Salt
Thanks Ray - for the information and your kindly manner. Sorry I opened that kettle of fish. g> Barbara In a message dated 6/9/2008 11:08:24 PM Eastern Daylight Time, sevenspringss@wmconnect.com writes:
Hi Barbara, Yes, adding salt is highly debatable, although it should be known that it is not necessary for most freshwater fishes. It does seem to be beneficial fot Mollies however, and most seem to enjoy it regardless of the conditions they were raised in (with or without salt) even if they don’t need it. One key here is knowing how much salt to add in the presence of your other fish, if you refer using it. Cory’s do not like a lot of salt, although a token amount won’t faze your Gourami’s. I’m not sure if you’re meaning Swordtails or Sword Plants when you mention your “swords,” but since you’re concerned about your plants, Sword Plants do not necessarily enjoy a lot of salt. Most freshwater aquatic plants can do without salt altogether and will be better for it. Swordtails, on the other hand, seem to do better with an increase in TDS as salt will offer (and especially with an increase in hardness, which only marine salt can offer).
You will not be depriving your fish of electrolytes if you decide on not using salt, as freshwater fisgh have their own built-in mechanism (via the gills) to regulate an osmotic pressure balance. With open wounds, where this osmotic pressure cannot be controlled, it is most beneficial to add some salts. The normal amount of salts those hobbyists preferring the use of salt to be added is one Tablespoon per 5 gallons. This amounbt will not harm plabnts or salt-sensitive fish, yet will still constitute a certain presence of this substance.
I noticed you bought “aquarium salt,” which essentially is plain table salt (sodium chloride), unless by that you meant marine salt for use in salt water aquariums. The packaged “aquarium salt” marketed and sold in your LFS is priced much higher than other similar salt you can buy in the supermarket for human consumption. When using this salt (plain sodium chloride) there is no reason to spend the extra mony purchasing it labeled for aquarium use, its all the same thing.
Most, if not all, table salt (for human consumption) now contains a trtace amount of iodine; this subject has already been adequately discussed here and the minute amount of it being used is absolutely harmless to fish. Instead, I would be more concerned with the anit- caking agents added to table salt, and although this too may be deemed as being harmless to aquarium fish by many aquarists, possibly including your peers here, I am still concerned with this matter as there are various additives used in table salt for this purpose, as — calcium silicate, aluminum silicate, yellow prussiate of soda — sodium ferrocyanide (Na4FE, or - C6FeN6Na4), magnesium carbonate and synthetic tricalcium phosphate, you take your pick. Not knowing which of these additives may be harmless or harmful, I would rather avoid them altogether (as most chemicals should be avoided in the aquarium anyway) and so prefer to use plain Kosher salt (specifically, Diamond Crystal brand) for most applications in treating those diseases where salt may aid them.
For permanent use of salts, as appears you may be intending, I would prefer using a marine salt mix — it having all of the trace elements necessary for life as found within the body of a fish, even though not found in the same proportions, and of more benefit towards the electrolyte issue if that’s your concern, as a result of its make-up. Only Himalayan Pink Crystal Salt would be closer in containg the trace elements in proportions closer to that found in the tissues of fishes. This earlier marine salt, as was present in the pre-Cambrian/Palaeozoic era, is now found at elevations of 10,000′ as a result of the obduction process of the particular plate tectonics in that area. Having had less time in a geological sense to have accumulated added trace metals and minerals (as are now found in sea water), this salt more closely reflects the properties of living tissues as they evolved in it. It is available! BTW, please do not discontinue signing your name to your posts; we enjoy the more personal atmosphere of our members in this Forum as being one big family, thanks. Ray
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
