Salt

[Coz]

Do you use salt in your tank and how much? I've been using 1 tbs per 5 gallon on pwc. Will this help prevent ich?

My daughter lost a betta to ich in her 3g tank yesterday. Just got me thinkin

 

[BBradbury]

Using Salt in FW Aquariums

Do you use salt in your tank and how much? I've been using 1 tbs per 5 gallon on pwc. Will this help prevent ich?

My daughter lost a betta to ich in her 3g tank yesterday. Just got me thinkin

Hello Coz...

I do use a bit of standard aquarium salt in my planted tanks. Typically a teaspoon (one-third of a tablespoon) in every 5 gallons of my new tank water is sufficient for keep the fish healthy. Aquatic plants are bit salt sensitive, but a teaspoon is no problem.

Your small tank would present a challenge to even an experienced fish keeper, because there's very little water in it to dilute what I call "mistakes due to operator error".

The water chemistry can become unlivable very quickly, so changing half the water in it every few days is absolutely necessary.

Actually, if you really want to give your daughter the best chance for success, I'd recommend getting a larger tank. 20 gallons is nice, a 30 gallon would be better. I started with a 30 gallon and there was enough water in it, so my fish were able to survive my "learning curve".

Just a thought.

B

 

[jetajockey]

Quarantining new fish and plants will help prevent Ich outbreaks. Maintaining a level of salt in the tank is unnecessary and in some cases detrimental to the tank stock. Ich is an obligate parasite so it doesn't just float around in the air and in tanks indefinitely, so no need to add salt in a routine to try to prevent it.

 

[Fishanatic]

As Jetajockey said, it is unnecessary to use salt as it won't really prevent it. The use of salt is normally when the ich outbreak happens. Quarantining fish before putting them in a tank is a very good idea.
If you ever get ich, there are special medication designed to treat it as you might know. There really isn't a solution to prevent it apart from quarantine, witch might also fail.