Who adds salt to the cichlid tank and why

[fishnutham]

Ive been told by the best to add it even thought my water and ph are correct out of the Tap.
Just curious if you do and whats the reasoning.
I use 1-2 tablespoons of sea salt for 65gs with a 30% water change.

 

[Falazo]

I prefer this to adding liquid chemicals to make the water safe. I don't live and die by this rule but I think it benefits them a little.

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[syddakyd]

dont need to unless you have very exotic wild caught species. all the common ones will breed and thrive in even a neutral ph as long as the water is clean and stable. the other big thing is diet.

 

[Allan01230]

the rift lakes I think have a high salt content. So the fish are used to a saltier water.

 

[jkusnierz]

Aquarium salt is a general tonic. help with ich etc. It helps the fish with keeping the gills free of any type of disease or fungus. For African cichlids you add aquarium salt and Epsom salt and the Epsom salt has magnesium which helps harden the water.

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[duanes]

While you may consider the rift lakes salty, they are not necessarily the NaCl (sodium chloride) species of salt.
Of the 400m/L salt content of Lake Tanganyika, 300mgs are carbonate salts, while the left over 100mgs are aluminium, lithium, silica and lastly sodium salts. This makes Lake Tanganyika water very similar to the water chemistry of Lake Superior or L Michigan.
If you are trying to mimic the rift lakes, calcium carbonate (Baking soda) as opposed to sodium chloride may be more appropriate.

 

[Pharaoh]

I never use salt.

 

[DIDYSIS]

Only when I see a fish beat up or some little sickness that I want to address sooner then later, I always go off the thought that if you see it right away and address it instantly, it will clear up and not be a problem, but if you see something and let it be for a week or so it can be allot worse of a problem or turn into a problem when it could have been avoided.

 

[Oddball]

I keep several WC tang species so, I'm in the habit of applying rift lake salts to my tanks.

 

[tomomothy]

I was using salt at half the dosage recommended. Then I calculated the salinity vs what is in the natural environment for my umbees and it was way higher. i am gradually weening them down to their natural habitat salinity and will use it for treatment only after that point.