Never put table salt in an aquarium. I was sitting there watching the aquaruim one day and my koi was ribbing his side on the gravel. I asked my uncle what was wrong and he said to just put some salt in there, i did. The next few days after the fish had ich. I was freaked out from it thinking they where gonna die. All that died where 1 dwarf gourami, 1 neon blue gourami, and 2 hi-fin black tetras. Luckily the koi didnt die. One of the goldfish couldnt even swim right! It would lay on its side and float to the top so I would out the net in there to get it out then it would swim away. So yeah, never put table salt for aqarium salt in and aqauruim!
Table Salt
- Thread starter gourami
- Start date
I add table salt for meds, and when I'm medding, I do one teaspoon a gallon... then water change it all out.
My texas isn't dead yet, but his cut on his head Is completely healed up and not infected.
My texas isn't dead yet, but his cut on his head Is completely healed up and not infected.
Good water will do that just fine in most cases, adding table salt probably did more half than good 
i do use salt in my aquariums at 1 tsp per 10 gals but i use NaCl and not iodized salt. salt helps stabilize my water
It's the "iodized" salt that causes the problem. Iodized salt has, (drum roll please...)
IODINE!
This is toxic to fish. If you want to add salt to your aquarium, use either expensive aquarium salt, or inexpensive kosher table salt (non-iodized).
IODINE!
This is toxic to fish. If you want to add salt to your aquarium, use either expensive aquarium salt, or inexpensive kosher table salt (non-iodized).
Judging from the initial description of the fish and sequence of events (fish acting strange>salt added> fish contract ich>fish die), it seems something was wrong prior to the use of table salt.
Other unknowns include whether or not the salt was completely dissolved prior to being added and quantity of salt used, as well as general water parameters of the tank and pre-existing health issues.
I don't use table salt with any of my freshwater tanks nowadays, but in the past I used to and never experienced any casualties (proof that it isn't toxic to fish). The level of iodine in iodized table salt is minute in terms of toxicity to fish.
Other unknowns include whether or not the salt was completely dissolved prior to being added and quantity of salt used, as well as general water parameters of the tank and pre-existing health issues.
I don't use table salt with any of my freshwater tanks nowadays, but in the past I used to and never experienced any casualties (proof that it isn't toxic to fish). The level of iodine in iodized table salt is minute in terms of toxicity to fish.
kay-bee;1790116; said:
That is one one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. One example is not scientific proof!
I've been shot in the head while serving as a US Army Military Police Officer. That doesn't prove that bullets aren't fatal when they hit you in the head!
Aside from that, different fish have different sensitivity to toxins. Obviously some are more tolerant than others.
Hawkfish3.0;1790034; said:
No more stupid than this blanket comment (which wasn't backed up with proof or examples).
I (and Liam) provided examples of using iodized table salt with no toxic effects. Un-scientific examples for sure, but how scientific do they have to be? I've used it on more than one occasion with various type of fish, including fry and small juvenile fish (which are delicate creatures).
The comparison of the fatality-potential of bullets and the toxicity of iodine to fish is completely irrelevant.
I'll clarify my statement by saying in the past I've used iodized table salt REGULARLY in several tanks in concentrations of 1 TBS per 5gal containing several different species of fish with no adverse effects what so ever, and would, thus, dispute that the trace iodine content in common iodized table salt was toxic to fish in MY care. This experience places me in a position to dispute that (if used properly) table salt was the principle cause of Gourami's fish losses. Granted, there are many fish with varying degrees of sensitivity to salinity (though I'll caveat this statement by saying it's unknown how much salt gourami added).
The fact that ich (commonly known to produce casualites) was present in the tank means there are other likely factors associated with the demise of the fish. Looking at the whole scenario intelligently, there are too many 'unknowns' to confidently place sole blame on the salt that was used.
Man everyone is all flamey today. Anyone good with math?
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_AquireAll.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33031&Taxa_Group=Fish
dun use iodized salt. Its too easy to get ahold of salt w/o toxins artificially added. It's an ecosystem ya know?
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_AquireAll.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33031&Taxa_Group=Fish
dun use iodized salt. Its too easy to get ahold of salt w/o toxins artificially added. It's an ecosystem ya know?