# Aquarium Salt- Important or not?



## caseyof99 (Aug 5, 2009)

I've had my tank up for about a year, thats when i started in this hobby. I've never used aquarium salt and all my cichlids have amazing colors. My brother has been in the hobby for about 10 years on and off and he swears by it and never forgets to remind me of it. We do have a couple of the same species and a few of mine are bolder than his, granted a couple of his are bolder than mine, but still. Is it just for coloring or are there bigger reasons why my mbunas might need it?


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Salt is critical... for saltwater fish 

The Rift Lakes that your fish are naturally from does not have a measurable salinity, therefore it cannot be said that these fish "need" salt.

There is ample evidence that low levels of salt in freshwater aquariums has some benefits to freshwater fish... and there is ample evidence that it is not at all needed and is therefore a wasted investment...

For those who use it, it is generally used as a means of preventing disease, not enhancing coloration. It is believed by some that if used constantly, it looses it's disease curing effect...

I've heard both sides of this debate for many years... I think both sides have a lot of good evidence to support their theory...

I personally choose not to use salt as salt is not in the waters my fish naturally come from...


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I always refer people to this info because it's pretty much where I'm at regarding the addition of salt. And I'm assuming you mean sodium chloride. There are many types of 'salts' and it could refer to a lot of different things.


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## caseyof99 (Aug 5, 2009)

Thanks Toby. If theres no absolute requirement for aquarium salt with africans then im not goin to waste my time on it. And im not totally sure but i dont think aquarium salt is sodium chloride(table salt)- referring to prov356's comment.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

There are some additives for African Cichlids that I've heard refered to as "Salts" although they are not (only) salt...

"Aquarium Salt" Sold for and meant for maintaining salt water aquariums, has salt as well as other things in it. PH buffers for instance... These may or mnay not be desired for your freshwater application...

I don't use salt personally... but from the research on the subject I've done, straight table salt can be used despite the common belief it shouldn't be.

Salt means sodium chloride... aquarium salt is sodium chloride plus other things... table salt is sodium chloride plus other things... Anything that does not contain sodium chloride isn't "salt"...


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

I agree there is an argument for both using and not using salt. I used to use salt, but I no longer do.

The funny thing about this topic, though, is that outside of anecdotal reports, I have never seen any indication that salt improves coloration or breedability. However, those are the two most commonly sought after effects of using salt. Most of the evidence suggest a possible connection to better oxygen and ion exchange through the gills, and to helping nurse a disease fish back to health. I have definitely seen people use it to treat illness, but I don't think I have ever seen someone say they use salt to improve ion exchange in gill function, haha.

Anyway, the reason I stopped using salt is actually a practical one not a scientific one. Unlike buffers, salt does not evaporate out of water. This is a crucial point. Lets say that you change your water weekly. If you take replace 25% of your tank with fresh water, you normally put back enough salt to treat that 25%. However, over the period of a week, you have also lost some percentage due to evaporation, lets say 1%. Since the salt from that evaporated 1% is still in the tank, you actually have an extra 1% of salt. So instead of your tank having 100% of the water treated with salt, you actually treated for 101%. Over time, this number will continue to increase as more water evaporates and more salt is left over in your tank.

Because of this, the correct way to add salt to your tank is to always top off your tank before your water change. This way you are taking out the correct amount of water and salt, and you replace the correct amount of water and salt.

To me, this is just too complicated, so I just stopped using salt because I didn't want to think about it anymore.


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## eaglesqb5dm (Aug 7, 2009)

i sometimes use a little salt cause i was told from my father and other family members (in the same hobby) that salt is good for wounds on the fish.


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## Nezlar (Aug 4, 2009)

I was told it can sort of calm down aggression. I usually put some in when I added new fish, but not every time.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Salt has been given credit for many things over the years/decades. I don't add anything to my tanks unless there's some proven (scientifically) reason for doing so. I've never seen anything to support salt having any medicinal value, nor any reason that it would 'help heal wounds' or 'reduce aggression'. Ok to believe what we want to believe, but in doing so it's possible to overdose and cause more problems than are resolved. Plus it gets us into a mindset of adding things to resolve issues. I think what happens and how these things get started is that someone adds it to a tank with a wounded fish, fish gets better, so salt heals wounds. Or, fish calm down, so salt calmed them. I mean if we just think this through, what in sodium chloride or any additive labeled as 'salt' would reduce aggression in fish? Is it a sedative? Or does it alter their 'moods'? And what in salts would 'heal' them?

