I'm a happy owner of a thriving 100 gallon freshwater aquarium thats been set up five years ago. Here's my advice, I found that adding exactly 1 teaspoon of Instant Ocean salt mix per gallon of water works wonders on your fish. You have no idea how healthy your fish will be with the salt in the water. NO freshwater fish will be harmed by adding this amount of salt to the tank. Not just any salt, like Aquarium Salt or table salt, will do. I tried these salt types and they are USELESS for keeping your fish healthy. IT HAS TO BE INSTANT OCEAN. I have about 40 fish in my 100 and I only lost 3 fish in the five years I had this tank, probably due to old age. Prior to discovering the wonders of adding IO salt to my tank, I was replacing fish on a regular basis because the fish would stress easier without salt added. I do a 25% water change every two weeks with salt compared to every week without salt. So adding salt enabled me to cut back on water changes without affecting the fish in the least. Unless you already picked up on this method, I encourage you to try this. You WILL NOT be disappointed. Good Luck!!!!
Listen everyone, I have GREAT freshwater advice!!!
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One more thing, ALWAYS QT new fish arrivals before adding them to your display tank!!!!! I QT my new fish in a 15 gallon tank with 1.5 teaspoons of Instant Ocean salt per gallon for a month before adding them to my main.
malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
I run no salt in my FW tanks, and don't have to regularly replace fish.
Luke Anderson
Aquarium Advice Regular
I wouldnt add salt of any kind to a fish's tank on a regular basis unless they were saltwater or brackish. instant oceon contains normal sodium chloride, however just with the addition of other trace minerals and buffers. Instant ocean as a brand name of marine salt mixes isnt often reccomended anyway even for sw fish as it contains a high amount of heavy metals (toxic). For fish that like a low ph as a rule marine mix salts are also bad because they buffer the water and up the ph in a lot of cases.
It is also proven that keeping a regular addition of salt to a freshwater aquarium can lead to salt resistant pathogens developing such as ich, and costia, which has already happened.
I used to regularly add salt to my tanks, my fish thrived, but guess what? when i stopped they still did and do great.
It is also proven that keeping a regular addition of salt to a freshwater aquarium can lead to salt resistant pathogens developing such as ich, and costia, which has already happened.
I used to regularly add salt to my tanks, my fish thrived, but guess what? when i stopped they still did and do great.
RogerMcAllen
Aquarium Advice Addict
I will also have to second the fact that salt is really bad for pleco's and loaches.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd be willing to bet that good husbandry, attention to water quality, regular water changes, etc. have provided your fish with the long lives they deserve, and may or may not be a product of the salt.
There are many debates on this site and all over the web about whether or not to add salt to FW tanks, and I don't, except for mollies and I add rift lake salts to my African tank, but if this is working for you and your fish, then by all means, continue!
There are many debates on this site and all over the web about whether or not to add salt to FW tanks, and I don't, except for mollies and I add rift lake salts to my African tank, but if this is working for you and your fish, then by all means, continue!
Guppyman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Salt
Hi. I swore by salt in my guppy tanks for years - gave it up 3 years ago and will never go back. It's just not needed and it's just one more hassle. The secret is in the water changes, IMHO. - Frank/Guppyman®
Hi. I swore by salt in my guppy tanks for years - gave it up 3 years ago and will never go back. It's just not needed and it's just one more hassle. The secret is in the water changes, IMHO. - Frank/Guppyman®
Medusa Head
Aquarium Advice Activist
A .10% salt content to freshwater aquariums is a low enough level that it will not harm loaches and plecos. The statement "loaches can't tolerate any salt whatsoever" is a myth that I have found to be entirely untrue. It totally depends on the amount of salt added.
Obviously what fishing is doing isn't "toxic," otherwise fishing would not have experienced an extremely low mortality rate in a five year period of doing it.
Personally I keep water at a .10% salt level with plecos, loaches, and many varities of freshwater plants (including madagascar lace), and none of them show any kind of stress whatsoever. I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Salt, but I also add Seachem Fresh trace for trace elements and Seachem Acid/Alkaline buffer to maintain a steady pH. Since I use an automated CO2 system with a pH monitor, I always know what my pH is.
Obviously what fishing is doing isn't "toxic," otherwise fishing would not have experienced an extremely low mortality rate in a five year period of doing it.
