Angel Fish Salt Tolerance?

[-germ-]

Are angel fish salt tolerant?
It worth adding a little, to aid with prevention of diseases and other nasties?
How much should i add?
Can anyone reccomend a good aqua salt, preferably through their own experience, if, that is, salt is tolerated and useful....
How could i have re-phrased those questions so they didn't sound quite so impersonal?

Ps. Does anyone keep gourami and angels in the same tank and have they got any advice/ideas/info in relation to keeping those species together?

Here's hoping....
The Germ

 

[cheesy feet]

I dunno,but most fish keepers don't do it, Oh w8 go to this site and post on the forum,ask harpazo how much salt to add,he knows-
http/www.parrotcichlid.com/index.php?PHP...42df4983badafb5

What do you mean advice on keeping angels and gouramis together?Is their bulllying or something going on.

 

[-germ-]

No its more of a preventative question.
New to fish keeping and trying to stay one step ahead of any problems that could arise....
Thanks for the link

 

[bobbicus]

hi

salt can help in certain situations but HAS to be the correct concentration.

personally i would allow the fish and their immune systems to fight off disease and get real sharp on tank and water maintenance - this in itself can SOMETIMES do better than adding meds or preventative things to tank - as some harm filter etc etc

also keeping fish in "constantly medicated" water does not allow fish to fight anything - so as soon as they seem to have a slight problem it appears to knock em for 6

like humans really we cant keep taking antibiotics as the germs that are in us as we acquire become resistant - we just try to keep healthy in our environment and eat well!!

hth
rob

 

[-germ-]

Thanks rob, i fully understand what your saying although i will be researching it more....
Hypothetically if i did add salt for the breaking in period i am currently undergoing (read other posts; got in too fast, doing my best to struggle through without returning my fish, although i'm willing to go to any lengths to ensure their survival!) would the salt have a detrimental effect on my start up bacteria?
By harming my filter do you mean the mechanical or the biological/chemical side?
Thanks again
Germ

 

[thegnu]

Ive never used salt. i hear it can cure whitespot, the good old'e "salt and heat treatment". i think this method was used years ago when there wasn't proper meds to treat whitespot and lots of people still use this method today, especially in the USA IMO. salt doesn't occur in the wild in tropical freshwater apart from where the sea meets the freshwater and turns it into brackish, where brackish fish live. buying the proper meds must be better? i hear salt can help fish in a new setup when nitrites are present. a water change must be better? iv'e never lost a fish to whitespot using proper medication. how much salt do you need. how do you know. how do you know how much you've put in, perhaps over weeks. how do you know when the salt has had a detrimental effect on the fish. its hard to get out once its in. evaporation will leave it in and over time will build up the levels. i would advise anyone to never use salt.

 

[-germ-]

how much salt do you need. how do you know. how do you know how much you've put in, perhaps over weeks. how do you know when the salt has had a detrimental effect on the fish. its hard to get out once its in.

This is what i'm trying to find out, however i would assume that small amounts of salt would occur in fresh water through natural mineral deposits, precipitation etc. Although only tiny amounts.
I've noticed aquasalts available in most FPS and you would be able to measure the required amount. Also i was considering using it in conjuction with regular water changes / condition maintanace, its all theoretical as i know nothing about it, but i was hoping it would benefit my fish in the short term as they get settled, adjust to my aquarium and its water and give them a chance to develop their immuno systems with (due to the salt) a lesser chance of any nasties developing in the water....
And with regular filtration and water changes would the salt not inevitabely be removed?

Maybe its a case of less is more?

No idea, does anyone have hands-on experience or knowledge of the process i'm talking about or simply with using salt in their aquarium....
Thanks
Germ

 

[bobbicus]

hi germ

personally would not use salt UNLESS i treid everything else - medicine wise to try to combat a disease or symptoms - many fish that are bred may not have "brackish" conditions and angels certainly dont live in brackish conditions as opposed to mollys

look here for a read about it..........

http/freshaquarium.about.com/cs/treatmen...altiinfresh.htm

http/www.bestfish.com/fwsalt.html

cn understand about u thinking it will aid their immune system - yes in a way - but they will always have some sort of medicated water - to which humans if we constsantly stay medicated then we cannot get resistant to germs/diseases.

i would keep my water as clean as poss, separate equipment for separate tank etc etc etc adequate light, food, W/C's - these in ITSELF - help to rid the tank of nasties and keeps the fish as healthy as possible

hth
rob

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i've kept angels and gourami's togetehr with no problems, however it's not a completely safe bet. Both gourami's and angels can be territorial and aggressive. As with all cichlids angels can vary massivley from one fish to another, you may get one who's peaceful you may not, just have to watch them in the lfs and try and choose one who you think won't cause problems but can stand up for themself. Gourami's can be the same however some varieties are more aggressive than others, i'd recommend asking in the gourami forum for advice on which sort are more peaceful as I've only kept opaline gourami's and dwarf gouramis.

