Salt Is Ok For Cories...

[moeldner]

My LFS uses salt in ALL of their tropical tanks and swears by it.

We have relatively soft water and this LFS has it's own blend of salt/other stuff they use to increase the hardness of the water to keep fish happy.

I'm convinced this is what caused enough shock to a batch of neon rainbows I bought to kill all but 2 of them off - found out about the salt later. They tested my water, and the only difference they found between mine and theirs was the hardness.

 

[Teelie]

Water hardness is a definite possibility in fish dying suddenly. There's a rather interesting article on this here. Though it has more to do with "old tank syndrome" it does skirt around the increasing hardness of water and its shock on fish.

 

[Inchworm]

I was just told that salt will not harm my corries, as I plan to use it for a columbnairis problem on my angelfish....Is this true that salt will not harm corries? I have heard that salt is very bad for them.....

Hi newfishaddict

A little salt in the water for medicinal purposes will not hurt the corys. Just be sure to remove it once the treatment time is over. Never keep it in their water on a regular basis.

Now, if your fish have a bacterial infection, a dilute solution of salt water will do nothing for it. I would suggest going right for an antibiotic like Tetracycline, Furan-2 or Kanamycin. Follow the directions on the label and repeat the treatment if necessary. Never stop treatment before the recommended time.

Before you begin treatment, I would suggest that you also do a good tank cleaning and vacuum your gravel. Also, add carbon to your filter to remove the ich medicine. Keep the water at no higher than 75 degrees F. and add an airstone if there is any possibility that your water might be low on oxygen.

When your fish come down with a bacterial infection, it's most important to eliminate the cause as well as administer medicine. I suspect that the treatment for ich might have been at least partly responsible. It can be hard on the fish.

Good luck. I hope your tank is back to normal soon.

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

BN's are like most Plecs, thickly plated if not scaled and should be okay I'd say. Like cories, just use half-doses of salt to be on the safe side.

I have never had a bristle nose catfish and would not want to say this would be ok. On the other hand you could contact a breeder and talk to them. Also a local fish club would be a good help. That way they no about the water in your area. The last thing I would say is if you REALLY trust your LFS go for it. Just remeber most just want to sell you more fish.

They do want to sell fish but they also want repeat business and good word of mouth. Giving out bad or poor information is not a way to accomplish that. Despite the constant, almost bashing nature many take with LFS's on this board, they're not all bad and not all incompetent.

could not agree more ! see mt reply , i trust my LFS 100% ! by the way , where did you get your alien picure ? i want it for a football messge board ( soccer if you are USA ) hope you dont mind me asking !

 

[Inchworm]

My LFS uses salt in ALL of their tropical tanks and swears by it.

We have relatively soft water and this LFS has it's own blend of salt/other stuff they use to increase the hardness of the water to keep fish happy.

I'm convinced this is what caused enough shock to a batch of neon rainbows I bought to kill all but 2 of them off - found out about the salt later. They tested my water, and the only difference they found between mine and theirs was the hardness.

It's not unusual for a good lfs to add salt to their tanks. It helps ease the transition from one kind of water to another for the fish. This seems to be especially helpful when this involves a drastic change in pH.

Fish are only kept at the lfs for short periods of time and that's different from living out their lives in salted water. If you have a problem getting the fish used to your tank water, use a quarantine tank and make the change over an extended period of time. A little water change daily should work well for them.

 

[Teelie]

by the way , where did you get your alien picure ? i want it for a football messge board ( soccer if you are USA ) hope you dont mind me asking !

I got it from someone else's avatar on another board actually. I can't remember which one.
This is the original file though:

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

by the way , where did you get your alien picure ? i want it for a football messge board ( soccer if you are USA ) hope you dont mind me asking !

I got it from someone else's avatar on another board actually. I can't remember which one.
This is the original file though:

Thanks , any idea how i transfer it ? i am not technically minded !

 

[Teelie]

Right click on the image and save the file to your harddrive. The original one is kind of big though for an avatar so I had to shrink mine down and then run it through an optimizer twice to reduce the size even more. Basically, if you want to use my avatar, just save it and then upload it to some free webspace or the other board if it allows that.

 

[newfishaddict]

I have never had a bristle nose catfish and would not want to say this would be ok. On the other hand you could contact a breeder and talk to them. Also a local fish club would be a good help. That way they no about the water in your area. The last thing I would say is if you REALLY trust your LFS go for it. Just remeber most just want to sell you more fish.

Thanks , i do trust my LFS as i have heard them refuse to sell fish to people depending on what type of fish they have & how long they have let the tank mature before putting fish in .

BN's are like most Plecs, thickly plated if not scaled and should be okay I'd say. Like cories, just use half-doses of salt to be on the safe side.

I have never had a bristle nose catfish and would not want to say this would be ok. On the other hand you could contact a breeder and talk to them. Also a local fish club would be a good help. That way they no about the water in your area. The last thing I would say is if you REALLY trust your LFS go for it. Just remeber most just want to sell you more fish.

They do want to sell fish but they also want repeat business and good word of mouth. Giving out bad or poor information is not a way to accomplish that. Despite the constant, almost bashing nature many take with LFS's on this board, they're not all bad and not all incompetent.

Thanks

I want to comment about LFSs. Obviously , it depends on the employee you speak with, I have delt with employees who knew NOTHING, and a few that knew allot; I just get educatated on my own now to be safe....