Salt in freshwater?

[jonstinton]

Hi, I've read somewhere about adding salt to help keep fish healthy. Is this correct or just a myth. I've got 4 Sunset Platies with 30 fry and 4 Tiger Barbs.

The tank is about 10 weeks old and we are currently treating one of the Tiger Barbs for Popeye infection. Would a regular dose of salt keep up their defences?

Thanks for any help,

Jon.

 

[Terry]

jonstinton welcome to Aquarium Advice.

Salt has been in this hobby for as long as i can remember, my dad used salt as medication in his day. That was down to the fact that he didn't really have anything else.
Salt is used in livebearing tanks, mollies esp as they come from brackish regions, some people still use salt as a medication and some people use salt as a tonic. Most of the livebearers you see in the lfs now are tank bred and are not kept in brackish waters.
The good thing about Aquarium Advice is that you will get loads of differant methods of keeping fish, but in the end it will be down to you what you do.

 

[Sinuhe]

Salt is supposed to ease the osmotic pressure for the fish, but some fish, and a lot of plants, don't like salt. You see salt recommended for livebearers in a lot of places, and apparently that's because when they are raised in places like Singapore, they'll add salt to water to make the fish grow faster and stay healthier (so I've been told by an experienced fish store owner who breeds his own livebearers). Those fish, used to the salt, will then do better with some salt for the rest of their lives. But fish grown locally most probably hasn't been raised with salt, and will do just fine without it. And going without salt will make it easier for you to choose other fish and plants for your tank. That's what I've decided to do, to go saltless, with my platies, after researching this topic for weeks .

 

[Terry]

Sinuhe you put that so much better than i could of. Thats basically what i ment and you put it so much better. Livebearers in most of the UK lfs are not kept in salt because they are bred in freshwater.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

if you do a little nosing around the internet, you'll find as many different opinions on salt as you could imagine. Some FW fish, like goldfish, don't like salt, but it still can be used to medicate their tank (to treat ich, for example). I've used "salt dips" when my fish got a little scuffed up, and when I was cycling, as it can prevent nitrite poisoning. On a day to day basis though? It just isn't that necessary for most FW fish. IMO, better to just aim for good water quality.

 

[Terry]

I aggree with you to sweetsuvvyb, the hobby has change so much over the years but opinions don't. Some people swear by useing salt in there tanks and some people have never used it. It is one of them subjects that can be debated to the end of time.

 

[M. Ajaz Khan]

I vote to the salt addition, as it keeps some paracites away and helps heel wounds, keeps your fishes out of un wanted stress. in all it is good.

 

[Allivymar]

Salt is really unneccessary except in certain situations.

Livebearers appreciate a bit of salt in the tank, and high levels can be used in the treatment of ich. While it can help with osmosis, unless one is using RO/DI water, its unneccessary; tap water contains some impurities, and theres usually a miniscule amount of salt in it already. It is THE recommended treatment for Brown Blood Disease (nitrite poisoning).

Some fish do not handle salt well at all; corys come to mind. It will not prevent disease (do a google search and you'll find no documentation supporting that premise).

In your case, because you have platys, a small amount of salt would be a good thing; otherwise I'd suggest not.

Heres some info on salt n FW fish:
http://aquascienceresearch.com/APInfo/Salt.htm
http://213.176.1.196:800/Default/www.sciam.com/askexpert/biology/biology26/biology26.html

 

[stew]

FWIW as soon as I added salt to my tank with mollies the momma gave birth. It salso seems to have helped treat a small cyst on another fish. I have 4 tetras in my 29 gal tank and they dont seem to mind a small amount of salt at all.

I didnt add much (its "doc wellfishes" aquarium salt for freshwater fish) and the directions said to add 1 table spoon for ever 5 gallons. Aperantly salt doesnt get filtered out of evaporate so you only have to add more when you do a water change. So far it seems to have helped my tank so I will continue using it in moderation.

On another note, my gold dust had 8 more fry today.. woohoo!

 

[An t-iasg]

It's not surprising that the mollies gave birth after you added salt. Mollies prefer some salt in their water, and I've also read that they can be acclimated to saltwater tanks.

I also add some salt to my betta tank. I added the recommended dose, but I've started to cut down based on what I've read here. I'm cutting down gradually, and now I'm putting half the dose in that I used to use. So right now I'm using 1/8 tsp. per gallon, and trying to decide if I'll leave it there or reduce further.

 

[jonstinton]

Thanks for all your adive and comments. It does seem really confusing though whether to add salt or not. The Platty fry are now 1 month old and ALL 30 are still alive and doing really well, so i think for the moment we wont be adding any salt.

If we do decide, what is the normal dose? I have a 55 litre (5gln) tank. How often is the slat meant to be added?

Thanks again,

Jon