Is it ok to continually add aquarium salt in a betta tank?

[Parsely]

I have a Betta that came from the store with pretty ragged fins. I decided to treat this with aquarium salt and it worked like magic, you could see new fin growth and repair visually and he looked perfect.

A few water changes later so most of the salt was gone his fins started looking ragged again in spots. Someone told me he was fin nipping and it wasn’t fin rot. I added salt again, and again he healed almost completely within a week. However once again after a couple of water changes his fins are getting ragged once more.

Is it ok to continually add salt as he seems to do great when salt is in the tank and gets worse as soon as it’s removed?

 

[Aiken Drum]

The general consensus is that you shouldnt use salt all the time in freshwater tanks, but many people do without issue. If you are seeing benefits then its your choice.

What you might want to be wary of is the concentration in the tank gradually creeping up over time. Even if you are careful to be consistent with the amount of salt you dose in new water, because of evaporation, the salt concentration will slowly increase in the tank over an extended period.

You might want to invest in a something to measure the salinity to ensure there is a consistent level if you are doing this long term

I would be looking at cause though. Did you ever get a proper liquid test kit? Are you sure your aquascape doesnt have anything your betta is catching his fins on and tearing them?

 

[Parsely]

I removed anything that could be potentially sharp in there and put a sponge over the intake so I don’t think he’s getting caught on something. Parameters all seem normal, and I just put in some Indian almond leaves.

It’s good to hear that people use salt regularly and I have a refractometer from a reef tank I just set up so I can use that to make sure the level stays stable.