Is This Salt Ok?

[lychas]

hey, i got some saxa sea salt ages ago, i have used it in the past and it was fine but just wondering if i should really use it in the aquarium, its non iodised

 

[Fella]

hey, i got some saxa sea salt ages ago, i have used it in the past and it was fine but just wondering if i should really use it in the aquarium, its non iodised

The only salt suitable for an aquarium is salt that is intended for creating a marine aquarium. Saxa salt (used for food I presume?) is not suitable, as it won't contain most of the necessary elements for creating a marine/brackish aquarium. You want something manufactured specifically for aquaria containing trace elements.

 

[lychas]

its not to create a brackish tank, its just to add a pinch of salt to help the fishes

 

[Fella]

its not to create a brackish tank, its just to add a pinch of salt to help the fishes

Why do you want to do that? Adding salt to a freshwater tank is 99% unnecessary.

And I still wouldn't add that salt.

 

[nmonks]

As Fella has said, there's no reason to add salt to a freshwater aquarium except for treating specific diseases, and then it needs to be used carefully. When used as such, tonic salt or marine salt mix can be used. The dosages of salt to be of any use for treating diseases are much higher than most people imagine. Over the short term, most freshwater fish will tolerate surprisingly high salt concentrations, and you can dip most species in seawater for several minutes. The following is a table of used modified from The Interpet Manual of Fish Health, a slightly outdated but useful little book:

• 0.1% (1 gramme per litre): General additive for livebearers or in tanks where fish show physical damage (i.e., lesions, fin damage). Use in the aquarium.
• 0.3% (3 g/l): Reduces nitrite toxicity or to treat physical damage. Use in the aquarium.
• 0.3-0.5% (3-5 g/l): To control Hydra. Use in the aquarium for no more than 5 to 7 days, then change water to gradually reduce salinity.
• 1% (10 g/l): To treat ulcer disease on coldwater fish. Acclimate fish gradually and then reduce salinity gradually once fish are cured.
• 2-3% (20-30 g/l): To remove leeches from pond fish. Use as a bath, with fish put into bath for 15-30 minute dips.

The authors go on to say that there are several cautions to using salt. First, not to use table salt (i.e., cooking salt with iodine added). Second, softwater species in particular are sensitive to salt (commonly tetras, catfish, loaches, etc.). Thirdly, increases in salinity should be gradual, over a few days, and if any fish appear distressed, they should be removed at once. Finally, plants may not tolerate salty water (though this is not always the case, as there are many brackish-tolerant plants sold as aquarium species).

The idea that tiny amounts of salt should be added to the freshwater aquarium is an old myth that stems from the time when only hardy fishes were kept, and the addition of salt helped to mitigate the effects of poor filtration and high nitrate levels (salt does indeed reduce the toxicity of nitrate significantly). For things like goldfish, Asian barbs, certain labyrinth fish, and livebearers such as guppies and mollies the benefits of adding salt offset any risks as these fish were often fairly salt tolerant (goldfish for example can tolerate anything up to about 1/4th seawater, at least in the short term). However, since that time the range of fishes kept has massively increased, and many of these new species, such as neons, angelfish, African lake cichlids, are notably intolerant of salt. Hence, adding salt will cause more problems than it will fix. The only people who continute to advocate the addition of salt seem to be the people making and selling the stuff. You will be hard pressed to find a single pro-level fishkeeper who advocates the addition of salt to freshwater aquaria simply as a matter of course. Yes, there are instances where adding salt can be useful, but as Fella said, in almost all cases it is either useless or potentially harmful.

Cheers, Neale