What? Do Mollies Realy Need Salt

[matchstickman47]

top says it

 

[OldMan47]

Forget the salt for mollies. What they really need is a high TDS which often means hard water and a higher pH than 7.0. Mine thrive in water that has a hardness of about 12 degrees and a pH of about 7.8 but that is extreme. They can do fine with most pH above 7.0. I keep mine with tetras and barbs with no health problems. I don't have gouramis so I can't say how they would do in hard water with a moderately high pH.

 

[helterskelter]

Salt also reduces stresses on internals organs making keeping these fish easier. This is why it's recommended

How ever a good aquarists should keep them happily if you can keep the water quality good.
I do not use salt, but do use it as a treatment.

If you have hard water and good water these fish should thrive.

 

[matchstickman47]

my water is from london .. coz i live der...so im guna asume its hard , dont know how to test for this

i have a test kit that has a hardnes thing, its a strip that you put in the water ( everyone criticizes thease)i dont get the hardness part im a bit dumb with stuff like that it has a unit of measure ment i dont understand but its in the good zone or safe zone, its slightly right of the centre wich means is harder rather than softer, am i right?

 

[OldMan47]

Does it have any units for the hardness or is it just too soft, OK and too hard on your strips? Hardness is the amount of dissolved calcium and magnesium in water if you are talking about GH. KH is a measure of the ability of the water to buffer your pH but is measured using the same units as GH. TDS, total dissolved solids, is just what it says, It does not take into account what ions are in the water but just how much the total is. With 3 different measurements that are loosely related, it is not surprising you are confused. You usually see GH or KH in either german degrees or ppm units but there are at least 2 other units that I have seen used.