Is Aquarium Salt Needed?

[jetajockey]

IMO in SMALL amounts it is beneficial. 1 teaspoon per 10 gallons is plenty. It will help prevent your fish from getting diseases such as ich and that is a fact.

Beneficial how? A healthy system doesn't just randomly pop up with things like ich. Do you also regularly dose maracyn or metronidazole also to prevent harmful bacteria /internal parasites? If not then why would you recommend doing so with salt?

 

[PolyptRus]

Even If I told you the name of the store you wouldn't know of it we live in completely different places. Plus me telling you their business obviously isn't going to do anything so is there a point it's not my place to be telling people about some one else's business and work I'm not about to just give up someone's address and phone number of there work place to people who they don't know and who live in completely different areas. I'm not the one who works there and it's not my business to be giving out names and addresses. You guys must be creeps or something. Weird.

 

[vanimal]

Beneficial how? A healthy system doesn't just randomly pop up with things like ich. Do you also regularly dose maracyn or metronidazole also to prevent harmful bacteria /internal parasites? If not then why would you recommend doing so with salt?

Even in a healthy tank a fish can become stressed quite easily. An aggressive tank mate could stress a fish and once a fish is stressed it can weaken their immune system. That is when a fish can get ich. I never said it is necessary! It has benefits and that is one of them!

 

[Botanica]

Not to be contrary but this forum has tens of thousands of members, many who have decades of experience and are LFS owners, operators, breeders, and biologists, so to assume that the knowledge base here is trivialized against your LFS is rather shortsighted.

It doesn't take a degree in biology to become a LFS owner, so I wouldn't assume they have scientific data. And most importantly it takes good business sense rather than a background in science to be successful.

They have tons of experience though and that's great, since that's 90% of the battle, but it doesn't mean that a LFS is always the be-all end-all. You can do simple google searches or read this thread to see several other mythologies perpetrated by LFS and old school fishkeepers. (examples: 'cycle fish', big water changes are bad, and perpetual salt use in FW systems).

Much of it has changed in the last few decades thanks to new scientific findings and the ease of information exchange via the internet. A LFS is not going to tell everyone to buy pure salt at pennies on the dollar compared to 'aquarium salt', or to buy a giant bag of quilt batting or pot scrubbies for replacement filter media, nor will they tell people how you can buy sodium thiosulfate crystals at a few bucks a pound. For those interested it's the active ingredient in water dechlorinators and $5 worth is enough to last most fishkeepers a lifetime. And don't get me started on medications.

You don't have to agree with anyone here, none of us do, but in an effort to be accurate at least spend some time researching the science behind your claims if you are being debated on them. I think we can all find some common ground in hard facts rather than just arguing personal experiences.

Very Well put! . I use salt. Not very much...but enough that I don't have to worry about fin nipping and parasites. If by some chance I saw ich in my tank...I'd have to add more...and I would because it works. JMO...

 

[vanimal]

Very Well put! . I use salt. Not very much...but enough that I don't have to worry about fin nipping and parasites. If by some chance I saw ich in my tank...I'd have to add more...and I would because it works. JMO...

Yes that's what I was saying. In small amounts it does benefit.

 

[PolyptRus]

Even in a healthy tank a fish can become stressed quite easily. An aggressive tank mate could stress a fish and once a fish is stressed it can weaken their immune system. That is when a fish can get ich. I never said it is necessary! It has benefits and that is one of them!

I'm with you on this one I'm not trying to say I know everything just a fact that aquarium salt is beneficial if it was as bad as these guys say than why do they sell it at all. Plus read the label on the any aquarium salt it will explain why ask hundreds of experienced breeders and a lot will tell you the same thing obviously some are going to disagree but that's just like asking a hundred people if burgers need mustard there are always those who disagree. But from my experiences and from what I have asked from people with long term experience with fish I will continue to use salt and continue to recommend use of it.

 

[jetajockey]

Even in a healthy tank a fish can become stressed quite easily. An aggressive tank mate could stress a fish and once a fish is stressed it can weaken their immune system. That is when a fish can get ich. I never said it is necessary! It has benefits and that is one of them!

We could go into the mythology behind the ICH parasite next, but that deserves it's own thread. To keep it short, it's not ever present in water.

Again, I have nothing against treating a tank with salt when the need arises, but that still doesn't justify maintaining a level of salt in the tank indefinitely. If you have a tank where your fish are getting stressed or beaten up by other fish regularly then the solution is to fix the stocking problem. You have to remember that salt helps the slime coat because it's an irritant, as mentioned in one of the pages I linked, it's like putting lemon juice in your eye to get it to water.

And also I should point out that there are more and more salt resistant strains of ICH popping up, I read a study about it at the UF site a few months ago. It reminds me of the different diseases that have grown resistant to certain treatments over time.

 

[vanimal]

Beneficial how? A healthy system doesn't just randomly pop up with things like ich. Do you also regularly dose maracyn or metronidazole also to prevent harmful bacteria /internal parasites? If not then why would you recommend doing so with salt?

Think of it like this. Say you add small amounts of salt to your healthy established tank. Things could happen to it. Power outage, over feeding while gone on vacation, your filter could break. Many things could happen and then your fish will become sick and become susceptible to diseases. A small amount of salt could protect them from disease while you fix the problem. That is how it is beneficial. Also what about live bearers??