Personally I keep water at a .10% salt level with plecos, loaches, and many varities of freshwater plants (including madagascar lace), and none of them show any kind of stress whatsoever. I use Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Salt, but I also add Seachem Fresh trace for trace elements and Seachem Acid/Alkaline buffer to maintain a steady pH. Since I use an automated CO2 system with a pH monitor, I always know what my pH is.
senorcat
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
My plecos and catfish Albino cory and upside down, all do fine in the 1.00 salinity and now 1.010 salinity that i just adjusted as such. So are my barbs and tetras, and let me not go there about the mollies. and bye bye worms too since 1.00 salinity. Bienvenue mes autres canadiens!
krap101
Aquarium Advice Addict
you can do all the water changes you want but fish will still die. from now to 5 years from now. the real secret is the love
. seriously. with no love you wont care how much water you change. you wont care what tmep it is. you wont care how much you feed. you wont care who gets picked on. you wont care if a fish dies because the other fish will peck at it and clean it up. you wont care about anything. just my oppinion... but with love water changes count 2 also guppyman? shouldnt you be coryman or something?? because like you have 1/4 2 1/2 all the sp. corys lol.
Meredith
Aquarium Advice Addict
I don't want to sound mean, but the main post sounded a little too much like an advertisement... please buy our product. I don't use salt. I will probably never use salt in a fw, but I am still pretty new at this, so whatta I know?
G
Guest
Guest
WOW Meredith,
I thought the same thing after reading the original post. After continual reading and learning what is kept in this "Ocean Clear salt used" tank. It sounds rather hard to believe that some of these species of fish are "five years old" and only "three mortalities in five years". Just my opinion.
As a side note, I don't use any salt in any of my tanks, including crustations. The only time I use salt might be in QT of sick fish, were it seems applicatable.
As mentioned, good husbandry is key. If it works, continue on.
I thought the same thing after reading the original post. After continual reading and learning what is kept in this "Ocean Clear salt used" tank. It sounds rather hard to believe that some of these species of fish are "five years old" and only "three mortalities in five years". Just my opinion.
As a side note, I don't use any salt in any of my tanks, including crustations. The only time I use salt might be in QT of sick fish, were it seems applicatable.
As mentioned, good husbandry is key. If it works, continue on.
Scottcenfla
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
The "add some salt" trick has been around for half a century. If you have to add salt to your FW tank to keep your fish healthy, you have a underlying problem other than the salt "perking" up your fish. Your water may test fine, but something as small as the enviroment your fish live in can affect their health.
With a multi species tank, it can be very hard to simulate the right enviroment so all fish species are happy and display natural behavior. But hey, if the water is good, and you have multiple species and salt helps keep all the population healthy in general, who can say it is wrong.
I can go to any water body here in Florida and measure more than .10 percent salinity in FW. Lunker bass are caught here so I guess it can't be all bad.
With a multi species tank, it can be very hard to simulate the right enviroment so all fish species are happy and display natural behavior. But hey, if the water is good, and you have multiple species and salt helps keep all the population healthy in general, who can say it is wrong.
I can go to any water body here in Florida and measure more than .10 percent salinity in FW. Lunker bass are caught here so I guess it can't be all bad.
I've never used salt and never will...I try to have as little salt as i can even for myself. Lets look at what is in salt(unnatural)Sodium....(goes Bang! when water hits it)Chloride(chlorine)......Mustard Gas anyone? when mixed together form a "safe" product known as salt... "safe"?? how can 2 etreamly dangours chemicals be called "safe" ....and people wonder why there is so much sickness in the world...
IMO
IMO
I use Instant Ocean salt because it contains more trace elements than just sodium chloride which is the only component found in Aquarium Salt and for some reason, my fish are thriving. As mentioned before, I wouldn't add any more than 1 teaspoon per gallon, let alone increasing the SG to 1.010 as Senorcat suggested!!! Thats overkill and that much salt for freshwater fish will likely kill them. The only time I use more salt per gallon than 1 teaspoon is when I QT new fish. During that time, I use 1.5 teaspoons per gallon. I don't know how live plants fare in freshwater with added salt, but I don't keep them and I don't intend to. They're too darn messy and too much of a hassle.
Fishalicious
Aquarium Advice Freak
I agree. I put salt on everything and I'm never sick.
As for salt in aquariums, I used to add 1 TBSP/5 gallons of AP salt, but as soon as I got my oto's and pleco I stopped immediately. I'm not sure exactly how bad it is for them, but from what I read, it's not even close to worth the risk of harming them. I'll save the salt for the QT tank...
Dan
As for salt in aquariums, I used to add 1 TBSP/5 gallons of AP salt, but as soon as I got my oto's and pleco I stopped immediately. I'm not sure exactly how bad it is for them, but from what I read, it's not even close to worth the risk of harming them. I'll save the salt for the QT tank...
Dan
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