Should i add salt??

[Ryeguy]

Ive had some problems keeping my mollies active/alive ( first batch of 4, 3 died within a couple days of adding to tank, the other survived and is doing fine) with 8 other tetras...the tertas dont bother them, so its not that. They just were lathargic and hung around the bottom and then died shorthly there after, im not sure they ate much...

well that was about two weeks ago, so i used my store credit today and got three more mollies...hopefully my tank will be a bit more suited for them...but i noticed the one has been hanging out at the bottom and not moving much...and the other two kinda hang around the top and breath alot of air...they don't seem in too much distress and i know they are just getting aclimated to the new tank, but im gonna keep an eye on them...

SO i was wondering if i should add some salt to the tank?? (as ive heard and read on here that it can be benificiail for them) and if doing this will harm my tertas in any way??

thanks in advance if you can help

 

[cichlidluver]

YES!!! Mollies are partially brackish, and nees some salt! I don't think this will harm the tetras, but the mollies need it. I hope this helps!

Cichlidluver

 

[cyprinut]

Personally I don't think mollies and tetras are a real good mix. Agree that mollies like some salt, but tetras won't like it.
Is this tank cycled?

 

[akudewan]

I've got mollies and tetras together. Just got the mollies yesterday, so don't know if they'll die

But I did add salt to the tank, the tetras don't seem to be annoyed by it.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Salt isn't good for tetras at all, some are very intolerant of it like neons and will kill them.

What type of tetras do you have and how long has your tank been set up?
If the tank is relatively new, i'd say that the most likely reason why your mollys are dying is because of ammonia or nitrites in that tank- do you have any recent test results for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites? You must test you tank for these ASAP if you havn't.
Do you use dechlorinator and have you washed the tank filter out in tap water at all?

 

[Ryeguy]

ok...well the pet store people didn't seem too worried mixing mollys and tetras...the one molly ive had for a couple weeks is doing fine and is bigtime prego and the tetras dont bother with her...

so ive got mixed responses here about adding the salt...
should i maybe add a smaller amount of salt to see if that helps and doesn't harm the tetras? and if so what amount?...ok im gonna try and get the stats tomorrow, i dont have everything right now and its really late

yes the tank is cycled...at least to the best of my knowldege of cycling tanks goes...ive had water in it for probably 4-5 weeks, pre cycling with dechlorinator and added the Cycle additive to remove the nitrates and whatnot...i added fish about 2 weeks ago...ive changed 20% of my water twice in the past week and half, adding dechlorinator when i changed it, and vacuumed the gravel earlier today trying to get any excess 'crap out of there' befor adding the new fish

anyway i have 29G tank holding prior and all doing well:
4 black skirt tetras
4 albino pristella tetras very calm, and cool looking i might add
1 calico molly

just added 1 dalmation molly
2 unknown mollies

they seem to be doing a little bit better...but im gonna keep an eye on them, but if someone can help me with the salt it would be much appreciated and ill get stats asap...thanx

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I wouldn't add salt at all, you wouldn't want to put your tetras health on the line. What are your stats for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and can you answer my other questions as well? How long did you acclimatise the new mollys to the tank for and how long did they take to die?
Salt is a medicine more than anything else, it is beneficial to mollys health but they can live without it and you need to find out why they are dying first of all.

 

[akudewan]

I agree that mollies can be fine without any salt. I added salt to disinfect the tank. I won't be adding any when I do WC's

But why do tetras dislike salt? Does it change the pH or something?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I agree that mollies can be fine without any salt. I added salt to disinfect the tank. I won't be adding any when I do WC's

But why do tetras dislike salt? Does it change the pH or something?

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The 2 main types of fish are ones with scales and ones without i.e just skin. Scaless fish can't handle salt very well and is generally lethal to them and many tetras fall into that catagory.

 

[Ryeguy]

i edited my original post...the first mollies that died did so within a couple days...so im hoping maybe its was just a high part in my cycle or the stress of being moved to a new aquarium was the cause, because one of them did great and is doing awesome

 

[dwarfgourami]

Mollies are a bit of an exception in freshwater terms as some of them (not all) live in brackish water in the wild; if you have those or mollies descended from them they may well benefit from the addition of salt. (I think the lack of salt was why I ahd a lot of trouble with my black mollies years back).

Tetras on the other hand are not designed to live in salt water and it may damage their kidneys. It's the same reason you are advised not too feed salty foods to human babies; their kidneys are not designed to cope. You may not notice any problems straightaway but there is a risk of longterm damage. They can cope with short-terms addition of salt for medicinal purposes, but they shouldn't live in the stuff.

 

[sinistral]

I don't know if you are a newbie or not, so forgive me if this sounds presumptuous, but mollies aren't the best "starter" fish (despite many fish stores reporting otherwise). Out of the more common livebearers, platies and guppies are better fish to start with, as they are hardier (less sensitive to ammonia and nitrites, for instance) and require less space than mollies.

Otherwise, dwarfgourami's post on tetras, mollies and salt is spot-on. HTH~

 

[akudewan]

Tetras on the other hand are not designed to live in salt water and it may damage their kidneys. It's the same reason you are advised not too feed salty foods to human babies; their kidneys are not designed to cope. You may not notice any problems straightaway but there is a risk of longterm damage. They can cope with short-terms addition of salt for medicinal purposes, but they shouldn't live in the stuff.

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If tetras are *not* designed to live in salty conditions, then maybe their bodies would dehydrate, because of the difference in osmotic pressure. This is why sharks in the ocean retain some amount of urea in their body.

And, mollies suck as "newbie" fishes, I agree. Also, they are breeding machines

One more hint, if you are buying the fish from the same shop, then maybe his tank is infected (just a possibility)

 

[cyprinut]

If you've had fish in the tank for 2 weeks, the tank is cycling and your fish are dying from ammonia and/or nitrite. You can't "pre-cycle" it with an additive, unless it's pure ammonia and you do a fishless cycle, which still takes more tha 2-3 weeks. It's important to get an ammonia and a nitrite test kit to know what's going on. A typical ammonia spike can require changing 20% water a day to keep levels to a safe amount.

 

[Ryeguy]

ok well i just went with what the pet store people told me, about allowing a coupel weeks for the tank to cycle before adding the fish...im not new to keeping fish, but this is the first time in quite a few years, so im just getting back into it