Adding salt - how fast is too fast?

[mattcham]

Is there a rule of thumb when adding salt to treat ich? I know that you need 3% to 5% salinity to treat ich (2.5 to 4.3 teaspoons per gallon). How fast should I ramp up from 0% salt to 5% salt? Is 1% per hour too fast?

The fish in question are mollys and swordtails which are very salt tolerant.

When treatment is over, how quickly can I safely ramp down the salinity?






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[TomCarter13]

I have a bottle i dissolve the salt in but what i do is i add just say 1tsp per 5 gal just say, and then once it is all in the bottle i shake and mix it around and then slowly pour it into the tank (still treated ich for me) and then to remove the little salt bits at the bottom of the tank i just do a water change with gravel vacuum

Hope this helps

 

[BBradbury]

Treating Ich

Hello matt...

If you catch the infection early, you may only need to use a little heat, lots of large, frequent water changes and do a good job of vacuuming the bottom material. Salt in high doses, can seriously damage aquatic plants. Increase the water temperature by 10 degrees and keep it there until the fish are free of the white spots. Change half the tank water every few days and do a good job of vacuuming the substrate. Most of the parasites will live there. Increase the oxygen in the water by adding a filter that hangs on the back of the tank.

B

 

[mattcham]

My fish don't have ich. I'm just gathering data for the future just in case. In the past I ramped up salinity from 0% to 3% within 4 to 5 hours. Some fish would die next day but I never knew if it's the ich or the rapid salt addition that killed them. That's why I'm asking...

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[jlk]

Salt tolerant or not, the slower you adjust salinity levels, the better your fish (and good bacteria) will be able to cope with the changes in their environment. Salt dips are a different situation but as you are inquiring about ich, it's a tank health issue as well and should be addressed as such.

Personally, I would not increase the salinity by more than .15% in a 24hr period of time, .3% in a 48hr period of time. Reducing the salinity works in the opposite fashion, do not drop it by more than 50% in a 24hr period until the total level has been reasonably reduced. There are exceptions for emergency situations (and baths/dips) of course.

A .3% salinity (11.4 grams per gallon) is more than sufficient to treat ich in most situations but not suitable or tolerated by many fish. Higher levels than this are rarely ever necessary and will have a major impact on beneficial bacteria. Just something to keep in mind!

 

[mattcham]

In the past I ramped up salinity from 0% to 3% within 4 to 5 hours.

I meant 0% to 0.3% (not 3%).

Thanks as always for the helpful info JLK!