unless necessary. If you're using iodized table salt, aside from the purposes mentioned earlier, iodized table salt prevents goiter which is from lack of iodine in the water. Yes, fish needs iodine as much as we do. There is very little trace of iodine in the water. Anything about iodine and additives being harmful is also a load of bunk. These myths have been continuously parroted and encouraged by companies to ensure they gain profit from the so-called 'aquarium' salt. Table salt in itself is cost effective and as effective as the 'aquarium' salt.
Yes, I know I just entered into another salt debate but I just don't bear it when someone keeps parroting myths without proving the iodine, etc can in fact harm the fish. One way for people to direct the blame on salt is failing to admit they did not dissolve the salt before adding it to the tank. Salt has to be added slowly and carefully. Direct contact of salt grains can burn the skin of the fish. The sudden surgence of the electrolytes can cause osmotic shock to the fish thus killing it in the process.
Tcarswell, your last post indicated you are adding the salt the wrong way. Always dissolve and add slowly but you are also adding it for the wrong reasons per the word of your friend which are all utter nonsense.
The only benefits you can get from salt is destroying the protozoans once they are introduced in your tank and neutralizing the nitrites which is very damaging to the fish. But I will not suggest adding salt in your tank unless necessary. If you're using iodized table salt, aside from the purposes mentioned earlier, iodized table salt prevents goiter which is from lack of iodine in the water. Yes, fish needs iodine as much as we do. There is very little trace of iodine in the water. Anything about iodine and additives being harmful is also a load of bunk. These myths have been continuously parroted and encouraged by companies to ensure they gain profit from the so-called 'aquarium' salt. Table salt in itself is cost effective and as effective as the 'aquarium' salt.
Yes, I know I just entered into another salt debate but I just don't bear it when someone keeps parroting myths without proving the iodine, etc can in fact harm the fish. One way for people to direct the blame on salt is failing to admit they did not dissolve the salt before adding it to the tank. Salt has to be added slowly and carefully. Direct contact of salt grains can burn the skin of the fish. The sudden surgence of the electrolytes can cause osmotic shock to the fish thus killing it in the process.
Tcarswell, your last post indicated you are adding the salt the wrong way. Always dissolve and add slowly but you are also adding it for the wrong reasons per the word of your friend which are all utter nonsense.
lupin you are nutts about salt lol
salt does help fish and help rid ick
tcar check this thread out,might give you some tips
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194758
salt does help fish and help rid ick
tcar check this thread out,might give you some tips
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=194758
My point about the use of salt is it does not prevent ich from coming down on the fish assuming this strain of ich is already resistant to the presence of salt but it does destroy them if the strain has never been adapted to water conditions with salt in it. Still, this does not justify the excuse to use salt permanently in your tank. Why do you think freshwater is freshwater? There is a big difference in the use of salt meant for saltwater, brackish and freshwater. In the African rift valley cichlids' case, mineral salts are used, not the sodium chloride meant for treatments.
I agree, using salt regularly isnt good. Should only be used as needed. All you might do is create salt resistant ich/parasites.
well i guess some say its good in fw and some say its bad
but i dont think you should bash salt and say dont use it
i use salt all the time and my fish are fine
but i dont think you should bash salt and say dont use it
i use salt all the time and my fish are fine
Ive used salt too and my fish had no problems. But I used when it was needed. I dont think its good to just regularly dose your tank with salt.
No one was 'bashing' how we use the salt. We are justifying the purposes behind the use of salt, Midnight. Many people blame the salt outright as the culprit in most cases for the death of their pets yet it was their actions that did it in the first place.