Aquarium Salt

[troy]

How many table spoons of salt per gallon can cory's and golden dwarf cichlids take? I got baby mollies.

[Drumachine09]

Corys cant handle salt.
'

But i belive the rule is 1 per 5 gallons.

[cocoa_pleco]

corys cannot have salt. its best to use no salt unless you have a molly only tank or are treating a disease

[Rue]

Cories can have tonic levels of salt...there was maybe one variety that was more sensitive to salt...and I'd have to see if I can find that info. again...

I use tonic salt levels in my community tank...so do most pet stores that you buy the cories from...

[Bill M.]

How much would a "tonic level" be in terms of tsp/gallons????

[Rue]

1 tablespoon per 5 gallons...

Be aware though, that there's a huge debate over the use of salt...

...some swear by it, and others swear it's an archaic practice, unless specifically treating for illness.

Fish without scales do NOT tolerate salt well. That's established. But again, most petstores treat their systems with salt and the knifefish and others do fine...

If you do use salt...be careful NOT to overdose the tank. When you do a waterchange you have to add just enough salt to compensate what you removed. Therefore the tank must be topped up to it's 'normal' level BEFORE you do the water change.

[A340]

When discussing the use of salt in freshwater aquariums, perhaps it should be more clear to what kind of salt we are talking about. Aquarium or marine salt? Many livebearer keepers/breeders use marine salt for mollies and such, where as many keepers use aquarium salt for preventative measures.

[ChurchofAdam]

what's the difference between marine salt and aquarium salt?

[Incredulous_Ed]

what's the difference between marine salt and aquarium salt?
Marine salt is designed for saltwater and brackish aquariums. It raises the pH and hardness of the water. Aquarium salt leaves the water as it is and is meant for reducing stress.

[dev]

Congrats on the fry!

I would not reccomend any salt for Corydoras, this family can be very sensitive to salt. I'd even think twice before using any medication that cointains salt.

Try these for references:

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] (this one says it's ok)

As for the difference between aqurium salt, marine salt, doc wellfish salt and so on; they are all simply sodium chloride. Might aswell use table salt, as long as it does not contain iodine.

I'm aware that certain salt mixes for saltwater aquariums also contain calcium, magnesium, carbonates etc, these must be added seperately should you choose to use plain salt for a reef tank. Hopefully these "instant marine water" mixtures are not named just "Marine Salt"

[rollie]

cory can take salt, all frestwater fish can.
cory can takeup to 2 tablespoons per gallon.
or more.

i used salt in all of mine tanks. i will not set the tank up without adding salt to it. in the fall you go to the doctor and get your flue shot, right. most of us do. well salt is the same to fish. it protect them from alot of bad stuff.

but depending on what in your water, maybe you should not used salt, because maybe there is salt in your well water. i know what in my water, do you.

some peoples will not used salt and some will. it up to you.

[Fishguy2727]

Aquarum salt should not be needed except for treatment of some diseases. Marine salt should be used for mollies since they are actually a brackish fish. The more captive varieties of mollies do not need near as much to thrive, but should still have some.

Most common freshwater fish can tolerate surprisingly high levels of salt, but tolerating and 'should have' are two VERY different things. In the long run continuous use of salt in a freshwater tank will cause more harm than good. I have found that when salt 'benefits' freshwater fish, there is something else that is wrong that needs to be fixed. Salt seems to help when other conditions are unideal. Cories do not seem to be any more intolerant of salt than other freshwater fish, at least the common species. Petsmart always doses all their tanks with salt, and they have everything from goldfish and mollies, to black ghost knifefish and tetras. The goal should always be to get fish to thrive, and constant use of salt with fish that do not have the physiology to deal with that salt level will not allow for that thrivability.

The difference between aquarium/freshwater salt and marine salt is more than just pH buffers. Marine salts are designed to simulate the specific mineral composition of natural seawater. This goes far beyond a handful of pH adjusting elements, the best salts will actually have dozens and dozens of elements in them, mimicing every level of naturally occuring elements in seawater.

[dev]

Cories do not seem to be any more intolerant of salt than other freshwater fish, at least the common species.

I'd still be a little worried, but I've never tried any salt in a cory tank myself, so I only know what I've read and been told.


The difference between aquarium/freshwater salt and marine salt is more than just pH buffers. Marine salts are designed to simulate the specific mineral composition of natural seawater. This goes far beyond a handful of pH adjusting elements, the best salts will actually have dozens and dozens of elements in them, mimicing every level of naturally occuring elements in seawater.

Are these mixtures really sold under the name of just "Marine Salt"?

I've also read numerous times that salt in a freshwater tank with very soft water does no good at all. What do you think?

[troy]

This might be a dumb question but will my plants be okay if I add one tablespoon
of salt per gallon.

[Fishguy2727]

Salt in a freshwater tank in general will do no good at all. That depends on the results you are wanting and the salt you are using.

Marine salt is just like filters, there are tons and of course they all claim be either the best, complete, or something to that effect. Instant Ocean seems to be the most popular.

Salts and hardness are related, but what is most important is the total dissolved solids (TDS). In general, chemically many of the elements besides those that will be read by a hardness test kit will affect the fish the same as those read by the kits. General hardness is the amount calcium and magnesium in the water, but other elements with the same charge (+2) will effect the fish in the same way as calcium and magnesium.

Basically, soft water species are from low pH waters low in TDS, hard water species are from waters with a high pH and high TDS. Putting salt into a tank with soft water fish like tetras and cories will definitely do them no good. Putting salt in a tank with hard water fish will not be as (immediately) harmful, but is unnecessary and in the long run will do them much more harm than any immediate 'improvement' may lead some to believe.

[Fishguy2727]

Depends on the plants, some are much hardier than others and could tolerate the salinity. The best thing for all the fish and plants is to separate the mollies into a different tank so that they can get the water they need, without doing any harm to the other fish or to the plants.

[troy]

I think after a couple weeks I'll decide if I want to put salt in the water becuase I want to make sure the mollys have something wrong with them. Another tank is pretty much out of the question.

[Rue]

...my plants have been fine...

...if anything, mine are most affected by light...

[troy]

I think I'll try 1 tablespoon of salt per gallon in a couple days.

[Rue]

NO! 1 tbsp. per 5 gallons!

If you find it doesn't help...just stop adding more after water changes...eventually it will work it's way out of your tank...

[Fishguy2727]

If another tank is out of the question, than maybe the mollies should go to someone who can properly care for them. You can't even setup a ten gallon for them?