Aquaruim Salt + Scaless Fish = Death?
- Thread starter Kabong
- Start date
Half truth... salt acts as a helpful addition to remedies in sick fish, and a tonic for well fish.
Salt will help build a slime coat on fish with scales, as the salt can irritate it just slightly so as the fish produces more slime to stop the irritation. The salt can burn the tough skin on scaleless fish, making it uncomfortable for them. Granted, you'd have to use a lot to hurt them, but dosing overboard will give you more problems than just burned scaleless fish
I used to work in an LPS, and i used a tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons with loaches, cories and plecs of all sorts with never a problem. I used half the concentration on my home tanks with no ill effects.
Bottom line: It can hurt, but only if you go ape with it.
Salt will help build a slime coat on fish with scales, as the salt can irritate it just slightly so as the fish produces more slime to stop the irritation. The salt can burn the tough skin on scaleless fish, making it uncomfortable for them. Granted, you'd have to use a lot to hurt them, but dosing overboard will give you more problems than just burned scaleless fish
I used to work in an LPS, and i used a tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons with loaches, cories and plecs of all sorts with never a problem. I used half the concentration on my home tanks with no ill effects.Bottom line: It can hurt, but only if you go ape with it.
Salt is used to help cure many diseases and parasites, particularly ich. Other than that there is no reason to add salt, so as Blinky asks, why do you want to add it. Freshwater fish are just that freshwater. In the wild they do not live in salt and even if they can tolerate it why do it to them. Adding salt as a "tonic" is like taking antibiotics everyday just in case you catch a disease. It just isn't needed.
As to whether or not it will hurt scaless fish? Over the long run salt will indeed hurt scaless fish, but when used as a short term medication (3-4 weeks) it should do no harm in low doses (1 tsp per gallon is considered low).
As to whether or not it will hurt scaless fish? Over the long run salt will indeed hurt scaless fish, but when used as a short term medication (3-4 weeks) it should do no harm in low doses (1 tsp per gallon is considered low).