do african cichlids need auarium salt?

[convict78]

i have been thinking of breaking down and getting african cichlids.was wondering what their general requirements are(i know their are many different regions)just looking for a general answer that will sum up what i need.

 

[mfdrookie516]

no fish "need" aquarium salt... the only use for it is to treat ich... generally speaking, they prefer hard water with a higher ph... lots of rocks for them to hide, and a big filter... at least for mbuna... but, people have successfully kept them in tanks with ph significantly lower than 8 and had no issues.. for the most part, as long as your tap ph is 7+, you wont have any problems... mine is 7.8 which is perfect

 

[izzasy]

African Cichlids easy to manage

Hi! My experience with African Cichlids, has been very easy. It was one of the very first fishes I had. The only time I had to use salt was when I was treating my fish with Ich, but I used it in my quarantine tank. You should have very little problem with African Cichlids.

 

[gheitman]

There are salts available that are supposed to closely replicate the mineral content of the various African rift lakes and Amazon river basin. I have them and have used them sometimes but found that they aren't really necessary. Good water quality, food variety seem to make the biggest difference although proper pH can help. I have two tanks of shell dwellers from Lake Tanganyika (multies and gold occies) and use Carib Sea's Eco-Complete African Cichlid Substrate because it buffers the pH to about 8.6 and the fish can dig in it.

 

[convict78]

ok cool thx,my tap ph is high also

 

[fishnewbe]

ok aquarium salt is for treating Ick?!?!?!? my LFS sold me it saying it will make the colors of my fish pop and sold my some blue stuff for my ick they had

 

[mgamer20o0]

lfs say a lot of things... aquarium salt is just NaCl table salt. salt and heat are by far in my eyes the best and less stressful way to treat ich.

what is the ph and hardness of your water? i know here in so cali our water is very close to the rift lakes in hardness ph and conductivity.

 

[mfdrookie516]

ok aquarium salt is for treating Ick?!?!?!? my LFS sold me it saying it will make the colors of my fish pop and sold my some blue stuff for my ick they had

they do stuff like that all the time. never take advice from an lfs, plain and simple

 

[fishnewbe]

i dont know the hardness of my water but PH is 8 flat

 

[mercurycougar2000]

hello all, I'm new to the who aquarium thing. I've recently bought cichlids and are interested in learning all the different lingos. Can anyone point me to a direction as to where to learn all the different lingos. What is Ich?

 

[dkpate]

Ich is a parasite fish get, that looks like they have been sprinkled by salt. It can be deadly.

 

[mgamer20o0]

Freshwater Ich

sniped.... but mine had pics.

 

[joy13]

If you are going to have cichlids you aren't going to be using regular aquarium salt, you will need to buffer your water. Seachem has special salts for cichlids. You can see by the list of ingredients it is more than just sodium chloride Seachem Cichlid Lake Salt Salt

 

[Kyanite]

I hadn't added aquariam salt (plain) to my cichlid tank until my males started fighting. It seems to have eliminated the post fight infections that had started showing up. As weel most new fish I had gotten before I added salt who get something (ink, bady fugas, ect) within the first week (not fish stores locally, just pet stores with a few tank - sick fish are what you have to expect) now the last few times I have added fish it has gone off without a hitch, no infections!
I don't use nearly what is usually called for on the box.

 

[aarongalvan]

I hadn't added aquariam salt (plain) to my cichlid tank until my males started fighting. It seems to have eliminated the post fight infections that had started showing up. As weel most new fish I had gotten before I added salt who get something (ink, bady fugas, ect) within the first week (not fish stores locally, just pet stores with a few tank - sick fish are what you have to expect) now the last few times I have added fish it has gone off without a hitch, no infections!
I don't use nearly what is usually called for on the box.

I normally change my rockscape around every month or so to prevent the territory issue... Just FYI; I'm sure you know that already.

 

[Revrend]

I use salt in my 2 african cichlid tanks... i use cichlid salt however most of my fish are Wild Caught ... i also buffer my water with limestone to keep the PH high ... Cichlid salt is cheap and although you do not have to use it ... so before you blast me for saying so ... i have noticed a difference in my cichlids since i started using it .... color ... and comfort... i also use aquarium salt in my hospital tank and in my breeding tanks

 

[toddnbecka]

I recently heard from Laif DeMason (ya, the guy the demasoni are named after, who owns and operates a large-scale commercial fish farm in FL) that he uses salt in all his vats, ponds, and tanks. Along with what he raises he also imports wild-caught fish, and uses salt for all of them as well.
Don't use table salt, particularly iodized; it contains anti-caking additives. Rock salt or Kosher pickling salt are less expensive, pure salt.