We have two channel catfish in our aquarium, we put some aquarium salt in our tank, can that hurt them?

Question

We have had the catfish in our tank for a while and everything has been fine, now they are acting funny since we added the aquarium salt..HELP

Answer 1

Aquarium salt will NOT harm your catfish. It will help them to thrive, fight of disease, and build a healthy coat of fish slime. What are your water quality perameters? How high are the NitrAtes? if Higher than 40 ppm, do a 20 percent water change. How about nitrites & ammonia? both should be at 0ppm.

If you are using aquarium salt, hopefully you are following the package instructions, dissolving 1/2 tsp per gallon or 1 TBS per 5 gallons, as a water conditioner, to help in the effectiveness of medication, or to balance thier electrolytes.

Yes catfish are fresh water, but there is a certain ammount of salinity found in nature, that is not present in tap water.

Check you r pH levels, ammonia, nitrates & nitrites or take a water sample to your fish store, and ask them to test it for you. The reason your catfish are acting funny is not because of the addition of aquarium salt as long as you are following the instructions on the box.

Answer 2

Well ...
:)
How much did you add and of what type?
I personally have a tank that has a hooked (fished for) catfish for 3 years and every time I change the water (55 gallon tank, 20 %) I put a teaspoon of table salt (iodine) in the tank. 3 YEARS with no other store bought chemicals.
I never keep a light on (CATFISH NO NO).
But if this is a established fish with no prior diseases, why would you change the regime????
A little BRACKISH water will not hurt, but TOO much certainly will.
But what has worked for me doesn't mean it will work for you.
ESTABLISHED .... NO!!!
New CAT ... A little ....sure only during water changes.


Anyone who thinks that a little salt (either being table, sea, or other wise is a tool, I mean fool, darn I cant get my backspace button to work) will hurt is asinine. Anyone who knows what I would call a kindergarten knowledge of aquariums knows that a little salt (however you may call it) in MODERATION increases gill stability and helps with the slime coat that is essential when it come to aquarium life EVEN IN A FRESH WATER TANK. With the addition of the iodine it will also help with the bio advantages. With that said, a beginner can purchase a FRESHWATER SALT at your local walmart .

Where do you think table salt comes from .......corn?
:)

Answer 3

So why did you even add salt in the first place if you didn't know if it would hurt your catfish?

Anyway, it will hurt them. They don't call it freshwater for nothing. Freshwater catfish in particular are sensitive to salt because they have no scales, which makes it easy for them to be burned by the salt. Do a partail water change and get some salt out ASAP. Don'tchange too much at a time, or it will kill them. Do 25% one day, and 25% 2 days later for about a week and conditions will improve.

Not that it will matter anyway. Channel catfish grow huge, way too huge for any aquarium and too big for most ponds. They grow well over 50 pounds and their large, boney heads make it very easy for them to break the glass of an aquarium.


And to the person who says table salt makes brackishwater, that is untrue. You have to have MARINE salt to make brackish or marine water because marine salt has minerals in it that are not found in other salts, but are found in the ocean.

Answer 4

You uncomplicated pleco ought to have grown plenty in a year... maximum possibly the tiny tank is stunting his growth.. which will finally make him very sick, and could maximum possibly kill him... He desires greater like a a hundred and twenty gallon tank. So I do complication. you ought to too. Tetra ought to constantly be stored in a ideal college of 6-8+. Mollies ought to never be in something below 30 gallons. And cories are additionally a training fish. it is going to be in a set of 6-8. quite, this tank is poorly stocked and desires to be fastened; some fish must be rehomed, some desire extra fish to make ideal colleges. Aquarium salt is a sturdy factor to apply to cut back stress. Unfortionatly, corydoras are quite delicate to any volume of salt. Mollies LOVE salt, and are quite a brackish water fish... yet via fact of ways delicate cories could be, i could use little or no if any.

Answer 5

omg. your killing your catfish. they are not saltwater fish and no salt should be added to the tank they are in. get them out of there if they even survive you will be lucky

Answer 6

cat fish are not salt water fish they dont need salt change the water about 50 percent then next day change another 25 percent your killing your fish