I read on the internet that guppies can survive in salt water....?

Question

I had a sick guppy but it was by no means dying--it just had a swim bladder problem and was swimming sideways but was quite lively. I read on the internet last night that guppies like a bit of salt in water I was very surprised sinceI had never heard this b4. So I added some salt to the water once Id isolated it and it dies within a few minutes. Was it the salt or could it have been the swim bladder problem? had anyone else ever heard of guppies liking salt water?

Answer 1

A little bit of salt is good for most fish other than catfish and loaches. The rate of 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons is about 1/2 of what is considered "brackish" and far less that what is considered "salt water". It can't be table salt. It has to be aquarium salt, which doesn't contain iodine.

Answer 2

I currently have a trio of guppies living in marine-strength saltwater and breeding like - well - guppies! I also have an agreement with a local fish store to sell them extra fry for use in cycling saltwater aquaria (they're more peaceful to other fish and can be kept in smaller tanks than damsels). Mollies are another species that can be converted to full saltwater, although most people consider them "freshwater" fish, and any livebearer do better with some salt added. Some fish are sensitive to salt (tetras, catfish, scaleless fish), but even these can tolerate a small amount in the tank. Salt is needed by all organisms for osmoregulation/water balance within their bodies, some metabolism and cell transport functions, and for some products such as stomach acids.

The death may have had more to do with the swim bladder problem - although we recommend to try treating with water changes and diet first, there's always a possibility that any swim bladder problem may be caused by an internal bacterial or parasite infection.

Even table salt (with iodine) wouldn't have killed a fish that quickly if you only added a small amount (usually a tablespoon per 5 gallons is the typical amount for "freshwater" tanks). If you added enough salt to make the change from freshwater to marine, that would be a different story - this change should be done over 4 days (at the shortest), and I usually take 2 weeks.

Answer 3

did you add aquaruim salt...you can't add the salt that we add into our foods. its like poison or something. also, guppies are tropical freshwater fish. in other words, they can stand a bit of salt. you might've added too much... i heard that adding a bit of aqurarim salt is actually helpful to a sick or healthy guppy. just a bit though. i think its for diseases such as fin rot. not so sure...

Answer 4

for some reason some can and some cant most cross breeds
like red yellow tailed guppies cant but some pure ones can
maybe because there more hardy or in the wild might be found in brackish water rivers.


http://fishtank.9f.com

Answer 5

I hope you added aquarium salt and not a regular one?

if you added regular salt, then that's the reason
but if not, it most likely died from the swimbladder problem

I always add some salt into my tropical tanks, it helps to fight against disease, about 1 tspn on 10 gallons



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Answer 6

if you meen salt water like for nemo fish then no they cant i tryed it but they have salt for tropical fish that is just fine with them