Adding salt to a goldfish tank?

Question

I've done the research and have decided to add aquarium salt to my goldfish tank since one of my fish has tail rot (I think) and I want to try & make sure the others don't get it.

I'm going to add 1 teaspoon per 5 gallons of water by mixing the salt in a cup of the water from the tank.

My question is, is it safe to pour the salt water in the tank while the fish are in there? Or should I remove them, wash the tank over, & then do it? Is all of that neccessary?

They won't die unless I put too much.

I'll use a smaller dosage then.

I've added the dosage & my fish are fine.

Answer 1

Yes, you can. My fish has the same problem right now. I added 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon, but it didn't help. Now, it's scales are falling off too. I got a bottle of Melafix. You can find it at your local pet store or retail store:) It's a medicine used to naturally treat finrot. Read the directions on the bottle as to how much to use. It seems to be working on my fish and she is getting better as of four days use. The salt is used to kill off a variety of parasites as well as different strains of fungus. Give Melafix a try. It's made of tea tree oil. Just don't OD because it can cause other problems and be patient when using it. You may also want to treat the tank as a whole because the others may have it. It is very contagious. Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 2

We put aquarium salt in our tanks to help combat these types of problems, too. (All our fishtanks are freshwater, but adding a little salinity to the water actually is good for most fish). Read the directions on the aquarium salt you get from the pet store to determine how much to add (not regular table salt, which you know but others reading this may not). You will want to increase the salinity slowly over a few days before you get to the regular recommended dosage.
We have never taken the fish out to add the salt, and have never had any problems (we actually just dump the granules straight in and let them dissolve in the tank, however, the salt can "burn" the fish's mouth if they try to eat too much of it, dissolving it in water will be fine too, just add it a bit at a time, because the pre-dissolved mixture will raise the tank salinety faster).
Of course, if your fish start acting funny or show worse symptoms, stop adding the salt (goldfish are pretty hardy, so I doubt you'll have much of a problem).

Answer 3

Freshwater/coldwater fish like Goldfish are not designed to live in a saline environment. Salt is a wonderful remedy to treat ailments, or to control the toxicity of nitrite/nitrate spikes, but as a normal maintenance procedure it is a no-no for goldfish. Salt also tends to make water harder. If you already have hard water, you are adding to his stress. Through what is called "osmosis" your goldfish already maintains a normal high salt concentration in his body fluids and needs to absorb freshwater into his cells to keep in balance. By adding more salt to his water, you are overloading his system and putting him under osmotic stress. This can be fatal. It saps their energy and strength and weakens their immune system, or can even kill them. This is probably why your fish is spending a lot of time "sleeping" at the bottom of the tank. Give him some fresh oxygenated water w/o the salt. Save the salt for only when he is sick or there is a problem with your water. Happy fishing!!

PABAN

Answer 4

thats too much. Talk to your petstore. If you take all the water out, then no benificial bacteria will be present, so dont change the tank all the way, unless you have cycled water ready to be put in again.

Answer 5

You need to do more research and find out how much salt they can tolerate. Talk to the people at the pet shop.

Answer 6

Listen to Ro-Bot! I put a little aquarium salt in my goldfish tank and have had no problems.

Answer 7

put it in the filter and go to a pet shop and get a medication for the fish, call first and ask them what they have so you can research it on the net to see which ones best.

Answer 8

i wouldn't add quit so much salt. i would do 1 tsb. per 10 gallons for gold fish

Answer 9

Do not add salt if you have any fish called algae eaters.They will die from salt.

Answer 10

I would not add salt water to the fish tank especially if there not salt water fish it could kill them.