# advice on adding salt to my 55 gal.



## ejacko (Aug 6, 2013)

Hi guys, not sure if I'm in the right place but I'll ask anyway. My question is two-fold, how much hydrogen peroxide can I put in my tank and how often. Also how much salt, what kind, and how often :-? I have a 55 gal. with a large Frontosa, a large Featherfin, and two large Clown loaches.
Thanks, Ed


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

Never heard of adding hydrogen peroxide to a fish tank so I would say none and never. As far as salt, before you even consider adding anything to the water you need to know what the water chemistry is like currently. You need to test for PH, KH and GH. There are a few articles in the library section that will tell where these numbers should be, but you can post the results here and I'm sure one of us can advise you. You should test your tank water and your fresh water source to get results from each.

In general cichlids don't need salt in the water, most tap water is ballpark for them provided it isn't filtered.

My question with posts like this is why do you think you need to add something to the water? Are you having some problem that you think salt will fix, or just read somewhere that cichlids need salt? If your fish are healthy and acting normally chances are your water is fine, but checking the values I mentioned above won't hurt.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

Hydrogen peroxide? Bleach blond labs? Never heard of adding that. As for salt....don't add that either.


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## Wis-Waterboy (Jul 18, 2013)

Hydrogen Peroxide dose is 2ml per gallon. It is great for killing external parasites and other micro-organisms in the water.
Dissipates to Hydrogen and water in about 24 hours, no special removal procedures. Be careful though, it will kill the good bacteria in your filter and some plants, Anacharis for one. Don't ever put salt in the aquarium, fresh water fish need fresh water. Salt dips in a hospital tank are used to help with external parasites, and other external problems.


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## b3w4r3 (Dec 14, 2012)

There is some evidence that hydrogen peroxide can treat some external parasites, and fungal infections in some fish and fish eggs. It's generally used as a bath solution though, and not added directly to the display tank. It's also very specific as to what parasites and fungi it can eliminate, and some fish can not tolerate it at all and will die. I didn't see any specific studies done on cichlids so It's probably best to stick to common treatments. It's definitely not something you would add to a tank on a regular basis.

As far as salt goes there are articles right here in the library section that detail the use of salt and other compounds used to correct water chemistry for cichlids. Again though you need to know what the water chemistry is before you go adding these compounds.


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