Salt in Freshwater

[Little Stinkpots]

i have used tanks and maintianed them and have never used salt but i have read alot about it and read some contoversy between using it and not. what will salt do for the tank and its habitants.

i have turtles, eclipse catfish and feeders in one tank
and snails guppies and fries and 1 bamboo shrimp

will they benefit from it if so how much and how often

 

[Jason7894561230]

No it wont do much. You should not put salt into an aquarium that is doing fine with normal freshwater. The only time i have put salt into my aquarium is when i had a little case oh Ich but pther thank that not once.

 

[dkpate]

If fish were meant to live in salt, they would all come from brackish waters. That's my opinion.

 

[Little Stinkpots]

true but there are many fish that are sold as freshwater but are dominatly brackish ie pictus catfish ghost shrimp, even guppies are brackish

 

[Little Stinkpots]

id love to hear more opinions

 

[Fishguy2727]

Guppies are not brackish, neither are mollies (a common example to support adding salt). They are freshwater fish. In nature some species (remember there can be many species of fish per common name) may be able to tolerate brackish and even saltwater for short periods of time, but they are still freshwater fish. In addition, all of the fish in the trade were farmed in freshwater unless you somehow end up with wild caught mollies.

Pictus catfish, Pimelodus pictus, is definitely an all freshwater fish from the Amazon and Orinoco river basins.

For ghost shrimp it depends on the species in question, the common species found in every pet shop and commonly referred to as 'ghost shrimp', Palaemonetes kadakensis, is freshwater.

Use scientific websites, not popular websites, for accurate information provided and used by scientists. Fishbase.org would be one of the best.

Salt can be a very valuable tool when treating certain diseases, but is more harm than good long term when used all the time.

 

[dkpate]

Puffers also move to brackish, but they are not born in brackish.

I just looked at about 5 pages on pictus catfish care, and not once did I see where they did well in brackish water, and it only said to put the mother shrimp and her babies in salted water until they get older.

Another point is that if you need to medicate with salt, your fish will probably be immune to it, and it's not going to work. Just like people who take advil and other drugs alot, they become immune and have to take more and more.

 

[Little Stinkpots]

ok i understand i have read pages about freshwater fish thriving in brackish like breeding now i am not challenging yalls knowledge about fish. i am simply asking to learn. i may have read them on sites that are popular. but i DO NOT take information from one page when i do my research i always take it from several different places. sorry to seem ignorant. thanks for the iinfo anyoneelse can chime in i am interested in all and i love hearing controversey

 

[Fishguy2727]

We try not to start controversy just for the entertainment. The information you provided was inaccurate so you may want to find new sources of information.

What freshwater fish were breeding in brackish?

Salt is not good to use on freshwater fish all the time. It can cause damage and costs more than any benefits you may see. If you do see any benefits from adding salt there may be a problem. Fish want high water quality and high quality food, don't overthink it.

 

[The_Desacrator]

Well, the API freshwater salt is supposedly used as "tonic and stress rueducer for tropical fish." I generally trust API as they make great products so I add salt as I do water changes.

My Angelfish have laid eggs twice in the past ~2 months. I don't believe this salt is the proper salt for "brackish" tanks, and if it is i am quite surprised my fish have been doing so great.

Also the amazon river is FULL of various salts and minerals in the water so as long as you are keeping Amazonian fish(cichlids, angelfish, etc) then you shouldn't have too much of a problem adding salt, assuming its the right kind

This is the salt I use
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Aquarium Salt-65 oz - Medications - Fish - PetSmart

 

[Fishguy2727]

API is an okay company, but it is still exactly that, a company. They want you to buy as many products as they can get you to buy without making it obvious. Never ever ever buy something because the company that sells it says you should.

I am not sure what you have read about the Amazon, but it is one of the softest bodies of water in the world. Is there salt in it? Technically yes. Is it significant at all? Absolutely not. Remember discus, those fish that will breed in a pH of 4.5? They come from the Amazon. The Amazon is probably the last body of water in the world whose fish would need salt added all the time. It is the exact opposite of "FULL of various salts and minerals."

 

[Eric Shin]

I'm right there with you Stinkpots. I have read conflicting views on salt/no salt. The answer seems to change depending on who you're talking to. Even on this site, you'll get varied responses.

 

[adeebm]

Tonic salt was used in the old days. It helps ward off some disease like ich, and people claimed it increased fish' ammonia tolerance. So people with ammonia in their tanks used tonic salt and saw benefit. Nowadays, you shouldn't have any ammonia in your tank anyway, so there is no need. If your fish get a disease that is curable by salt, then use it, but most of the time it's not needed. Many fish fish are intolerant of salt, and freshwater fish don't need it. I've also heard that it causes problems with aquatic plants. All in all, there is no need for salt in a freshwater aquarium, why put in something that may/may not be harmful but has no benefits either.

--Adeeb

 

[Bigzmey]

i have used tanks and maintianed them and have never used salt but i have read alot about it and read some contoversy between using it and not. what will salt do for the tank and its habitants.

i have turtles, eclipse catfish and feeders in one tank
and snails guppies and fries and 1 bamboo shrimp

will they benefit from it if so how much and how often

From my own personal experience. I have kept guppies and molies for years and did not find any benefits of adding aquarium salt. If any it was negatively affecting my plants. What will be more important for snails, guppies and shrimps is to keep pH at 7.5 or above and have moderately hard - hard water. Again, from my own experience GH 10 to 22 works fine. Don't know about turtles or catfish, but you should not go bellow GH 10 for shrimps.

 

[subliminalanarchy]

I was under the impression that all freshwater lakes,streams, or whatever had tiny amounts of salt in them so I figure adding just a little salt (not nearly the whole recommended dose) would best mimic their natural environment.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Yes, ALL freshwater bodies of water have something in them, just like your tap water. If you are worried about the super minimal trace of anything in the Amazon then your tap water has already far surpassed that. This is why so many discus breeders use RO systems and some even use an acid doser after that. If there is a body of water in the world that has effectively no salt or minerals in it then it would be the Amazon.

Keep in mind that for the hardest bodies of water in the world, like Lake Tanganika, the proper amount of cichlid salt added is half (1.5 teaspoons/ten gallons) of the recommended dose of aquarium salt for all aquariums (1 tablespoon/ten gallons).