table salt in aquarium?

Question

my tank size is 48 inc by 12 by 18.

I have a blood parrot and a oscar.

My blood parrot looked like its was scratched from a rock or something so I added 3 and a half t spoons of table salt into the water.
I was just reading that table salt can harm fish, will they be ok?

Also is this tank ok for those fish, they get on very well and they are both about 5inch, could i add anything else in with them?

Answer 1

That small amount of salt will not harm your fish at all. Next time you go to the store, get a box of Kosher salt to use for your fish, it's fairly cheap and is quite pure and safe for use in your aquarium.

You have a 45 Gallon aquarium and an effective dose for general tonic use would be 9 tablespoons. For treatment of ich and other small parasites, the dosage would be 45 tablespoons. So as you can see, your fish are in no danger at all.

MM

Answer 2

Hello Paul,
I think your blood parrot may be in trouble. They are a man-made cross-breed that do not exist in nature. The effect of the cross-breeding has resulted in the blood parrot having many genetic deformities. It is at a disadvantage compared to other natural species and it should only be kept with the least aggressive types of fish. Unfortunately yours is kept with an Oscar, which is a super-aggressive species! It could be that the injury is caused by the Oscar. I think that you need to separate your fish ASAP. Please check the following links. Please especially read about the Blood Parrot. Because of its genetic deformities this is a "Special Needs" fish requiring extra special care:
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/cichlids1/a/bloodparrot.htm
http://www.pspindy.com/clientimages/93704.111215/Oscars.pdf
I don't know the difference between sea salt and table salt so refer to the other answers. However free running salt has certain additives to keep it from clumping, which the crystal salt doesn't have. Even if you use sea salt you must avoid the free running variety. Check the ingredients!
I've had some really sad experiences using the salt bath method even after using the dosis prescribed by a veterinarian. The vet was probably right and I probably didn't apply his instructions correctly but be that as it may I'm very very cautious now with salt. I just add a little to the tank as a general tonic, between 1 and 2 teaspoons (i.e. 5 to 10ml) of salt per 10 litres of water. Also to treat any problem it is always better to remove the cause rather than apply a remedy. First of all, keeping the water quality well maintained is essential. Please note also that Oscars are messy fish and may require more maintenance, such as more water changes.
Secondly and equally importantly, separate your fish. They are not only incompatible in temperament but also they require different environments; the Blood Parrot likes slightly acidic, soft water. The Oscar requires slightly alkaline, hard water and slightly lower temperature than the Blood Parrot. Read about it in the links I have provided. So you see, it will be impossible for you to keep both fish healthy in the same tank and ulitmately you will lose one of them if you don't act now. Take it from me, fish are very, very unforgiving of incorrect tank conditions. I don't mean to be harsh, I just don't want you to make the sad experiences that I have made - perhaps you can learn from my mistakes before it is too late for you.
Concerning the tank size, it's not the volume that matters so much as the surface area. For coldwater fish the recommended size is, 30 square inch of surface area per inch of fish (excluding tail). This is taken from the source quoted below. A tropical tank can support more but I don't have that number. Assuming that your tank has a surface area of 48 x 12 = 576 square inches, then you can have, 576 / 30 = 19.2 inches of coldwater fish. So, apart from the fact that you won't be able to keep both of your fish in the same tank anyway, the tank size should be ok for two 5-inch fish.
I hope that you are able to resolve this problem quickly, best wishes,
chirpy

Answer 3

Although it is generally considered to be bad to add iodized salt to a fish tank, you didn't add enough to make a difference. You should do a 30-50% water change, and use rock salt from now on. In order for salt to have any theraputic value, you will need to add much more salt. The wholesale industry used one full cup of rocksalt per 10 gallons of fresh water. You don't need this much in a home aquarium, but 1/4 cup should be fine per 10 gallons, You have a 55 gallon tank, so you should add just under 1 1/2 cups of rock salt. I would not recommend adding all this salt at one time. You would want to dissolve it in a cup of tank water. Then slowly pour it in over a few days. This will prevent any burns. Once your salinity is up, you only add enough salt to replace what you removed. So if you do a water change, and you fill up 4 five gallon buckets, you only add enough salt for those 4 buckets. I would not recommend that you add anything to this tank. You should consider a 125 or larger if you want to mix other medium/large cichlids in. Email me if you have any questions.

Answer 4

Table salt will not kill fish. In fact, Iodine, the ingredient in table salt preventing its use in aquariums, is actually beneficial to fish in small quantities. The problem with it is that is has too much iodine, which could have long term adverse affects on the fish. It is safer to go with an uniodized salt, but it won't simply kill fish like the pet store must have told all these people.

Answer 5

table salt will kill your fish.

ur blood parrots scrath will heal naturally just keep an eye on it.
i suggest u do a full water change in your tank to get rid of the salt.

the best type of fish to add to your tank would be catfish, angel fish . make sure u have enough rocks etc as the oscar and parrot like to hide and rocks etc will give them cover to do so.

hope this helps x

Answer 6

The table salt was a mistake. You should do a water changing. Don't change all the water completly if you don't have at least half the water for your tank size already sitting in buckets. You have a 55gallon tank. That much fresh water will kill your fish because of the chlorine we use in tap water. It should sit for 24hrs to let the chlorine disapate. You have fish from the cichlid family which are pretty durable. If possible you should change 10 to 12 gallons of your water. If possible always keep at least that much water on hand for that purpose. Aqariums sell drops to remove chlorine from your water as well. Do a partial water change for the next two days and your fish will be fine. That way 20 to 24 gallons of that water will have been refreshed.

Answer 7

Ordinary salt is a useful remedy for the prevention and treatment of several freshwater fish diseases. It assists in the healing of injuries, promotes formation of slime coating, improves gill function, reduces the uptake of nitrite, and is effective against some parasites.
If you have a tank with live plants, avoid using salt. Plants can be damaged with a relatively low dosage of salt, which is one reason its best to treat sick fish in a hospital tank rather than your regular tank.
Common table salt is suitable, however it should be non-iodized and contain no additives. Rock or Kosher salt are excellent choices, as they are straight sodium chloride with nothing else added.

If you want to learn anymore mate check this out.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/treatment/a/saltiinfresh.htm

Answer 8

NEVER use table salt, always use Aquarium recommended salt.

And as for the tank being big enough NO it is way to small you need at least a 75g for an Oscar and maybe a bigger one to house both.

Answer 9

Why did you add table salt to a tropical aquarium?

EDIT: Now I know. You learn something new every day. Even on Yahoo! Answers sometimes.

Answer 10

Hi. Table salt is not good for fish...... unless they're being served with chips & tartar sauce.