RikuzaYuzu
New Member
does salt help in freshwater aquariums? i've seen some stuff on the internet saying salt makes freshwater fish happier and healthier,and i'm not sure what amout i should add if it's true.
Salt in Freshwater Aquarium
- Thread starter RikuzaYuzu
- Start date
Salt was used routinely decades ago and many people and websites still advocate its use. But we now know that salt should not be added to a freshwater aquarium on a routine basis as freshwater fish bodies cannot handle it, particularly soft water fish. It can be used as a short term (maximum 4 weeks) treatment for certain ailments.
RikuzaYuzu
New Member
Thank you very much!
Salt should not be added to a freshwater aquarium unless it is being used to treat fish for diseases that respond to salt, or if the fish have nitrite poisoning. Then a small amount of salt (1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres) can be added if you can't do water changes to dilute the nitrite.
The following information is for treating freshwater fish with salt.
----------------------
SALT
Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.
For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of protozoan infections in freshwater fishes. Salt can treat early stages of hole in the head disease caused by Hexamita but it needs to be done in conjunction with cleaning up the tank. Salt can also be used to treat anchor worm (Lernaea), fish lice (Argulus), gill flukes (Dactylogyrus), skin flukes (Gyrodactylus), Epistylis, Microsporidian and Spironucleus infections.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
The following information is for treating freshwater fish with salt.
----------------------
SALT
Using Salt to Treat Fish Health Issues.
For some fish diseases you can use salt (sodium chloride) to treat the ailment rather than using a chemical based medication. Salt is relatively safe and is regularly used in the aquaculture industry to treat food fish for diseases. Salt has been successfully used to treat minor fungal and bacterial infections, as well as a number of external protozoan infections. Salt alone will not treat whitespot (Ichthyophthirius) or Velvet (Oodinium) but will treat most other types of protozoan infections in freshwater fishes. Salt can treat early stages of hole in the head disease caused by Hexamita but it needs to be done in conjunction with cleaning up the tank. Salt can also be used to treat anchor worm (Lernaea), fish lice (Argulus), gill flukes (Dactylogyrus), skin flukes (Gyrodactylus), Epistylis, Microsporidian and Spironucleus infections.
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt) or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
One of the comical myths of the aquarium hobby is that salt is not a chemical. It is, and should only be added to freshwater if you have a specific, thought out and researched goal in mind.
For example, I keep some Nothobranchius killifish that are very sensitive to the parasite Oodinium. I add a little salt, as it makes the water inhospitable for the parasite, which likes soft water best. That's a targeted use of a chemical in a preventative role.
For example, I keep some Nothobranchius killifish that are very sensitive to the parasite Oodinium. I add a little salt, as it makes the water inhospitable for the parasite, which likes soft water best. That's a targeted use of a chemical in a preventative role.
RikuzaYuzu
New Member
Then does salt kill red pests? well,i think one of my fish has it,i've temporarily quarantined it for now. It has a bloated belly,not sure if it has eggs or not and red spots on it's body. btw the fish is a cherry barb.
Red pests is a new name to me. Salt doesn't kill velvet (Oodinium), but it makes life hard for it and the fish can sometimes slough it off. In the example I used, it's a preventative.
With some skin parasites, the burning effect of the salt makes the fish produce protective mucous, and the thick layer of slime stops the parasites.
A bloated belly and red spots is probably a bacterial infection, and that is a loud warning about water quality. Are you changing 25-30% of the water weekly?
With some skin parasites, the burning effect of the salt makes the fish produce protective mucous, and the thick layer of slime stops the parasites.
A bloated belly and red spots is probably a bacterial infection, and that is a loud warning about water quality. Are you changing 25-30% of the water weekly?
RikuzaYuzu
New Member
i do about a 30% water change once every 2 weeks,my mother said it dosen't need to be change if it dosen't seem dirty,i'm not sure which to trust so i just do something in between.
Most of us change at least 50% every week. There's a whole load of stuff builds up in the water between water changes - things excreted by the fish, fish hormones etc, things we can't test for. These need to be removed.
Regular large water changes keeps the tank water chemistry similar to the source water (usually tap water) while infrequent small water changes allow the chemistry to drift away from the source water.
Regular large water changes keeps the tank water chemistry similar to the source water (usually tap water) while infrequent small water changes allow the chemistry to drift away from the source water.
I do 30% every week, as the chemical build ups in water are not visible to us. Clear water can be polluted.
You will probably have a lot of people here telling you to buy test kits. You may want to read about the nitrogen cycle (a little fishkeeping science homework...) and decide if that interests you. If you don't overload and overfeed your tank, then regular water changing and maintenance will solve the worst problems.
You will probably have a lot of people here telling you to buy test kits. You may want to read about the nitrogen cycle (a little fishkeeping science homework...) and decide if that interests you. If you don't overload and overfeed your tank, then regular water changing and maintenance will solve the worst problems.
RikuzaYuzu
New Member
thanks for the advices!
I have never heard of red pest.
Can you post pictures of the fish so we can check it for diseases?
D
Deleted member 149562
Guest
Red Pest sometimes known as Red Spot
Goldfish Red Pest Disease Treatment
Red pest disease also known as pond pest, causes blood red spots or patches on the fish’s body. is caused by a bacterial infection (bacterium cyprinicida).
www.about-goldfish.com
that is a bacterial infection.Red Pest sometimes known as Red Spot
Goldfish Red Pest Disease Treatment
Red pest disease also known as pond pest, causes blood red spots or patches on the fish’s body. is caused by a bacterial infection (bacterium cyprinicida).
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