aquarium salt--good or bad?

[catdoc]

I've used salt in my community tank from time to time. Is this something to avoid in the pleco tanks?

Christy

[Caol_ila]

Hi!

Theres different opinions on it.
But from what ive read ive built my own opinion that salt has no use in a well running system of softwater fishes. Especially table salt should only be used in cases of disease. If you choose to add salt its better to use the one sold for marine tanks. But again imho its a no-no in a South American setup.

[Dinyar]

In the "olden days", when fish keeping was dominated by crusty old types in fish clubs and LFS, it seems that adding X amount of salt per gallon or liter of water was widely recommended and practiced.

Nowadays, most people in places like the Planet Catfish forum would think that there's no good reason to add salt to a freshwater aquarium unless the fish are from brackish water. There is no salt in the water from which almost all Loricariidae come from, so there should be no reason to add salt to a Loricariid tank.

Dinyar

[SynoPetri]

I wouldn't salt my Loricariid aquarium because the water from where they come from is not salty at all.

[Caol_ila]

Can somebody explain to me why people add salt/natron to the coffee or tea to make the water "softer"? THis doesnt make sense to me somehow or is the term "soft" used differently here?

[SynoPetri]

I have never heard that people put salt in their coffee or tea. Very interesting.

[Chrysichthys]

I would only add salt if there's a specific reason. The idea of it being a general tonic is a myth. Chloride ion does combat nitrite toxicity, so in a filter emergency it will help the fish, but calcium chloride is better because it doesn't increase the salinity.

Some people add salt to Rift Lake tanks in the mistaken belief that it will harden the water. It won't.

[Caol_ila]

@synopetri really wonders me that you dont know this as a close neigbour. A lot of people here add a "messerspitze" (knifes tip) of salt to their coffee in the filter. Saying it softens the water...if you buy a pack of kitchen natron it will also say that on the box.

[Plec0maniac]

hi putting salt is like another type of medicine for fishes:)

But beware bec. plecs adn other catfishes are very sensitive to salt, there bodies will slowly burn once you placed alot and contacted there body..

[Dinyar]

Christian and Georg,

It's not only the Germans who put salt in their tea and coffee! Tibetan tea is usually salted. They add butter, not milk, though.

Although there are quite a few interesting catfish from Tibet (e.g., Glyptothorax spp.), Tibetans think of fish as reincarnations of the Buddha and generally do not eat them or capture them. Maybe they know something we don't!

Dinyar