I heard that if you put small amount of pickling salt in your FW tank it will help keep ICK away. is there a method of doing this/ rules. or am I totally out to lunch?
"ICK"
- Thread starter T-Hbrand
- Start date
Pickling salt- ice cream salt-water softner salt-fresh water aquarium salt- pretty much all the same thing. I have even used regular iodized table salt with no ill effects. But most will say iodized is not good. And you want to add 1 table spoon full for every 5 gallons of aquarium water. The bacteria that causes ICK can not live in the low salinity that the salt creates, so they die. It is also a good idea to raise the temperature of the tank up to the maximum that the fish can have so that the ick's life cycle is quicker. There are many more benefits to using salt, this is just one.
T-Hbrand;2607589; said:
To answer your question, the best way to KEEP ICK AWAY is to maintain proper temperature water conditions. If you keep your ammonia and nitrites at zero and nitrates lower than 30ppm your tank should stay relatively healthy.
EDIT: It is not necessary to keep salt in your freshwater tank.
Jimmy
I would add the salt when treating, but I would recommend against keeping it in the tank at all times (which some old school folks used to do)