Adding salt

[pcam86]

Hi, I'm going to add some salt to my tank to get rid of white spot. I've got around 10 platy fry, 3 platies and 4 neons.

How much salt do i use as it says one teaspoonful to 5 liters. Won't the neons be effected by this?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Don't use the salt; go out and buy some proper whitespot med from your lfs as otherwise you are unlikely to get rid of it and the salt will damage the neons.

 

[simonbrown403]

Ask for "king british original formula WS3 white spot treatment" 1 drop per 1gal/4.5ltrs, repeat every 48 hours while white spot persists, it will stain silicon and light colour decor in tank, but is very afective, worth trying.

Sorry to state the ovious remember to take the carbon out as it will remove the medication. )

 

[pica_nuttalli]

Don't use the salt; go out and buy some proper whitespot med from your lfs as otherwise you are unlikely to get rid of it and the salt will damage the neons.

There's a whole thread about this, Tokis. PCams's tank is undergoing the cycle and the ich outbreak is largely due to the poor water quality. Since meds will completely interrupt the cycle and further impair water quality, (I think) they should be avoided. Salt will kill off the whitespot while allowing the tank to continue cycling. Many people have reported excellent results using the salt&heat treatment, so meds are not essential for curing an ich outbreak.

A good reference for the discussion leading up to this particular thread is here.

 

[astroboy]

Don't use the salt; go out and buy some proper whitespot med from your lfs as otherwise you are unlikely to get rid of it and the salt will damage the neons.

Salt/heat is a common and very effective way to cure ick. Its much less stressful on your fish as well, plus it doesn't add chemicals into your tank.

Raise temp gradually to 86 and add 1-3 teaspoons of salt per gallon of water

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Check this link out- it specifically says not to use salt with neons;

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article5.html

Not all meds destroy filter bacteria, and correct me if im wrong, "Anti whitespot" med by Interpet does not which is why i recommended it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What you are suggesting is too put the neons lives in great risk for the survival of 3 platys when i believe in this case is unesarsary when there are other options.

 

[WILDER]

Never used just salt and turned temp up for whitespot, i treated it with a med at full dose and i had neons, it shouldn't do much to the cycle, just half dose if you are wary of using the med at full strength with havings the neons, and anyway the cycling will probably finish them off.

 

[astroboy]

Check this link out- it specifically says not to use salt with neons;

And we a ll believe everything we read to be true.
I think thats BS. The fish we keep are kept in such a wide range of water conditions. They're not always kept in the "softwater of the amazon basin". Besides, neons are notorious for dying anyways.

Let me guess, you also thinkn that salt and catfish are a nono too?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

...... ....... .......
Well i am sorry if i spoke some common knolege, check out the "Salt..." thread in off-topic discussion section of the site and make up your own mind...
Neons may be "notorious for dying" but thats no reason to push them deliberatly over the edge.
I am sure i am not the only one here who thinks/knows neons and salt don't mix.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If you can find a single website(not forum) that advises you to use salt with neons i'll eat my hat or whatever...This is not just about advising somone to use salt in this incident but is more about you not telling them that salt is bad for neons- what if somone with a 20 odd neon shoal reads this website page and has whitespot and thinks its fine to dose their neons with salt?

 

[Mariah]

I used salt with my neons and they are ok... They are not dead in other words. They are acting the same as they were before the salt.

 

[Dubby]

Before jumping to conclusions about neons dying as a result of salt, let me try and explain how salt affects the fish ( a bit lengthy)

Depending on the natural habitats of the fish they are accustomed to living in salty, brackish or freshwater. Hence their bodies have learned over the years to maintain an Osmotic balance between their bodies and their environment.

In the case of fish living in salty water the salt levels in their body are lower than the water which causes the salts from the water to permeate into their bodies. Therefore these fish need to get rid of excess salts through their urine at regular intervals in concentrated form.

In the case of fish living in fresh water the salt levels in their body are higher than the water which causes the water to permeate into their bodies. Therefore these fish need to get rid of excess water through their urine at regular intervals whilst retaining the salts.

Therefore the theory goes that if the salt content in the water matches their internal salts then the fish is subject to less Osmotic stress and can therfore use its energy to combat diseases etc. Hence the reason why a lot of fish keepers recommend use of salt for curative purposes.

Also we need to consider the fact that in the fishkeepers world, fish have become accustomed to the LFS environment rather than their natural habitat. Therefore their ability to adjust to salt contents is also very different.

I hope this clarifies the salt issue.

 

[freddyk]

I don't see anything wrong with adding salt to help medicate, but the fact is salt content does cause some stress on the fish, whether you deny it or not, and shouldn't be used regularly with freshwater fish.

Often simply heating the tank up to 86 (while aerating very well) will take care of ich on its own, without salt or meds - this natural method is often worth a shot.

Ich meds shouldn't kill the bio-filter, antibacterial meds are what kills the bacteria.

 

[pcam86]

Well both ich meds that were available to me contained malachite green which i know is also bad for the neons and also my fry so i don't see your problem with salt! Malachite green also DOES cause problems to the bio filter which is why my tank had to start cycling from scratch again!

Also Tokis-Phoenix i haven't risked my neons for 3 platies its actually more like 14 platies!!!