Basically given a large enough tank with enough decor that they can establish they're own territories it can work, however there's no guarantee's they won't fight immediately or even get on for a while then turn on each other as they reach sexual maturity or if they start breeding, so you should always have a back up plan, be it a spare tank, a friend who will re-home them or a promise from the lfs to take them off your hands if they start fighting. You should also get a tank divider so you can seperate them immediately if need be.

 

[Mystix212]

For you, you will need a good salt (dont buy the cheap stuff). Just add 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon, or every 4 litres. When the water evaporates only pure H20 evaporates. The salt is still there. So top up the water but dont add salt to the new water. It's already in the tank. You see were Im coming from? Filters dont remove salt in any way. Mature tanks (10 months old+) dont really need added salt in thier water. However brackish fish such as black mollies, scats, puffers etc always need salt in larger amounts.

I've housed gourami's with large angels before and no problems, however I have very placid angels. There are variables.

Every body of natural lakes/rivers/ponds etc have some amount of salt in thier water chemistry.

Angels are good with temperates in salt levels, in which 1 teaspoon per gallon will work fine. They can stand more but not much more than 2 teaspoons per gallon.

P.S How large is your tank and what fish are there going to be in there?

 

[Don Trinko]

I have used 1 teaspoon per gallon for my Discus when my nitrites were high. I would think the same would apply to angels.
I also do not use salt routinly but if I had a tank of livebearers I think I would. Livebearers tend to get ick easier and I think the salt would help prevent it without over medicating. Don T.

 

[andywg]

Angelfish tend to come from waters with no appreciable salt content at all (less than 1 ppm is the amount stated in the reference book in front of me). This is a tiny amount.

Using salt in water is a sling back to the days when people knew less about keeping fish. It used to be thought that "old water" was better than fresh water, so people tried to go as long between water changes as possible. This led to the use of carbon to try and deal with dissolved organics, and using salt to help lower the effects of nitrites and nitrate (which obviously get very high without any water changes).

We now know thath frequent water changes and keeping an eye on your water is far better than salt as a preventative measure. The angelfish has evovled to osmoregulate in water without any salt. There have been some very good posts about how salt is not necessary at all by nmonks and bignose. Here is a good one which contains links to others:

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...t&p=1387179

Bottom line, usung salt is a waste of time. Aquarium salt is just sodium chloride (pure table salt without anti-caking agents) in a more expenssive shop.

With regards to brackish fish, they require marine salt to create the correct water conditions found in their natural estuarine habitats (high pH and presence of many other minerals and elements).

 

[nmonks]

The short answer to your question is that angelfish are actually fairly salt tolerant. Like most cichlids, in fact. Unlike discus, they aren't restricted to soft water habitats, and they have reasonably good abilities to adapt to varying water conditions.

But that said, you shouldn't need to use salt proactively in an angelfish tank, and over the long term it probably doesn't do anything useful compared with (say) proper filtration, regular water changes, and swift medication when required.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Gatorbait]

how much salt do you need. how do you know. how do you know how much you've put in, perhaps over weeks. how do you know when the salt has had a detrimental effect on the fish. its hard to get out once its in.

This is what i'm trying to find out, however i would assume that small amounts of salt would occur in fresh water through natural mineral deposits, precipitation etc. Although only tiny amounts.
I've noticed aquasalts available in most FPS and you would be able to measure the required amount. Also i was considering using it in conjuction with regular water changes / condition maintanace, its all theoretical as i know nothing about it, but i was hoping it would benefit my fish in the short term as they get settled, adjust to my aquarium and its water and give them a chance to develop their immuno systems with (due to the salt) a lesser chance of any nasties developing in the water....
And with regular filtration and water changes would the salt not inevitabely be removed?

Maybe its a case of less is more?

No idea, does anyone have hands-on experience or knowledge of the process i'm talking about or simply with using salt in their aquarium....
Thanks
Germ

Yes, there is salt in every body of water in the world.

How much salt needed is dependant upon what you are using it for. I wouldn't use salt, or anything actually, as an every wc occurance or long-term.

Salt is extremely easy to remove from your water simply by doing wc's.


Edit: I should have read down further. nmonks pretty much already said it.