Gourami is not doing so good & bushynose pleco died! help wanted!

[2tank]

correct me if im wrong but inst aquarium salt just normal salt.

 

[Rhys19]

correct me if im wrong but inst aquarium salt just normal salt.

Not exactly, Normal salt I think would harm the fish depending on what it has in it, but aquarium salt has some kind of additive to it, atleast that's what I've heard. basically in short I've been told in caps "DO NOT PUT REGULAR SALT IN A FISH TANK"

 

[raylove]

Aquarium salt is pure sodium chloride, whereas regular table salt will contain an anti caking agent to ensure that it pours evenly.
Aquarium salt which is used as a freshwater remedy is also not the same as marine aquarium salt which is used by marine keepers to recreate sea water. The latter will contain a multitude of trace elements too.

 

[Rhys19]

Well I think we can scratch the hospital tank idea he just passed like maybe a few minutes ago he stopped breathing, isn't moving, nudged him with net and he's not budging anymore, all tell tale signs that he's dead.

Upon scooping him up I noticed his belly is like really fat, is that normal?

 

[Rocky998]

Well I think we can scratch the hospital tank idea he just passed like maybe a few minutes ago he stopped breathing, isn't moving, nudged him with net and he's not budging anymore, all tell tale signs that he's dead.

Upon scooping him up I noticed his belly is like really fat, is that normal?

So sorry for your loss. Definitely sounds like dropsy, its where liquid builds up and it can cause an infection. The liquid build up would also explain the swimming issue he had. So I believe he had dropsy

 

[Rhys19]

dang, I never even saw this coming, was never prepared for dropsy I guess now I know to stockpile on some stuff like aquarium salt

 

[Naughts]

Aquarium salt treats external bacteria, fungus and some external parasites. It is unlikely to have any benefit in this situation (internal disease).
Sorry for your loss.

 

[Boundava]

Sorry for your losses. I agree that the well water hardness is probably the issue. You may want an RODI for future stock, at least for 3/4 of the tank volume (unless like someone else mentioned the well has been contaminated with something).

 

[Rhys19]

Sorry for your losses. I agree that the well water hardness is probably the issue. You may want an RODI for future stock, at least for 3/4 of the tank volume (unless like someone else mentioned the well has been contaminated with something).

Thanks, my well has been having some issues lately and my landlord can't be bothered to fix it apparently. the only thing he did was have a filter installed after the water softener. the well is about 50 years old and it is now bringing up sand & dirt and the landlord called the well guy to inspect it and he said it needs to be replaced because the sediment that's coming through our hose means that the outer well wall rusted out.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Aquarium salt is nothing more than sodium chloride. It is just a pricier version because it contains the word Aquarium.

A gent named Robert T. Ricketts aka RTR was a legend in the hobby when I began in early 2001. One of his manh articles is entitled,

The Salt of the Earth, the Salt from the Sea . . .​

Below are two paragraphs from it.

Myth 1​

Sodium chloride is the familiar white crystalline material in just about every kitchen. Table salt as purchased at the local supermarket in this country also contains iodide and anti-caking compounds.

Iodine is a halogen, and is required for vertebrates in its ionic form. Iodine is the element; iodide is the ionic form. Do not confuse either of those with “tincture of iodine” which is a topical antiseptic and quite toxic. Iodide is necessary for our metabolism as an essential part of thyroid hormone, which is our metabolic pacemaker. Soils in wide areas of this country are deficient in iodine, and this lack can result in goiter (hypertrophy of the thyroid gland, effectively from insufficient iodide intake). Thus the practice arose of adding iodide to salt intended for human consumption. This was the safest (the levels of iodide are minute) and surest way of protecting the population from this deficiency as salt is ubiquitous (all but universal) in food processing and preparation. The levels of iodide added to table salt are so small that any water-living vertebrate or invertebrate would be pickled in brine well before toxic concentrations of iodide could be reached, so that particular urban myth is without foundation. In fact, a number of our tank inhabitants need iodide- most crustaceans have a significant demand for the material, and a number of fish can develop goiter in captivity from the lack of iodine - African Rift Lake fish seem especially prone to this. The often-discussed toxicity of iodide could be considered urban myth #1.

Myth 2​

Salt, sodium chloride, is hydroscopic - exposed to air of more than Sahara-at-midday humidity, it will pick up moisture from the air on the surfaces of the individual crystals, which melt at the surface and cement themselves together- in short, they clump. The salt shaker does not work with clumpy salt, so additives are used to block the clumping. Arrowroot is common for this purpose, but others are possible. Again, as with iodine, quantities are small (but larger than with iodide), and are food-safe and fish-safe.

Kosher salt is commonly suggested as an alternative to table salt, as it does not have iodide added. This of course is a response to salt myth #1. Others gasp in horror at this suggestion, as kosher salt may have yellow prussiate of soda (the sodium salt of prussic acid, a ferro- or ferricyanide) as its anti-caking agent. Horrors! That is a cyanide compound! You are sending your fish to the gas chamber and it will kill them instantly! Horsefeathers. Once again, the quantity is tiny, food-safe, and the fish would be pickled in brine long before potentially toxic levels could be reached. Salt urban myth #2 down.

The above used to be reproduced on a number of fish forums on the net. Today you can find it here http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/wiki/The_Salt_of_the_Earth

I was privileged to learn from RTR when I was starting out in the hobby because he visited a fish chat room I did as well.

 

[Colin_T]

The gourami is dying, euthanise it.

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correct me if I'm wrong but isn't aquarium salt just normal salt.

aquarium salt is rock salt (sodium chloride) that does not have any additives.

cooking salt usually has iodine and or anti-caking agents in it. These can harm the fish.

 

[Rhys19]

The gourami is dying, euthanise it.

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aquarium salt is rock salt (sodium chloride) that does not have any additives.

cooking salt usually has iodine and or anti-caking agents in it. These can harm the fish.

No need it already died.

 

[Rhys19]

Moved the rest of my fish the only 3 (Clown Pleco, and 2 kuhli loaches) to my hospital tank, I know I said I had a common plec but I actually forgot it's a clown plec but for some reason it was labeled common at pet store.

 

[Rocky998]

I know I already said this, but I'm so sorry that he died. Just keep caring for the fish you have the best you can.

 

[raylove]

Aquarium salt treats external bacteria, fungus and some external parasites. It is unlikely to have any benefit in this situation (internal disease).
Sorry for your loss.

Agreed - salt doesn't cure dropsy but it can sometimes appear to ease the symptoms. When fish become sick they lose their ability to regulate their absorbsion of water through the process of osmosis and as a rest they swell up - the classic symptoms of dropsy, but also possible a possible symptom of many other disorders. In saltwater fish it is the other way round and rather than swelling, they shrivel due to the salinity of the water. So, for that same reason, if you add salt to fresh water, the tendency to swell is reduced but this doesn't mean that the salt has actually cured the underlying problem.