how much salt

[raygen]

ive noticed that my fish are flicking against rocks so i guess they have body flukes. how much salt should i put in my tank to treat this the tank is a 60 gallon?

thanx
nick

 

[WILDER]

Flicking can mean quite a few parasite deseases, gill fukes, red inflamed gills, heavy breathing, whitespot look like they have been sprinkled in salt, velvet gold dusting to the body, what are your waters stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph as bad water can cause fish to flick, and how long have they been doing it.

 

[raygen]

for quite a while. no visible signs other than flicking and not all of them do it just my red tailed shark and my danios. dont know my test results my fish shop does it and it is due again. I do a 25% wter change weekly

 

[WILDER]

Do some water changes for now while you can get your water tested, tell them to write the readings down for you,it would be best if you could buy some test kits of your own, you need them, they also tell you if you are doing enough maintanance on the tank.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Do you have any scaleless fish? If yes, no salt. If not, I believe its one rounded tbsp per 5 gallons. Although, if your RTS is smallish, you could do a salt dip. This has 5 tbsp of salt per gallon, but don't leave them in there more than 30mins.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi raygen

Wilder is right; there are many things that could cause your fish to flick. And, it's never a good idea to treat a problem until you are sure of the diagnosis. By doing so, you could harm the fish, or mask the real problem until it is too late to cure it.

A much more common reason to flick than flukes is high nitrites. With the small water changes you are doing, especially if your tank is well stocked or your filter smaller than it might be, this could well be the problem. I suggest you double your water changes for a few weeks and see if that helps. Do a big (50%) one and a good bottom vacuuming to begin with, then 2 25% or larger ones a week until you determine something more specific.

Your red tailed black shark is not actually a shark, it's a catfish and you should not salt your tank with them in it if it is at all possible to avoid it.

 

[raygen]

what happens to the catfish if i do salt the tank?

 

[Inchworm]

what happens to the catfish if i do salt the tank?

Hi raygen

It's best not to use salt with catfish or loaches because they absorb it through their skin. Since the water in their natural habitats does not contain any salt, they have no way to eliminate it from their systems. Eventually it will cause damage to their kidneys and liver which will shorten their lives greatly.

Salt can be used as a medication for very short periods of time, but only when very necessary.