Should i add salt to my freshwater tropical aquarium?

Question

My local aquatics shop says i should keep a low level of salt in my tropical freshwater aquarium water at all times.
I've read on various fishkeeping sites that this is not a good idea and should only be used as a tonic when fish are ill.
My tank contains general community fish.
Any advice on this subject would be very welcome.

Answer 1

a bit of salt helps to keep your fish tank free of algae and some bacteria.

Answer 2

It is generally advised to add just a little salt to a freshwater tank--and I think (but have absolutely no evidence) that's because in the far and distant past there weren't as many instant cures as we have today and the fresh water quality wasn't always fish beneficial. By adding salt, it kept the ick levels nullified, kept any bacterial low, countered any residual chlorine in the water. etc. However, things have changed and these days drinking water is pretty pure; I haven't ever had a case of ick in my tanks in the 50+ years I've been keeping fish. I now only use salt as a "medicine" only when it is called for. My philosophy is why add anything to the tank that is not necessary that increases your basic maintenance costs when you could use the money on something better (like more tanks, more fish...)?

Answer 3

as far a i know very few freshwater tropical fish require salt water in their aquarium. There are one or two which may get on better if a little salt is added (like mollys) but most dont need salt and if you add too much salt you could harm some of you other fish or even kill them. So my advice is dont bother adding the salt because they will get on just as will without it.

Answer 4

I've kept fish for years without it but use it when I treat the fish for White spot etc. It seems to help stop it spreading and the fish recover quicker! I now have Dwarf frogs in my Tetra Community tank so I'm not sure it would be a good idea. I've never seen any difference in amount of Algae or snails either.
As most sites say it isn't a good idea and I tend to follow their advice for other things I see it just as a ploy to get us to spend more!
You cant beat the old-fashioned water change once a tank's up and running, I dont bother with test kits either!!

Answer 5

I use salt more andhave doe pretty good with my fish. Had a 7 year old gold fish and a 5 year old silver dollar. The Gold fish actully jumbed out of the tank when he was 5 and got dryed and kinda stiff on the carpet. When I touched him he blinked and I tosed him in the water. He came back fine.

I put salt ( from the fish store) in If my fish are getting sick or if I do a major water change. It helps to burn away ick and cotten. Do not over use it. I use a Little less then the lable tells you to.

Answer 6

It is best to dose your tank with salt in your water changes. When adding your newly conditioned tank water, dissolve the necessary amounts of salt in the bucket first and add it in. Keep in mind that salt will not evaporate, so in order to remove the salt this can only be done with water changes. As for the peas, I would wait a few days and try them again. Most times they will eat them. Sounds as though he might be constipated too? If he just developed the swim bladder the chances of that are pretty high, so give a few days, try again. Did you take the skin off of the pea? Just thought I would throw that out there too, that the pea should be removed from the skin after boiling.

Answer 7

There is a reason they call it freshwater. People claim that adding salt helps prevent disease and helps the fish regulate osmotic pressure. It does help prevent disease, but does more hamr than good. You may not notice but salt will burn a freshwater fish's skin overtime and can lead to kidney failure. It does not help regulate osmosis at all, in fact it makes things worse, especially if you have soft water fish from South America or Southeast Asia. They are very sensitive to salt.

The only time salt should be used in freshwater is for disease treatment and to help wounds heal. Then it is still only temporary. You have to remove the salt before it does damage to the fish.

Answer 8

I have been adding low levels of aquarium salt to my freshwater tanks for years with no ill effect. That being said, I can't say that I have noticed a profound difference either way. Some freshwater species supposedly thrive in more salient environments (black mollies for example), but I don't think there is a wrong decision here.

Answer 9

For general community fish, no salt should be used. It adds to the hardness of the water. ( It also contains chlorine ions) Hard water fish such as guppies & platys will tolerate some salt. Mollies appreciate it. They can even be found in the sea!.

Answer 10

Its a tough one some say yes others say no ,I personally wouldn`t I have put Aquarium salt in a hospital tank if a fish is poorly,Mollies like a small amount of salt but a lot of fish don't

Answer 11

it depends on the fish and what kind of salt you add..are you talking marine salt or aquarium salt? if you are talking harding the water(ie tanks from south east asia) you dont need much aquarium salt( 1 tablespoon to every 5 gal.). note-salt does not evaporate so olny add salt after water changes! good luck