Salt in freshwater - beneficial or not?

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the use of aquarium salt in fresh water beneficial or not



I have been told this also but I have planted aquariums and I am kind of leery of doing this due to someone telling me it will kill my plants so I am curious also
 
Salt in an freshwater aquarium is beneficial when setting up a new tank , it will not kill your plants or harm your fish . If it did all mz plants would be gone and I have at least 70 plants in My tanks and nearly 90 fish . Be sure you follow the scale on the aquarium salt container
 
Salt in an freshwater aquarium is beneficial when setting up a new tank , it will not kill your plants or harm your fish . If it did all mz plants would be gone and I have at least 70 plants in My tanks and nearly 90 fish . Be sure you follow the scale on the aquarium salt container


Why is it beneficial?
 
Why is it beneficial?



Salt helps to provide the bacteria base that is needed , it provide the electrolytes needed to reach peak vitality and coloration it also helps the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide and ammonia , it also helps in many other areas of health for your fish
 
where to place this thread?

Salt helps to provide the bacteria base that is needed , it provide the electrolytes needed to reach peak vitality and coloration it also helps the intake of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide and ammonia , it also helps in many other areas of health for your fish

How does salt "provide the bacteria base that is needed"? Chemistry wise, what role does it play in bacterial growth? I've never heard that before and I want to understand the science behind it. I have heard of salt being used to inhibit bacterial growth, but that is probably at much higher concentrations than the standard aquarium salt dosage.
I do understand that salt can be used to reduce nitrite toxicity. It can be a lifesaver in some cases. Then again, in a healthy tank, one should not be detecting nitrites. Just not so sure about the necessity for continued usage. Does this apply to all fish or just some? What about fish that prefer a lower TDS? The addition of salt sounds like the last thing one would want to do.
 
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When I was getting back into the hobby years back I was told I had to add salt for the fish health and their slime coat. It wasn't much and I had to completely dissolve it before adding. But having snails in there it made me nervous. So I stopped. Other than the fact that every store seems to pitch those little boxes of API Aquarium salt and reading posts like this I have never really known the science behind the salt. I'm looking forward to reading more on this. I know the fish need minerals/electrolytes but wonder if it is present in the water is the addition of salt needed? Or bad?
 
Thanks for sharing the API info. I would be curious how testing was performed to back up the product's claims. Was the control group housed in a new tank or established tank, and what was the composition of the water being used? Soft? Hard? Neutral? Any traces of salt?
Source water (tap, well, RO/DI) can vary widely in terms of KH, GH, pH, TDS, and SG. IMO this needs to be taken in consideration when adding a product such as this or any that can impact water properties.
 
I wonder if they have published their data??? I would suspect that the inconsistency of source water would be one of the factors to support the product market.

With my snails I was able to see a very obvious impact of Ph and mineral content.

But with fish??? I'm sure you really gotta know your fish.

I use the RO/Di water in my main tank and add the Seachem Equilibrium. It's supposed to add back what is needed without the sodium. But then I learned it had nothing to support Kh so I have added a bit of that.

My tap water has dramatically improved over the past few months. The TDS dropped from a high of 400+ to under 200. But who knows what exactly is in there. Lol. Might already have plenty of salt in it!
 
I have added *way* lower than the amount of aquarium salt on the box when I've had a mini cycle. (Post power outtage, for example.) But I also have a snail and I'm wary of using it with my cories and my raphael. The amount I use hasn't seemed to be a problem with them. I have used it as directed in my betta only tank, hoping it might magically stop algae/diatoms. It doesn't. (That betta won't even accept a snail in with him.) We do a lot of wiping down and scrubbing on his tank.

I have ridiculously hard water, so I don't think we really need anything *added* for minerals. For salt dips for my fish, I generally use kosher salt.
 
Pretty much everything you add to your tank will effect water chemistry in one way or another. Before adding things to your tank I would strongly recommend understanding *why* you are adding it and what you expect the outcome to be.

Salt is going to increase the amount of TDS in your water. If your water is deficient of TDS it could be helpful, depending on what fish you are trying to keep. If not, it could do nothing or even be harmful. For a description of why TDS is important to fish take a look at this post

My advice would be to not add aquarium salt as a preventative because I have not seen any science that demonstrates that this has any preventative impact.

If you have very soft acidic water and want to keep fish from high TDS environments then salt is an option but since salt will not impact ph or gh you should consider if an alternative that would raise tds, ph and gh together would be a better choice.
 
