Is aquarium salt really needed??

HI all ,i was just wondering if anyone uses aquarium salt on a regular basis? I was in a LFS, and a few people said that with every water change you should always add some aquarium salt as it helps the fish and keeps the tank healthy, adds electrolytes and improves gill function I do use it sometimes here and there but not consistently. I know it can be used for an ick treatment but is it really needed on a consistent basis with water changes?

 

I have never put it in most of my tanks for any reason, if that helps.

 

Great as a medication if you see something of wouldn't put in water all the time also have yo be aware that some fish don't do well with salt

 

What fish are you keeping? Some like salt, some don’t, some really don’t.

 

Some use salt for mineralization when keeping certain fish like some livebearers. Goldfish may also like salt- my dad used to add salt to his goldfish tanks way back when. I don’t add salt to any of my tanks.

 

Salt should be a medication that everyone has access to for an emergency.

It is a pour man’s choice for remineralising soft water. Sea water is used by villagers that farm fish with no money and poor quality drinking water.

Salt is only one of the five ingredients used in the powders we use to increase hardness.

Adding straight salt is very old school jaysurf7.
Find out the GH of your water supply and if your stocking needs added minerals then add whatever you can afford.

If you can afford equilibrium it contains more minerals than just salt.
Seachem Equilibrium

A basic chart on the GH needs of some fish

 

it's a community tank 65-gal, rainbow fish, tin foil barbs, silver dollars, dinos, different kinds of tetras, some glass catfish at the moment. Thank you I wasn't really sure if the salt does actually help gill function and adds electrolytes. i use it very very, sparingly at times and haven't noticed any problems with the fish. I was told that it can help keep pathogens at bay and it won't hurt a tank either not sure if that's the case also. But i always have some just in case it would be of use.

 

Salt is bad for catfish, be careful even using it as medication!
No one should add salt with every water change if they don't have a hydrometer to test the water with every water change, IMOP.

 

Most people i know who have aquariums do not use salt either i know certain fish are very sensitive to it, but i was wondering does it actually help in gill function and adds electrolytes and help keep pathogens at bay when it is used properly??

 

the only thing that I ever heard was that it irritates the freshwater fish and causes them to grow extra slime coat, "fishy immune system"

 

the only thing that I ever heard was that it irritates the freshwater fish and causes them to grow extra slime coat, "fishy immune system"

Which is exaxtly why it does help heal wounds and help with some other external stuff, like making it harder for ich to attach to a fish when treating for such things.

 

that's good to know, that's why always try to keep some around just in case of that. It did help my tin foil barb heal and also help fighting ich in tanks.

 

If you have very soft water there are better more targeted ways of increasing the mineral contents. It is a much easier to add stuff than to run liquid rock through an RODI unit and then add stuff.

 

so i just realized by reading another post about salt. that i had been forgetting to replace the salt in my 30g for maybe 2 or more WC. me not wanting to overdose on salt i havent added anymore as of yet. would that 2 or more amounts of 50% WC reduce the salt level to 0 about where i can just start over?, id hate do harm my guppies

 

You might consider buying a hydrometer for your tank if you plan to continue using salt on a regular basis.
The hydrometer will measure the specific gravity of the water, giving you an accurate measure of the salt content based on the density.
I had a very inexpensive hydrometer for a marine setup I once kept. Worked like a charm.

 

It's hard to reduce any thing in a tank to "0" by water changing. Doing 50% drain and fill twice leaves 25% of the original.

 

Guppies can handle salt very well. If you have done several water changes without adding salt, you will be safe dosing it back up to normal and staying consistent with your dosing each water change.

Remember that salt can be used as a medication, it can be used for a time then stopped. So dont stress out too much over a fluctuating salt level but try to stay consistent if you are using it regardless of why you are using it.