And I'm not trying to attach anyone's beliefs. Just another voice and opinion.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I know salt can assist cleansing and healing of wounds in people & land animalsâ€¦ which is probably were the theory of it helping heal wounds in fish came from. But since the flesh of a fish is quite different than the flesh of a human, Iâ€™m not sure if it has the same affectâ€¦

I know salt â€™burnsâ€™ when put into a wound in a person or land animal. If it also â€™burnsâ€™ the fishâ€™s wound then it could cause more harm than good by stressing the fishâ€¦

I can see how it might be possible for salt to weaken/kill a freshwater parasite. Freshwater things just donâ€™t thrive in salt water and vise versa. But the same adverse affects that are put on the parasite are put on the fish. So making assumptions on this may come with some riskâ€¦

I would assume there are groups of biologists that have done enough research on fish to have scientifically covered this topic. I have never stumbled across a scientific report on the topic, but Iâ€™ve also never looked for oneâ€¦

All in allâ€¦ I think a keeping the fish healthy and the water clean is the best bet. This way when some ailment does come upon our fish they are in a healthy environment and have the immunity to fight it off themselves. I meanâ€¦ no one dumps salt into the Amazon when there is a parasite outbreakâ€¦ and the fish down there have been thriving for quite a few yearsâ€¦


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

The only thing I can find about salt healing wounds on people is in regard to controlling infections. Stands to reason, I guess, that if you avoid infection the wound will heal faster. But, the salt does not directly do anything to accelerate the healing process. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'd be more inclined to try some topical agent, same as with people, if a fish had a serious wound.

And yes, if you added enough salt that it would act as an effective control of parasites, it could endanger the fish. Best to do a salt dip if you're going to try that, not dose an entire tank.

I agree that good maintenance practices go a long way toward keeping risk of infections and disease down. That's my preferred preventative, and it's worked fine for me.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

It has been my understanding from long, long ago that salt would "promote more of the protective slime layer". I used to treat with salt more than other meds. Now I'm more inclined to fix the water and let the fish fix the rest. Just checked a bottle of Jungle Start Right and found sodium chloride to be the first, therefore largest ingredient. Good money maker, perhaps?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> It has been my understanding from long, long ago that salt would "promote more of the protective slime layer".


Irritants do that. That's what's in products like Prime. When it says it stimulates the slime coat, it does that by irritating the fish to encourage it to defend against the irritant. Nice, eh?



> Good money maker, perhaps?


Yes, absolutely about the money, not the fish. Here's what they say about their product.

_Our trusted original Start RightÂ® water conditioner now contains allantoin, a soothing and natural skin protectant promoting the healing of wounds and infections. Start RightÂ® with allantoin is a multi-beneficial water conditioner that removes chlorine and chloramine, neutralizes heavy metals, aids in cell regeneration and in the additional production of the fishâ€™s natural slime coat, adds beneficial electrolytes, and guards against secondary infections. In addition, Start RightÂ® with allantoin leaves aquariums clean and clear with no deposits or residue around plants or filters._

Google allontoin and you find this. No mention of it being used or effective on fish, but it is found in:

_frequently present in toothpaste, mouthwash, and other oral hygiene products, in shampoos, lipsticks, anti-acne products, sun care products, and clarifying lotions, various cosmetic lotions and creams, and other cosmetic and pharmaceutical product_

Seems harmless, so they figure it can't hurt your fish. Since it's used to treat skin conditions in people, I guess they figure they can make some nice sounding claims that it'll do something for fish.

This type of marketing and advertising of fish products is pretty much the norm. There are exceptions, but they seem to be few.


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## Nezlar (Aug 4, 2009)

you mean corporate america is lying, stretching the truth, or building some long shaky bridges between something true and something assumed to be true?

I find that hard to believe. Not even the government goes that far!

:lol:


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

So maybe if we look at most of the commercial products that claim to be good for all that ails our fish and find that sodium chloride is the main ingredient, we should figure out that what we are buying is a small amount of salt with an even smaller amount of whatever and a very large helping of marketing gibberish? That's pretty much where I arrived about thirty years ago!  
Since then I have mostly been out of the hobby but there seems the only magic I find on the market, now as then, is the one that suddenly removes money from my wallet. Any one else notice that when you buy fish meds? :wink:


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