My very simple thought with salt is that if they needed it, they'd live in brackish and salt water in the wild. I know there are plenty of minerals etc due to soil runoff rain and what not, but they live in fresh water, so that's what I keep them in :/
 
I would like to see if the API salt is a 100% seasalt or if it is mixed with kosher salt.
If it is mixed what percent is the mix of seasalt.

I was in the Aquarium fish business since the 60s. Export,Import,Wholesale,Retail, Saltwater,Freshwater Tropicalfish. Reptiles and Amphibians. Now retired.

I will tell you what I have learned about salt and my take on it.
The controversy over salt has been going on since the hobby was first developed.
I don't think it will ever be settled!

First freshwater fish don't drink water they absorb through there skin.
Saltwater fish drink water.

Most aquarium fish do not like salt and some are not salt tolerant at all.
The same with plants.

If you add salt to your tank, the fish have no say because you control there aquarium.
A lot of Tetras,Catfish,and Scaleless fish like knives and loaches are salt intolerant.
Most of your fish that have live young are salt tolerant and some rely need it.

Most aquarium salt on the market is useless has no value at all. Its Kosher salt.
Salt that has value in some cases are salt for marine aquariums. Like instant Ocean.
I have seen the most delicate of saltwater fish swimming in pure fresh spring and mountain water such as morish idols and butterflies happily grazing on fresh water algae.

I have also caught Oscars,mollies,platys swords,and guppies in pure ocean water.
Most freshwater parasites ,fungus,and bacteria die in saltwater.
The salt level has to be high and prolonged.

The same is true with saltwater fish going into fresh water.
They are removing there parasites.

I have my molly breeding tank at 75% seawater and I have a few sword tails in there.
My morality rate is about 1 fish in 6 months. Breeding rate fantastic,no baby mortality.
Fresh water fish converted to salt (drink saltwater).

Salt (marine salt) should only be used on live baring fish.
Mollies,swords,guppies and platys are prone to shimmy.
This is usualy due to metabolic imbalance.

This is when sea salt is needed to restore the fishes balance.
Mostly the electrolites and any other trace elements the fish may need.
Seasalt should be used along with other meds targeting a specific disease.
Like ick,fungus or bacterial infections and other parasites like flukes and worms.
It gives a helping hand to the meds and promotes healing.

Salt should only be used in a QT tank bare bottom recommended in QT.
So for me salt has no place in the community or show tank.
Especialy useless salt like kosher or reg. aquarium salt with no proven value.
Salt should be used only as a medicine for specific treatment.
Or along with another med.

Used correctly it has its benefits for some fish. And will save some fishes lives.
It should be used as a medicine.

I use a lot of salt and am still experimenting with it on my own fish.
My only problem is finding a sick fish.
 
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My very simple thought with salt is that if they needed it, they'd live in brackish and salt water in the wild. I know there are plenty of minerals etc due to soil runoff rain and what not, but they live in fresh water, so that's what I keep them in :/
Well said Toad, this is also my opinion, but intently following this thread. I would love to learn more, even if I am wrong.
 
I'm always willing to learn new things, half of the things I know are just from years of being on forums, reading random subjects on fish I've never kept lol. Be like a sponge ;)
 
first let me start by saying if you have scaleless fish avoid using salt all together .
salts can burn and irritate scaleless fish it can also kill them.

when I kept fresh water fish I found salt useful for several applications .

when I had a sever outbreak of snails I found salt to help eradicate the problem .

salt at certain levels in fresh water can also help with the prevention of ick. this is only effective if you keep your tank properly dosed and maintained.

salt can help bring in nutrients that will help plant life flourish . salts can also help with the breakdown of waist turning it into a natural fertilizer .

I also found dosing certain levels of salt can bring out the colors of the fish.

goldfish really can benefit from aquarium salts , it can help prevent swimmers bladder .

the pot belly goldfish are prone to swimmers bladder . I kept pot belly's never had swimmer bladder issues as the salt's help release any air bubbles in the fish.

Salts can be very beneficial if used correctly , be sure to always test your water before adding salt , always make sure it's at a safe level or you can actually burn your fishes gills.

I also found that salts can help the water in the tank sparkle , they can also help increase the time between water changes ,

be sure if you do use salt to follow the directions and always test the water .

avoid salts with inverts as it can kill them quickly .only certain inverts like shrimp can deal with low levels of salt but this needs to be done with caution .
 
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