 

[vanimal]

We could go into the mythology behind the ICH parasite next, but that deserves it's own thread. To keep it short, it's not ever present in water.

Again, I have nothing against treating a tank with salt when the need arises, but that still doesn't justify maintaining a level of salt in the tank indefinitely. If you have a tank where your fish are getting stressed or beaten up by other fish regularly then the solution is to fix the stocking problem. You have to remember that salt helps the slime coat because it's an irritant, as mentioned in one of the pages I linked, it's like putting lemon juice in your eye to get it to water.

And also I should point out that there are more and more salt resistant strains of ICH popping up, I read a study about it at the UF site a few months ago. It reminds me of the different diseases that have grown resistant to certain treatments over time.

Yes I agree but in small amounts it doesn't affect their slime coat.

 

[MrPillow]

So what exactly are we to be thinking the salt is doing?

I am not asking what the result is, but what is the actual mechanism at work here that is reaping some supposed benefit? Is there any understanding at work here, or just faith in an outcome?

 

[vanimal]

Doesn't all freshwater have natural occurring small amounts of salt in it??

 

[MrPillow]

No, all freshwater does not have small amounts of salt (in this instance, sodium chloride) in it.

 

[vanimal]

Ok I will say this. It is beneficial to fish that have natural occurring small levels of salt in their environments and for curing diseases.

 

[MrPillow]

In what way? Again, I am not interested in an explanation of the outcome - that much has already been repeated ad nauseum. What mechanism is bringing about this outcome? What quantifiable, measurable, physiological system is at work here which is using the salt in a beneficial manner?

 

[HUKIT]

Ok I will say this. It is beneficial to fish that have natural occurring small levels of salt in their environments and for curing diseases.

I'm afraid your wrong again, small amounts of salt will have NO effect on fish getting ich or any such disease.

 

[vanimal]

On my prime bottle it says it contains hydro sulfite salts. So isn't that like adding salt to your aquarium then?

 

[vanimal]

I'm afraid your wrong again, small amounts of salt will have NO effect on fish getting ich or any such disease.

Since when?? Salt has been used to treat ich and it works?

 

[vanimal]

I'm afraid your wrong again, small amounts of salt will have NO effect on fish getting ich or any such disease.

How am I wrong??
Treating Ich

As long as the Ich parasite is protected inside its cyst, it is virtually impossible to get to - the levels of medication that would be necessary to affect the parasite inside the cyst would kill the fish as well. This is why we must focus on the free-swimming tomite stage when the parasite is much more vulnerable.

Bring up the water temperature to 85-88 degrees F (if you think you fish can handle it).
As mentioned above, Ich can attach itself to the gills of fish and make it hard for them to breathe. It is therefore a good idea to increase aeration in the aquarium to keep the levels of oxygen really high. Adding more aeration is especially important if you increase the water temperature since cool water holds more oxygen than warmer water.
Add roughly one teaspoon of salt per gallon of water. (You can adjust this amount depending on how salt tolerant you fish are.)
Carry out a series of water changes and clean all the gravel. Changing around 50% of the water once a day is recommended.
Continue the treatment for at least one week, since you can only kill the free-swimming Ich parasites. The speed of the life cycle is temperature dependant (it will for instance take three days at 80 degrees F) and continuing treatment for an entire week is recommended to be on the safe side.
If this is not enough to combat the Ich outbreak, you need to visit your local fish store and pick up some anti-Ich medication. Unfortunately, the Ich parasites seem to become more and more resilient towards treatment each year. Lazy aquarists and pet shop keepers are often tempted to constantly use medications to fend off disease, instead of devoting themselves to frequent water changes etcetera, and this makes it easy for resistant strains of parasites and bacteria to develop.

 

[MrPillow]

Once again, I grow weary of repeating this.

salts and Aquarium Salt/Table Salt/Sodium Chloride are not the same thing. Sodium Chloride is a type of salt - an ionic solute. There are many other types of salts, many of which are found in freshwater. Aquarium salt is strictly and purely Sodium Chloride, the same thing as table salt. Table salt is NOT the same as ionic salts containing sulfite.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_(chemistry)

Salts are VERY broad category of compounds, table salt (sodium chloride, the type of salt referred to the vast majority of the time in the freshwater realm of aquaria) is only ONE example of many many types of salts which occur naturally.

I really do not understand why this distinction seems to ambiguous and nonexistent in the aquarium world.

 

[vanimal]

Once again, I grow weary of repeating this.

salts and Aquarium Salt/Table Salt/Sodium Chloride are not the same thing. Sodium Chloride is a type of salt - an ionic solute. There are many other types of salts, many of which are found in freshwater. Aquarium salt is strictly and purely Sodium Chloride, the same thing as table salt. Table salt is NOT the same as ionic salts containing sulfite.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_(chemistry)

Salts are VERY broad category of compounds, table salt (sodium chloride, the type of salt referred to the vast majority of the time in the freshwater realm of aquaria) is only ONE example of many many types of salts which occur naturally.

I really do not understand why this distinction seems to ambiguous and nonexistent in the aquarium world.

Isn't it helpful in treating ich though?