# Malawi and Salt? Plants?



## giggeyer (Jan 12, 2012)

I am new to the forum...actually this is my first ever Forum. Tried to post pictures but said I had to have a posting first so here it is. Pictures to follow...hopefully.

Just got a (Never Used) 90 Gallon tank and set up with Wet Dry Filter off of Craig's list for my three kids (and Myself...lol)

I set it up over the holiday break and stocked it with LFS (Local Fish Store) African Cichlids (Malawi Species). I have been told that they actually like brackish water about (1.010). Does anyone else put Salt in their Cichlid tanks? If so what kind and how much? I purchased Cichlid Salt and added some already but it is not registering yet on my hydrometer.

Also I have live plants in the tank with a 6400K Fluorescent light (5500-10000K is recommended for Planted tanks). I do not think the plants are doing well. Can anyone who uses Salt with their Cichlids direct me to some plants that do well with Cichlids and some salinity in the water?


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## giggeyer (Jan 12, 2012)

Here are my pictures of my 90 Gallon.


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## bigwaverider (Jan 3, 2012)

I usually add aquarium salt when I need to add some. Remember salt doesn't evaporate it stays in tank. During water changes or when I add new fish that salt helps calm them and helps their slimy coat to help them adapt. If your Ph is good I wouldn't think you would need to add salt. Also the Malawi fish will probably eat your plants. Best plants to use is anubius. I am sure there is some articles on plants in the library section. Also there is a plant board section too that you can read through some posts and see.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Salt is not necessary for Lake Malawi cichlids.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Was the wet-dry still running up until you set it up? Just wondering if you need to cycle the tank/filter.


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## flyn dutchmn (Mar 1, 2011)

Cichlid salt isn't necessary but is definitely benificial if you have a low pH.


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## Sparrk (Oct 11, 2010)

I treated my tank with salt for ick couple months ago( really dont know if its the same as cichlid salt) but it devastated all my plants


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

flyn dutchmn said:


> Cichlid salt isn't necessary but is definitely benificial if you have a low pH.


Perhaps, but then cichlid "salts" aren't salt as in NaCl. Adding more "salts" should not result salinity, and certainly not to brackish levels.


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## giggeyer (Jan 12, 2012)

GTZ said:


> Was the wet-dry still running up until you set it up? Just wondering if you need to cycle the tank/filter.


Brand new system, Never used...so yes it probably has to cycle. I did add a bottle of bio stuff to kick start the system. Still learning...it seemed much easier back when I did cichlids in College but I was probably just ignorant....lol


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## giggeyer (Jan 12, 2012)

Sparrk said:


> I treated my tank with salt for ick couple months ago( really dont know if its the same as cichlid salt) but it devastated all my plants


Did your Ick get cleared up with salt? One or two of my new fish are "Flashing"...not sure if I should treat before I actually see white spots or wait.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Welcome to Cichlid-forum. :thumb:

Don't treat until you know if you are dealing with a disease. Fish flash occasionally as normal behavior.

They may be flashing because of irritants in the water if you have toxins. Pick up a freshwater test kit with test tubes and test for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

This will tell you if you have a problem with your cycle and/or give you an indicator on whether you need to add "cichlid salts" to your water. Test your tap water and your tank water. Let us know what you find for next steps.


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## Malawi Mad1 (Aug 15, 2006)

One of the most underrated and underused treatments when it comes to treatment of a disease is plain old salt (sodium chloride). When I talk about salt i mean table salt, dishwasher salt, rock salt etc not things such as Malawi Salts.
So why is salt so good and why is it important ?
It is all to do with one of the many stress responses in a fish . Osmoregulation.
Osmoregulation, in an easy sort of term, is the passage of water, salts and minerals either into or out of the fish. The fishes gills are permeable to water and minerals, they are also used as a means for a fish to release ammonia and salts. Because the 'body salts 'in a freshwater fish, are greater than the water in its environment, the two constantly try to equalise. So, water is constantly entering the fish through its body and salts are being released through the gills. The amount of water that goes into a fish has to come back out again, and this is via the kidneys in the form of urine. During a stress situation, particularly a flight situation (fish intimidation for instance), blood sugars are increased. Glycogen in the liver is metabolised. This alters the whole mineral and salt parameters in the fish and consequently the fish starts to absorb more water, which means that the kidneys then have to get rid of more urine. Fish will start to over-hydrate(store water in the body) if the kidneys cannot keep up. This makes the osmoregulation systems in the fish work much harder. The fish start to breath heavier which in its self causes more stress. The last thing we want when a fish is fighting a pathogen, an environmental issue, a social issue, handling and transport issues etc. is further increase in the osmoregulation pattern, so we have to find a way of slowing this down. 
We can slow it down by adding salt to the water, so that there isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t much difference between the salinity of the fish and the salinity of the water.You donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t want salt added as a permanent measure just when a fish is ill. To achieve that, salt would be added to the hospital tank at 1 gm per litre. This is a good de-stresser and then appropriate medicines can be added.


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## giggeyer (Jan 12, 2012)

Malawi Mad1 said:


> One of the most underrated and underused treatments when it comes to treatment of a disease is plain old salt (sodium chloride). When I talk about salt i mean table salt, dishwasher salt, rock salt etc not things such as Malawi Salts.
> So why is salt so good and why is it important ?
> It is all to do with one of the many stress responses in a fish . Osmoregulation.
> Osmoregulation, in an easy sort of term, is the passage of water, salts and minerals either into or out of the fish. The fishes gills are permeable to water and minerals, they are also used as a means for a fish to release ammonia and salts. Because the 'body salts 'in a freshwater fish, are greater than the water in its environment, the two constantly try to equalise. So, water is constantly entering the fish through its body and salts are being released through the gills. The amount of water that goes into a fish has to come back out again, and this is via the kidneys in the form of urine. During a stress situation, particularly a flight situation (fish intimidation for instance), blood sugars are increased. Glycogen in the liver is metabolised. This alters the whole mineral and salt parameters in the fish and consequently the fish starts to absorb more water, which means that the kidneys then have to get rid of more urine. Fish will start to over-hydrate(store water in the body) if the kidneys cannot keep up. This makes the osmoregulation systems in the fish work much harder. The fish start to breath heavier which in its self causes more stress. The last thing we want when a fish is fighting a pathogen, an environmental issue, a social issue, handling and transport issues etc. is further increase in the osmoregulation pattern, so we have to find a way of slowing this down.
> We can slow it down by adding salt to the water, so that there isnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t much difference between the salinity of the fish and the salinity of the water.You donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t want salt added as a permanent measure just when a fish is ill. To achieve that, salt would be added to the hospital tank at 1 gm per litre. This is a good de-stresser and then appropriate medicines can be added.


Wow...thanks for the information. I also read that sea salt from the health store is good because it does contain iodine.


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## flyn dutchmn (Mar 1, 2011)

Fogelhund said:


> flyn dutchmn said:
> 
> 
> > Cichlid salt isn't necessary but is definitely benificial if you have a low pH.
> ...


True, cichlid salt is more a mineral salt. I should of mentioned I also use Seachem Malawi/Victoria buffer or Tang buffer which increases pH and hardness. I've had great success using this combo and find the cost reasonable.


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