Wow I never knew you could use salt with freshwater fish. I have been treating my water with the standard chemicals. As you say they can get pricey. Is this good for all freshwater fish or mainly goldfish? I have 2 tiger oscars. Will salt do the same for them or hurt them? Hi Jason, Generally scaleless fishes such as corydoras do not tolerate salt well. Other freshwater fish like your Oscars should do fine with the right dosage of aquarium salt. Your email address will not be published.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. What is Aquarium Salt? What are the benefits of Aquarium Salt? How to use Aquarium Salt? The benefits of using aquarium salt in your goldfish tank as mentioned above can be categorized into 2 types of uses against infections and diseases: For Prevention For Treatment However do note that although you can use aquarium salt for goldfish, not all fish species can tolerate it.
Summary Aquarium salt is indeed the more natural remedy for most of the common infections that can happen to your goldfish. Share this:. Thanks you so much for taking the time to read this long question :. I would remove the salt, it definitely can be an irritant. From what I understand, the basic idea behind salt is that it irritates the fish into making more of a slime coat which in turn helps keep them healthy. Prince Powder. Salt is a highly debated topic in this hobby, some swear by it and others swear off it.
I personally don't recommend salt for any freshwater fish. Salt in the tank will lead to your fish developing more of a slime coat, but a healthy fish will develop all the slime coat it needs naturally. Salt can have some healing benefits it is said and it is not uncommon to see salt suggested for treatment of ICH and other ailments.
I've read of several recommendations for salt baths as treatments for this or that. However, when the the fish is exposed to salt all the time, both the fish as well as any parasite that is infecting it would have developed some level of tolerance to the salt thereby reducing the effectiveness of salt as a treatment. Another problem with salt comes with dosing. Salt does not evaporate, nor is it removed by activated carbon.
The only way to reduce the level of salt in a tank is to do it manually via water changes. Say for example, you have a 10 gallon tank and the carton of salt recommends 2 tablespoons of salt for that tank.
When you change the water you add another 2 tablespoons of salt for the 10 gallon tank. For some people they will realize this in the beginning and only do a half dose or only dose for the amount of water they are adding back in, but some people will continue dosing for the full 10 gallons not realizing that they are quickly overdosing their tank.
Another thing to keep in mind is topping off the tank. If you have some evaporation and you add another gallon of water and dose that water for even just the one gallon, you are overdosing the tank because even though the gallon of water evaporated from the tank, the salt you originally added did not.
Salt will probably always be a matter of debate and opinion, but for me, the cons outweigh the pros so I skip it altogether. Wow, thank you so much to both of you! I never knew the reason why salt produced more of a slime coat. I will definitely be done with it now unless I need it to treat something specific. The advice about topping off was such a good point I have probably accidentally added salt when I topped off before without realizing it.
I knew it didn't evaporate and I only add it with water changes, and only the amount I'm changing, but I've gotten into the habit of putting it into every bucket of water, and I'm so glad you brought that to my attention!
My sister adds salt to her pond but I do not. I think some of it depends on your water source too. I do like to use salt as a treatment for ich, dropsy , and especially for parasites such as anchor worm.
That is part of the reason I do not use it in my pond. Maintaining good water quality should also help improve the fin rot, since stress is a huge contributor. Am I meant to be looking for anything in particular? Is it safe to assume that all parasites will be killed off within a particular period of time of salt dosing e.
Thanks in advance. Sorry for the confusion! Now, if the salt dip is successful, you should keep your goldfish in a cycled quarantine tank with fresh water until the main aquarium is parasite free. How long that takes will depend on the life cycle of the parasite. For example, treating ich can take 15 days or more depending on water temperature.
For example, gill or skin flukes are generally resistant to salt treatments and will need something gentle for fish, that is like Praziquantel. My comet goldfish is 16 years old. She has gone into a curled position,which seems to be like a paralysis. She will only eat peas, so I feed her from frozen peas , I shell the outer layer and, running them under tap water…I serve them to her.
Thank you very much for all your good advise. Merry Christmas from Ms Hayley Peabody and me. Have you tried testing the water for ammonia and nitrite recently? If we can pinpoint what caused your goldfish to get sick, it might help her recover. Our method of treatment starts with the lowest level of salt and gradually increases if the symptoms persist.
Salt comes in many sizes and forms, so make sure to use aquarium salt to follow our treatment regimen. Add 1 tablespoon Tbsp of salt per 3 gallons of water.
You can pour the salt directly into the aquarium or hospital tank, but some people like to dissolve the salt in a small cup of water first. Use a concentration of 1 Tbsp of salt per 2 gallons of water for the next level of treatment. Level 2 treatment is capable of combating a wider range of illnesses. For example, you can use this recipe to treat ich a common ailment also known as white spot disease for a period of 10 days.
However, if the symptoms are only getting worse after 5 days, try increasing the concentration again. Raise the concentration to 1 Tbsp of salt per gallon of water, and this potent solution will knock out nearly everything. Level 3 treatment is very hard on scaleless fish and other sensitive species, so please do some research beforehand.
We personally have found rasboras, danios, tetras, silver dollars, livebearers, and most cichlids as well as their fry to be fairly salt tolerant.
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