Just A Quick Question!

[jpeterson]

I have heard from a friend that I should get some aquarium salt and put around 1 tablespoon in per 5 gallons of water. I have a 10 gallon tank so would need 2 tablespoons. He said it will help reduce the risk of fish getting some diseases. Just wondered if I should follow this advise or not.

 

[onebto]

This is the thing, I think its fare to say keeping tropical fish or fresh water fish what ever you want to call it is not an exact science.

Maybe it is an exact science I am unsure now I bring it up.

But in the near 2 years I have been in this hobby I have read many threads and comments on this forum and others and there is always a variation on a theme.

What I mean is that there always seems to be someone doing something slightly different.

Be honest I have never used salt in my tanks and as far as I can tell it has not been to the detriment of my fish either.

If your friend uses salt well he obviously does not have a problem with it and has found it to work for him?

I know some people use salt in a freshwater tank for aiding in getting rid of certain nasties.

I personally would not do it proffering to give my fish obsessively clean water all the time it has served them well for 2 years but that's me.

That's one of the great things about this forum eventually you get all sides of the story so you can make an informed decision.

Good luck

Regards onebto

 

[jpeterson]

Thanks for you input. I look forward to hearing other people before I make my decision.

 

[jpeterson]

Any more thoughts on this topic guys and gals?

 

[ian]

no salt for me, i'm not into adding stuff unless needed. I wouldn't go adding salt unless you know why you're adding the salt. I know planted tanks don't tend to tolerate salt, so thats a reason i wouldn't use salt.

 

[james_fish]

Agreed i've never added salt to either of my tanks. But I hear it does help some infections and I also know some livebearers like Mollies for example like a bit of salt in the water.

James

 

[jpeterson]

So the question is, do i add it or not?

 

[NinjaSmurf]

I don't use it. And from what I've read, there are a lot of fish (plecs, cories, loaches) that will not be able to handle it.

 

[ian]

So the question is, do i add it or not?

like i said above, you need to know why uou are adding salt.

 

[jpeterson]

After a MSN convo I have decided its pretty useless and can harm the fishes. It should only be used to help fight infection, then again you need to check and be certain your fish species can bare salt in the water. Then again most infections you can purchase treatments for now.

 

[Shred]

It really depends what your tank has in it. For a lot of fish a bit of salt can help them, such as most livebearers, whereas I've heard that salt can cause adverse effects in some catfish and also hinder live plants.

 

[fishnovice]

I've kept healthy mollies for almost a year now and never used salt -don't need it with hard London water though it may be necessary for them in very soft water. I only used salt once for 2 weeks in hospital tank with very sick gourami