adding salt?

[kane]

Im fairly new at this and was wondering what kind of salt you guys are saying to use for ich?
is it regular table salt?

 

[littleman2001]

its called aquarium salt, You should be able to purchase it and any local fish store!

 

[bigredspecial]

Like Little said, Aquarium salt. common brand name is Aquarium Pharmaceutcals Aquarium salt.

Some people will say table salt is ok, others will say it isn't because it contains chemicals to keep it from caking. I used table salt once, and lost two cories; I have never lost a fish while using Aquarium salt, and I've used it 5 or 6 times now.

 

[FroggyFox]

-=raising hand=- I'm one of the ones who says it doesn't matter whether you use table salt or aquarium salt. You have to be careful of the type of fish you have in the tank if you use a salt treatment...a lot of bottom feeders (snails, shrimp too!) are sensitive to things like salt in the water.

 

[bigredspecial]

That's true, I've found cories to be very sensitive. Even though I didn't lose any while treating with aquarium salt, They did seem to be greatly stressed by it.

 

[Lotus]

You also need to remember that aquarium salt is shaped like rock salt, so a tablespoon of table salt is a lot more than a tablespoon of aquarium salt. By how much, I have no idea.

 

[kane]

ok,I think im catchin on to this stuff finally!lol
but im pretty sure i'll have more questions shortly

 

[kane]

is adding salt something that should be a part of regular aquarium maintnenance or just when disease or stress is noticed?

 

[bigredspecial]

Depends on who you ask... Some people will recommend using small amounts on a regular basis. In my opinion, fish have survived in freshwater for millions of years, They'll probably be ok in it for my lifetime.

I only use it for ich, and remove it when treatment is complete.

 

[Stone Warior]

Most petshops use salt in there water. So IMO its best to put it in there from the start. DONT USE TABLE salt as it contains Iodine << EVIL chemical to fish. It lowers stress prevents disease and ONLY add more during water changes so it remains between Fresh and Brackish water

 

[FroggyFox]

Stone Warior do you have any sources to back you up on the iodine harmful to fish theory? I have never read anything to that effect. And actually if you have inverts in your tank its GOOD to have that iodine in the water. I use normal table salt in my tanks if I ever have to use it...with no ill effects. The only thing I've ever heard that makes sense is that some table salt has extra things in it...which would be bad to use (anti-caking agents??) but just straight salt, not a problem.

And brackish water is not something you'll really acheive by putting in a bunch of salt...you need to get seasalt mix to create a brackish atmosphere in your tank...I'm sure thats already been mentioned in this thread but its worth repeating since you just said something about it.