Ryld wrote in news:Xns97F0EA75D20B9nonehotmailcom@
198.186.190.161:

Will look to pick some of that up in the morning - as for salt i have
always used just a hint of it in my tanks so I should be good there.
The fish looked to be ok before this. Normal interaction with the other
fish and plants...casually swimming around just like all the others.
only difference now being in the qt it does not want to eat - just looks
at it and turns away

Adding salt in times of stress or injury is an attempt to balance off the
difference in osmotic pressure between the water and the fluids inside the
fish. Cuts and wounds allow water an easier route to pass into the body
than skin pores and so the fish's body has to work harder excrete extra
water through its urine and gills when injured.

Adding a prescribed amount of salt to an aquarium increases the ionic
concentration of water and so decreases the pressure differential between
the water and the fish fluids to lessen the amount of water rushing into
the fish's body, and likewise the amount of stress on the fish's organs
while trying to rid itself of this extra water. Adding more than just a
hint of it may help your fish's situation in the QT tank (say 1 tbsp for
every 5 to 10 gallons).

The less metabolic activity wasted on excreting water the harder the immune
system can work on fighting off infection and healing open wounds.