Salt

[radioman]

Is salt needed for an aquaruim. At petsmart it says to use salt wiht platys and the gourami's but someone in the plant section of the forum said this was a myth is that true or should I keep using salt. Right now I am trying to start a planted tank so I am having a problem because plants don't really like the salt.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would say it is not needed at all. Some fish likely mollys like salt but most fish do not and it really doesn't add anything.

 

[radioman]

so how would I go about getting some salt out if I added some. A large water change.

 

[Aphotic Phoenix]

Yup, water change away. ~

It's true that some species appreciate a little salt...but usually the kind of salt they want is Marine salt, not aquarium salt. Aquarium salt can be used to treat some diseases so it's not completely useless, but you do have to be careful because some freshwater fish can be sensitive to it.

 

[radioman]

How will I know when the salt is gone and how big of a water change should I do.
Can you look at my signature and tell me if those fish will be fine without the salt.

Thanks

 

[rdd1952]

With the fish you have, the salt won't be a problem but as stated isn't needed. Since all the fish you have can tolerate it without any problems, I wouldn't worry too much about doing water changes to remove is. Just your normal water changes will eventually take care of it.

 

[radioman]

Well I am thinking of planting my aquarium that is why I was wondering. What would be the largest amount I should take out and if I were to do 2 50%water changes would that get rid of my salt or most of it so it would not harm my plants? I probably won't do a 50% though even though I might need to as the tank is done cycling.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Freshwater fish vary a lot in their tolerance to salt, for some the osmotic stress it causes on their internal organs is lethal for the fish, for other fish it just causes a small amount of stress- it depends on the levels of salt naturally occuring in the fishes wild habitat that its species has evolved to tolerate.
There are no true freshwater fish that "need" salt though (yours included), and to use salt on them in the long term would probably just reduce their natural life expectancys a bit. Salt can be used for treating certain specific diseases and parasites, but if your fish aren't sick, then there's no need to use salt.
Regular decent sized water changes are the best measure to take to keep your fish healthy in the long term .

 

[augustaranger]

What common fish have a low tolerance to salt?

 

[nukeonekitty]

I am pretty sure since I added salt to my malawi set up, it has keep all my hard ware a lot cleaner (less covered in annoying hard water deposits and stuff)

 

[Behold]

Some people seem to swear by salt others not. i have never heard of a definitive answer. Also whats the difference from marine and aquarium salt?