Salt

[GatorJ]

I am just wondering how often do you add it? the directions dont say how often just how much.

also where do you put it? all in one spot in the corner? or in the filter? just looking for some info thanks.

 

[shortymet55]

umm add it once and its there until you change water. Why are you adding salt anyways? It reduces stress supposedly, but good clean water and a good stocking list should mean happy fish.

 

[rdd1952]

If you have freshwater tropicals, you really don't need salt. For most freshwater fish it is actually not good. Here is a good thread about FW fish and how salt affects them. In particular, see post 9 from Bignose.

 

[GatorJ]

ok great will read up on that, and when you say its there, i am confused. do you mean its there as in diluted/mixed in with the water or do you mean its phycilaly just sitting there?

i have put some salt in and hours later it is not there so i would assume you mean it just mixes in unless my fish eat it ?

everyone has told me that adding a little salt will help with streat/condition of fish and even color to an extent so this is bad?

 

[shortymet55]

The salt dissolves. but even if the water evaporates, the salt stays in the water. i dont think salt is needed really.

 

[rdd1952]

As shorty mentioned, when water evaporates, only water leaves the tank. Everything else stays behind including salt. Unless you have mollies or other fish that prefer brackish water, you definitely don't need salt.

 

[GatorJ]

Awesome link thanks man i think i have everything i needed to know now.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the site Gator. I just reread those other posts and the end result that I can see is that freshwater fish need freshwater, not saltwater, to live. To me that seems self evident. Of the large number of species that we call mollies, there are very few that will be found in brackish conditions in the wild. Most of them are as much freeshwater fish as a guppy, a sword or a platy. In general, most mollies do not need or benefit from any salt at all. In a typical aquarium setup, when you notice an improvement in mollies after adding salt, check your water hardness. Chances are good that the water is low in minerals, which most mollies, not all, tolerate very poorly. A better answer for most of even those fish would have been to increase the water hardness, not add in salt and never add in "aquarium salt".
If you actually have one of the few mollies that are naturally brackish, you use sea salt, not aquarium salt to make brackish water. Of course when you do that, you severely limit what else can be kept in that tank.