Salt in Tank?

[David J. Braunegg]

Is the jury still out on the addition of salt to tanks, or is there an
agreed-upon answer?

We have a tank with Platys and Corys. The LFS told us to add 1 tsp salt
per gallon of water. "The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" says
not to add salt.

Is this really a question of salt, or of the mineral content of the
water? I got the water quality report from my town (see below). Can I
use this information in any meaningful way to know which fish will do
best in my water or what (if anything, e.g., salt) I need to add?

In the "help please: thread, Eric Schreiber wrote:
> - Maybe add salt (unless you have lots of live plants, scaleless fish,
> cordydoras, or tetras, none of which like salt). No more than 1/2
> tablespoon per gallon.
Is the salt in my tank going to hurt the Corys? If I stop adding salt
to the water changes, so the salt level eventually tails off, will the
lack of it hurt the Platys? If we want to add Neons or Cardinals, are
we better off with or without salt?

Is there a good site to check which fish want the salt and which do not?

As I said, I do have my town's Water Quality Summary. Here is an
extract:

Substance Highest Level Range of
Detected Levels Found
PRIMARY PARAMETERS
Barium 0.02 ND-0.02
Chlorine 1.5 0.07-1.5
Haloacetic Acids (ppb) 31.1 ND-31.1
Fluoride 1.4 0.6-1.4
Nitrate 1.8 ND-1.8
Radionuclides (pCi/L) 2.9 ND-2.9
Trihalomethanes (ppb) 59 ND-59
Turbidity (NTU) 1.1 ND-1.1
SECONDARY PARAMETERS
Calcium 24.7 6.1-24.7
Chloride 99.9 12.3-99.9
Chloroform (ppb) 24 ND-24
Hardness 88 22-88
Iron 0.8 ND-0.8
Magnesium 6.4 1.5-6.4
Manganese 0.21 ND-0.21
Potassium 28.4 1.9-28.4
Sodium 43 9-43
Sulfate 25.5 6.7-25.5
Total Dissolved Solids 215 83-215
Zinc 0.11 ND-0.11
LEAD & COPPER PARAMETERS
Lead (ppb) 8 ND-25
Copper 0.33 0.008-0.48

Thank you for any and all help.

Dave

[RedForeman ©®]

"David J. Braunegg" > wrote in message
> Is the jury still out on the addition of salt to tanks, or is there an
> agreed-upon answer?

Salt is used in FW setups as a tonic, healing agent persay....

> We have a tank with Platys and Corys. The LFS told us to add 1 tsp salt
> per gallon of water. "The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" says
> not to add salt.

Salt doesn't do much, but it does promote the slime coating on fish to grow
if the fish has been hurt.

> Is this really a question of salt, or of the mineral content of the
> water? I got the water quality report from my town (see below). Can I
> use this information in any meaningful way to know which fish will do
> best in my water or what (if anything, e.g., salt) I need to add?
>
--

RedForeman ©®

[Graham Ramsay]

"David J. Braunegg" wrote
> Is the jury still out on the addition of salt to tanks, or is there an
> agreed-upon answer?

There is no agreed upon answer. That is the case
in many aspects of fish-keeping.
Salt can be useful in certain circumstances.
As a dipping solution for instance. I no longer
use it as a general additive to my tanks, even for
live-bearers. I would never add salt to a tank with
Cardinals.

There is much information here:

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/salt.shtml

--
Graham Ramsay
Learn about the work of the JREF
www.randi.org

[Jim Morcombe]

> In the "help please: thread, Eric Schreiber wrote:
> > - Maybe add salt (unless you have lots of live plants, scaleless fish,
> > cordydoras, or tetras, none of which like salt). No more than 1/2
> > tablespoon per gallon.

Forget the bit about scaleless fish.

My West Australian freshwater Cobblers (Tandanus bostocki) are scaleless.
They are very sensitive to fungal infections, particularly White Spot.
Because of the lack of scales, the White Spot looks more like White Blob.

By keeping a small amount of salt in the water, I keep the fungus at bay.

Jim