Just to sum up all this befuttling info.. lets see if this helps..
Is salt good to use in every situation in fresh water? NO
Is their benefits? yes (stimulates gill function,
used as a PREVENTATIVE of some fish disease & parasites, stimulates formation of a slime coat, etc.)
Is their drawbacks? yes (some fish may be sensitive to salt in the environment, FW plants don't like it much, etc.)
Is it good to have on hand? Yes (great
cheap and simple treatment for a wide variety of fish illnesses, you use it to raise up some baby brine shrimp to feed to fry, etc.) Oh.. and did I say it was
CHEAP
Do some fish like the addition of FW Salt more than others? YES (Mollies, for example, do better with some salt added to the water, and so on...)
Long story short..... To each, his own. Some use it and have great success with it, some don't use it and have great results also. It just depends on user preference, & aquarium situation. I use it in some of my tanks, some I do not. And I don't use it religiously every time.
*** For clarification, someone stated you don't have to use a water conditioner. Well, you don't, if you like to play a waiting game. If you let your replacement water sit uncovered for 24 hours or so, chlorine dissipates (
BUT>> CHLORAMINE DOES NOT!) Your local water company should post what it uses in it's water supply. If it uses chlorine, you can play that waiting game, if it uses chloramine, you need a conditioner to remove/neutralize it.
But I, for one, do not like to wait around for water to sit. I use a chlorine, chloramine remover/neutralizer of some sort, and you can go as simple, or as elaborate on the conditioners as you want. Salt can
not remove these items, but they still act as a type of conditioner for the fish, not the water per say.
Again, there are many products out there that some recommend over another. Purchase a water conditioner based upon your needs.
Have a great day!