SALT??

Yes and a BIG NO!
Yes you should add salt.
NO NOT table salt . The iodine is n/g.
I use the man made salts ( like "Instant Ocean" or others used for
making salt water for reef fish) It is cheaper and contains buffers
that help maintain water quality. I use 1 heaping table spoon per 5
gal. of water every OTHER water change to keep the salt level
changing.
Salt (NaCl) does not change the pH of water. It also does not change
the hardness.

A few fish do not tolerate aquarium salt. Corydoras catfish and many
live aquatic plants do not do well with salt in their water.

Salt lessens the number of pathogens in the water. For example very
few, perhaps only one or two groups, of freshwater bacteria tolerate
salt well.

The above is what I have done for years. Below is the other school of
thought that I disagree with. It all comes down to making your own
decision. Check with your local pet store, I'll guess they are using
salt in their freshwater tanks.

Salt is a wonderful remedy to treat ailments, or to control the
toxicity of nitrite/nitrate spikes, but as a normal maintenance
procedure it is a no-no for goldfish. Salt also tends to make water
harder. If you already have hard water, you are adding to his stress.
Through what is called "osmosis" your goldfish already maintains a
normal high salt concentration in his body fluids and needs to absorb
freshwater into his cells to keep in balance. By adding more salt to
his water, you are overloading his system and putting him under
osmotic stress. This can be fatal. It saps their energy and strength
and weakens their immune system, or can even kill them. (The author of
this did not put their name on the AOL site that posted it) I would
not have put my name on it either.

"fishbee" wrote in message
...
So, do I need to put salt in my aquarium??
And what kind of salt - normal "table salt" ok?

Fishbee

"Gunther" ¦b¶l¥ó
t ¤¤¼¶¼g...
Top posting, cuz he started it!

Actually, he's probably quoting some stuff from the
side of the Dr. Wellfish salt container. See also
http://www.aquariumpharm.com/aqgold.html where they say

"(Salt)provides the correct balance of electrolytes and minerals
needed by goldfish for proper respiration, healthy gill
function and osmotic balance. Provides protection from toxic
nitrite."

I'm not saying it's true, mind you, only that they said it.

Gunther


In article ,

says...
Hank,

Salt has absolutely nothing to do with the transfer of oxygen
across the
gills.

Tom L.L.
"Hank Pagel" wrote in message
...
I think salt helps in the transfer of oxygen in the gills
which helps
lessen stress. IMO it has nothing to do with hardness in this
case.
"fishbee" wrote in message
...
Hi:

I am new to this newsgroup and found "salt" mentioned in a
few
messages.
Can someone tell me whether "salt" is needed for FG - my
water is of
the
"soft" variety.

Fishbee