Salt in freshwater?

[Convict2161]

Once again the LFS(and really started to dislike this person) but as a fire chief I must at all times smile and be professional. Anyway I'm being told that my Cichlid tank every once in a while NEED aquarium salt added to water for there over all health and it will "only. Benefit me and my fish in the long run" and... "if I don't use it I could be hurting them and stressing them"

I think I'm gonna change LFS...

Anyone is this person right? Wrong? I've read up on it and some sites say yes a good idea and some say absolutely not. I'm confused.

 

[HN1]

They are well trained. lol

Opinions do vary, BUT.... the only fish that require salt are brackish and marine IMO. It can be used in conjuction with heat to treat ich as well as being a stop gap measure for a nitrite spike. As a prophylactic.... no value (again JMO).


OT- thanks for doing what you do. I was on the job for 6 years and admire you all greatly.

 

[Convict2161]

Thanks brother... Yeah they seem to know everything about nothing! LoL. I'll stay away from the salt and since I found this place, I'll ask here before.

Have a good one.

 

[Mrc8858]

I keep my cichlids with a small amount of salt in the water just a pinch for every 5 gallon bucket as do my friends locally including a cichlid breeder..from my experience it brighten up there color and among helping cure illness it also helps prevent

 

[LyndaB]

You will probably get lots of opinions on the salt topic. Most, it seems, don't use it, no matter the freshwater fish they keep. A few swear by it. There are some species that may benefit from it more than others. There are some species that cannot tolerate any salt at all.

I'm of the school that the less "stuff" I toss into my tank, the safer my fish are.

 

[Mrc8858]

Ya any other FW fish I absolutely would say no but African cichlids seem to do quite well with it in my experience but it def isn't a must do just all comes down to personal choice

 

[Convict2161]

Ok so all said and done. South American Cichlids mainly Convicts wouldn't need salt right? She was pushing this salt product once I told her I had Cichlid's.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I think people who rave about salt making their fish healthier have the same thing that people receiving placebos have when they lose weight or whatever the intention of the 'drug' they're supposedly taking has.

 

[picture_117]

Yeah was about to mention the placebo effect.
Nothing has happened to their fish so they attribute that to the salt.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Just from a biological aspect, I would point all that all living creatures uptake and use salt to some degree; so yes it is something that all organisms need. The whole aquarium salt thing has been around in the aquarium hobby since time began I believe. Back in the day when we used to set-up freshwater tanks, the rule of thumb was a teaspoon of salt per 10 gallons of water, and it was always replaced when you removed water for water changes, but not when you topped off from evaporation.

When I first started keeping cichlids, I always added salt to the tanks as indicated above. After quite a few years, I decided there ought to be enough salt in the tanks to make them an ocean based on the amount I'd added over the years, and I stopped using it. There was most definitely no noticable decline in the health or appearance of my cichlids in the years that followed.

Now if you are using strickly RO, RO/DI, or distilled water in your aquarium then I would argue that the addition of salt would probably be required. However, with the addition of new tapwater on a regular basis, you are probably adding plenty of salt with each water change.

 

[Convict2161]

Thank you for your in depth response. Some interesting info.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Thank you for your in depth response. Some interesting info.

You are more than welcome.