Aqurium Salts

[gavva]

hi all would my fish be all ok if i add it or to sensitive

sword tail
platy
neon
bristlenose
longfin leapord danio
guppy

plus at the weekend was thinking of adding some shrimp

is it worth adding and the shrimps

 

[andywg]

Aquarium salt is a hang up from a completely different way of keeping fish when water changes were considered bad. The neons will not appreciate the salt and, to be honest, there is never a need to add salt to a freshwater tank on a long term basis.

 

[gavva]

Aquarium salt is a hang up from a completely different way of keeping fish when water changes were considered bad. The neons will not appreciate the salt and, to be honest, there is never a need to add salt to a freshwater tank on a long term basis.

thanks mate for the reply so is it a definate no no then just read some where it helps with there coating n stuff

 

[Truck]

also catfish do get burnt by salt. as it iratates there boney body plates

 

[gavva]

also catfish do get burnt by salt. as it iratates there boney body plates

noticed u had cherry shrimp what is your input on them noticed your bristlenose too i have a breeding pair got about 50 of the little suckers in me 32 liter breeding tank

 

[andywg]

also catfish do get burnt by salt. as it iratates there boney body plates

This is incorrect.

There are catfish that live in brackish and marine environments yet seem not to be permanently burned. The reason many fish have issues (such as neons or corries) with salt is because their osmoregulatory system is not designed to maintain the internal level of salts the fish needs when salt is present in the environment.

 

[gavva]

also catfish do get burnt by salt. as it iratates there boney body plates

This is incorrect.

There are catfish that live in brackish and marine environments yet seem not to be permanently burned. The reason many fish have issues (such as neons or corries) with salt is because their osmoregulatory system is not designed to maintain the internal level of salts the fish needs when salt is present in the environment.

andy thanks for the advice did not want to add it till a got some advice off u guys plus a nicked your pic lol

 

[Truck]

depends on the species

 

[Nick16]

i ue a small amaount of salt every water change, and i havent had any diseases, so i figure it must help with disease prevention, and i also have it on stand by if i do get a sick fish. my plecs are fine so no burnings. do shrimp tolerate salt, TPN and easy carbo? (cherry and amano)

 

[Corleone]

Amano should, if I'm not mistaken they can be kept in light brackish. Not sure about cherry shrimp.

On the other side of the coin, I've never used salt and never gotten a disease outside of quarantine (which salt wouldn't save me from, since the fish brought it home with them). Most diseases aren't bothered by salt - even the ones that can be treated with temporary use of salt will still strike if you're using salt continuously.

 

[rabbut]

i ue a small amaount of salt every water change, and i havent had any diseases, so i figure it must help with disease prevention, and i also have it on stand by if i do get a sick fish. my plecs are fine so no burnings. do shrimp tolerate salt, TPN and easy carbo? (cherry and amano)

I don't add salt at waterchanges, and I haven't had any diseases since removing a piece of rotting wood that was caursing issues, therefore not adding it must prevent diseases. Both of use have now made un-substanciated claims. Can either of us back ourselves up with evidence

Yes. I would give links, explanations and references, but the kind people of the scientific sub-forum have done it for me Please read here

Salt has it's uses, but they aren't long-term prevention. Salt reduces nitrite and nitrate toxidity, and is why it used to be commonly used; people skimping on waterchanges needed it long-term to avoid loosing fish to nitrate poisoning or OTS when they added new fish from a newer system, or one in which waterchanges were done on properly. Salt can be effective on a few diseases, but you need a dose that is high enough to caurse issues long-term to have any real affect on them, 1/10th marine strength, or 1tsp per 5 gallons.

Culmnaris (cotton wool disease) and protazoan parasites are the main ones affected by salt, but they will not stop or remove the infection as a bath. Realy, salt needs to be used as a dip. A bath is added to the tank, a dip is where the infected fish is moved into a container with a high level of salt for a short while before being returned to the tank... There are scetchy reports of Salt being good for whitespot, but it is by no means a garrenteed treatment

Salt long-term can lead to health issues for fish. If you are getting frequent disease outbreaks, to be frank, there is an issue with your care, simple as You need to look at things that are infecting your tank, and work out which bit of your husbandary is caursing the issue. Something stressing them, like water quality + acute/prolonged chemical exposures, children (or adults ) tappng on the glass? Alternatively, using equipement across tanks without sterilising it between them is another common one for people with multiple tanks

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Nick16]

i wasnt making any massive claims just saying it has helped me. i have used the salt dip but i dont just use that i use meds as well

 

[rabbut]

If you read the link Nick, you may find to the contrary, and possibly even stop wasting your hard earnt cash on a product that you don't need, and that is potentialy dangerous to at least one species in your tank

If it has help you, there is an underlying caurse and problems in your care. If it hasn't helped you (more likely), it will be knocking a year or two's life off the Plec

 

[Nick16]

well i dont pay for it to start off with so thats ok, a year of my clown plecs you say, hmmm. what do you mean underlying problems in my care? basically you are calling me a #### fish keeper

 

[andywg]

well i dont pay for it to start off with so thats ok, a year of my clown plecs you say, hmmm. what do you mean underlying problems in my care? basically you are calling me a #### fish keeper

The point being made is that the only situations where salt will help in a tank as a tonic are where the owner does not perform water changes, hence an underlying problem though not regularly performing water changes.

Adding salt as you do is at best doing nothing and at worst affecting the osmoregulatory systems of some of your fish.