Salt Is Ok For Cories...

[newfishaddict]

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.....

 

[Nevergone815]

let me guess... your lfs (live fish supplier/store) told you that. salt is very harmful to inverts and fish who do not have scales . salt would be great to treat your tank for colomnaris (sp) but it would harm your cories... maybe even kill them . most algae eaters, plecos, and catfish are harmed by salt. even some scaled fish can barely handle trace amounts of salt. to be sure. i would research everyfish that is in your tank and see if/how much salt they can tolerate. i know the cories can't. if you can isolate thecories from he tank until you can treat the colomnaris and change the water to remove most of the salt you should be ok.

what i have been told is use 2 teaspoons of non-iodized salt per 10 gal of water. i never tried this becuase i have salt-sensitive fish in my tanks. i just use a combo of maracyn and maracyn two. they are like $5-6 each and ctreats a whole variety of diseases and they are really good too. i think that it is maracyn that treats the colomnaris. this doesn't harm any fish (in my experience), if your activation carbon is more than 10 days old you don't have to remove it, it doesn't cloud your water (supposedly, but it does mine) and it nor only treats pop-eye, fin & tail rot, gill disease, colomnaris andone other one i beleive (i'm not sure), but it prevents secondary infections that will be the death to your fish or a huge dent in your wallet to treat.

personally i would use medication to treat the tank because it is safer for the fish. wait for others to respond though as they may have advice about the salt that i couldn't really give due to my lack of experience using it.

 

[Trance2006]

Than how can we treat ich and stress naturally?

 

[Teelie]

let me guess... your lfs (live fish supplier/store) told you that. salt is very harmful to inverts and fish who do not have scales . salt would be great to treat your tank for colomnaris (sp) but it would harm your cories... maybe even kill them . most algae eaters, plecos, and catfish are harmed by salt. even some scaled fish can barely handle trace amounts of salt. to be sure. i would research everyfish that is in your tank and see if/how much salt they can tolerate. i know the cories can't. if you can isolate thecories from he tank until you can treat the colomnaris and change the water to remove most of the salt you should be ok.

what i have been told is use 2 teaspoons of non-iodized salt per 10 gal of water. i never tried this becuase i have salt-sensitive fish in my tanks. i just use a combo of maracyn and maracyn two. they are like $5-6 each and ctreats a whole variety of diseases and they are really good too. i think that it is maracyn that treats the colomnaris. this doesn't harm any fish (in my experience), if your activation carbon is more than 10 days old you don't have to remove it, it doesn't cloud your water (supposedly, but it does mine) and it nor only treats pop-eye, fin & tail rot, gill disease, colomnaris andone other one i beleive (i'm not sure), but it prevents secondary infections that will be the death to your fish or a huge dent in your wallet to treat.

personally i would use medication to treat the tank because it is safer for the fish. wait for others to respond though as they may have advice about the salt that i couldn't really give due to my lack of experience using it.

No, I did and they're not true scaleless fish. "Armored helmet" is their name afterall. But no doubt you'll argue over it. I've used salt in the past and never harmed my fish and I'll dig up some links from the most experienced cory keepers who'll attest to it if you like. It's best to pre-mix it in water first, and not over dose the tank. Much like many other rumors and "common" knowledge that gets passed around, this one isn't quite the whole truth.

Medication is of course a better alternative to salt but salt when properly premixed and added isn't going to harm let alone kill Cories.

 

[Trance2006]

Intresting, I guess if you don't premix it the lil corys go on top of it and slighty burn their skin. I thought something was fishy about that when I red it the other day

 

[Teelie]

With any fish, unmixed salt can burn. Scales or no scales. With a premixed solution and an even spread through the aquarium, it's not nearly so concentrated or dangerous. While it's true scaless fish and Cories included are more sensitive than scaled fish to salt, they're not wholly intolerant either. Loaches on the other hand and some of the other catfish, I would definitely be wary using salt with.

 

[Trance2006]

So if BOX A advises to put one rounded teaspoon for every 5 US Gallons you would wan't to put a half teaspoon?

 

[Teelie]

Yeah, to be on the safe side, it would be best to half the dose though I think even 3 quarters would be okay, best not to over do it.

 

[Bignose]

The real issue at heart here is what kind of natural environment did these fish develop in? Corys and tetras and angels come from the Amazon basin: very soft, acidic waterways, mostly. Compare this with the natural environments of the guppy, molly, or all the way to the opposite, the African Rift lakes.

Next, you have to consider where the fish you have in your possession came from. In the U.S., neon tetras are currently bred in the alkaline waters of florida, along with several other common sepcies. Very different from their natural waters.

Finally, for short times, most any fish can survive a change in environment. The trouble, especially with these fish from soft waters, is that the salt gets into their circulatory systems and their kidneys try to remove it, and the long-term result is often kidney failure. What is 'short-time' and 'long-time'? I'm not sure, but a few days to treat disease probably falls in the short-time so long as the concentrations are not increased too quickly.

 

[Trance2006]

So your saying wild ones can handle salt?

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

I have always used salt for my corys and my loaches. I have found nothing better it get rid of ick then salt and rasied heat. My clown loaches when I got them all had ick. They are now 4 years old and doing fine with no other out break of ick ever.
Do I add it everytime I do a water change, no. Only when the is a problem with the fish. I have found out by reading that once you start medicating your tank you will be doing it all the time.
Salt if used as a med is no more dangerous then any thing else on the market. The other think that does help with ick is high air. Drop a couple air stones(lots of little bubbles) with the heat and salt.
Good luck

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

I have always used salt for my corys and my loaches. I have found nothing better it get rid of ick then salt and rasied heat. My clown loaches when I got them all had ick. They are now 4 years old and doing fine with no other out break of ick ever.
Do I add it everytime I do a water change, no. Only when the is a problem with the fish. I have found out by reading that once you start medicating your tank you will be doing it all the time.
Salt if used as a med is no more dangerous then any thing else on the market. The other think that does help with ick is high air. Drop a couple air stones(lots of little bubbles) with the heat and salt.
Good luck

I have Mollies & a bristle nose catfish , my LFS said mild salt would be very good for the mollies & in NO WAY be harmfull to the catfish , any thoughts ?

 

[Shelly_Otterkin]

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.

 

[Teelie]

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.

 

[Number 1 Jasper]

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