Aquarium Salt

[hayleyann]

I've heard aquarium salt can help with a lot of things in the aquarium, and was thinking of buying some for ours.

We have a small pleco/catfish, which is why I held off buying some until I knew more about it - I've heard catfish do not like salt?

If it's safe, would I just put a small amount in everytime I change the water?

I also have 4 small neon tetras, 1 small betta and 1 small platy.

 

[waterdrop]

No.

 

[Colin_T]

Aquarium salt is not necessary and should not be used in tanks with fish that come from soft water, ie: Corydoras catfish, neon tetras, Discus and plecostomus.

Fish that don't mind salt in their water include livebearers like mollies, swords, guppies and platies. Also bumble bee gobies and rainbowfish tolerate salt.

You can use salt to treat fungal infections and help reduce stress in some fish but it shouldn't be added to a tank unless it is needed or the tank is a brackish tank. Brackish = part salt and part fresh water.

Aquarium salt can be rock salt, swimming pool salt, or marine salt.

 

[hayleyann]

Thanks for the advice Colin I thought I'd better double check before I bought any, now I'm glad I did!

We have a whitespot outbreak at the moment, which is why I was going to get some.

 

[raptorrex]

I've heard aquarium salt can help with a lot of things in the aquarium, and was thinking of buying some for ours.

We have a small pleco/catfish, which is why I held off buying some until I knew more about it - I've heard catfish do not like salt?

If it's safe, would I just put a small amount in everytime I change the water?

I also have 4 small neon tetras, 1 small betta and 1 small platy.

lol, i got my butt, roundly, thumped when i made the mistake of misnaming "aquarium salt" as Marine salt. aquarium salt, is sodium chloride, nothing else. it, may, have uses for illness, but it of no use to brackish or marine fish.

as a tonic, for general use, its a waste of money. PURE and SIMPLE

 

[Colin_T]

salt doesn't do much to whitespot and you are better off using something like Waterlife Myxazin or Triple Sulpha to treat it. Both of these medications are safe for catfish but read the directions on the package before you treat the tank.

To work out the volume of water in the tank
measure Length x Width x Height in cm
divide by 1000
equals volume in litres

When measuring the height, measure from the top of the gravel to the top of the water level. If you have big rocks or driftwood in the tank, remove them before measuring the height.

Before you treat the tank do a 50% water change and complete gravel clean. This will reduce the gunk in the tank and allow the medication to work more effectively. It will also lower the pathogen count in the water and mean there are less nasties around to infect the fish.

Remove carbon from the filter before treating otherwise it will absorb the medication out of the water. Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise the oxygen in the water.

 

[OldMan47]

Aquarium salt or table salt can be an effective treatment for ich in a freshwater tank. It does take careful measurement and can cause some stress in salt sensitive fish. I said or because they are the same thing except for the microscopic traces of iodine added to table salt.
The patent medicines can also be effective treatments so if you trust one or more of them, you could give them a try.
For full information on the ich life cycle and some of its treatments, there is a link in my signature area to a thorough discussion of ich.

 

[oakes]

salt doesn't do much to whitespot and you are better off using something like Waterlife Myxazin or Triple Sulpha to treat it.

Myxazin is a bactericide, Waterlife Protozin is a better choice and an excellent product for treating whitespot in freshwater aquariums.

 

[Colin_T]

Waterlife Myxazin and Protozin will both treat whitespot, however Myxazin is recommended for tanks with scaleless fishes in, (ie: catfish, loaches & eels).
Protozin can be used but you should check the directions as I think it suggests using a half dose for scaleless fish.

 

[loachman]

Bad idea for your fish. Neons and the plecos will not do well with salted water.

For whitespot, get a true Ich medication. The aquarium salt could help with it, but a true medicine works much better.