Dispelling Some Myths about Adding Salt to FW Aquariums

**bettaguppylady** · 12-31-2008, 03:46 PM

Where did you get this information on salt and FW fish? I would love to read this scientific fact myself, I know there is alot of pros and cons on this subject and having a medical background I like to read all the scientific stuff I can and learn from it...Thanks Brenda

**ILuvMyGoldBarb** · 12-31-2008, 04:01 PM

It's all over the place. It has come from a large compilation of sources, I couldn't give you any one place. I'd suggest you start your search by reading some info from Nick Dakin

**sunjwd** · 12-31-2008, 06:32 PM

Hi, quick question following up on the original post.
Is there enough salt in fish food to replenish the salt
in the blood? I use Hikari micro pellets. It lists salt
as an ingredient, but no mention of amounts.

**ILuvMyGoldBarb** · 12-31-2008, 06:55 PM

There is actually enough salt in regular fresh water for most fish. I'm sure that food provides some salt but just how much I'm not sure.

**bettaguppylady** · 01-01-2009, 04:11 PM

I have looked and looked and still could not find any information from a scientific standing to support your statment-Nick Dakin talks of saltwater fish and aquaira....but very little on freshwater that I could find...
Salt use in freshwater settings for some fish IS recomended and used as per the information I found one being the IFAS, Dr Adrian Lawler, fishdoc.com, Wiley interscience,, Joannburke, Rourk, doc Johnson, Dr Noga, just to name a few.
Some fish do not need salt and can not tolerate it, most freshwater plants- salt will kill them; that being said-some freshwater fish thrive with salt added, it can assist with o2 uptake, mucos development, prevention, and treatments, some parasites can be killed with salt-Costia being one and fungus is easily controled with salt.

**ILuvMyGoldBarb** · 01-06-2009, 03:57 AM

Originally Posted by bettaguppylady

I have looked and looked and still could not find any information from a scientific standing to support your statment-Nick Dakin talks of saltwater fish and aquaira....but very little on freshwater that I could find...

You can't "Pigeon Hole" the information by saying "this applies to marine species but not to freshwater species." You need to look deeper and into the question of osmoregulation and how it relates to respiration and how they effect each other. You have to apply the principles in a much wider manner.

Salt use in freshwater settings for some fish IS recomended and used as per the information I found one being the IFAS, Dr Adrian Lawler, fishdoc.com, Wiley interscience,, Joannburke, Rourk, doc Johnson, Dr Noga, just to name a few.

Wonderful, I can go digging and find just as many hobby experts that will disagree with every one of them based on years and years of observation and experience. Even the scientific community recognizes the value of the hobbyists and the added information they can bring.

Some fish do not need salt and can not tolerate it, most freshwater plants- salt will kill them;

A point not in dispute.

that being said-some freshwater fish thrive with salt added,

Thrive is such a relative term. When air quality is bad, throw a mask on me and I can "thrive" as well. When water quality is bad, throw some salt in and the fish will thrive as well. Proper husbandry eliminates that need. This is an area where your scientific knowledge alone is going to fail you, you need to know something of the ornamental fish industry. Fact: most fish available to the fresh water hobbyist have been bred and raised in fresh water with not additional salt for generations. Any salt that may be in their "native" environment is completely unknown to the fish available. For a fish that has been bred and raised in an environment that has not added salt, the addition of salt is nothing short of pure torture.

it can assist with o2 uptake

sure, by irritating the gills.

mucos development,

yup it does, because it is an irritant in the water and the fish is reacting to it. This argument brings up a great circular argument. Stress reduces a fish's ability to fight disease -> the mucos coat on the fish is the first line of defense aginast disease -> salt increases stress because it's an irritant thus increasing mucos development to fight the diseases brought on by a stressful situation. Let's skip all the trouble and leave the salt out, you get no further ahead by adding it.

prevention,

Not at all. I've seen disease riddled fish in tanks with salt concentrations of 1tbsp/5gal and 1tbsp/10gal. Prevention is a bogus argument that has no grounds.

and treatments, some parasites can be killed with salt-Costia being one and fungus is easily controled with salt.

Again, not sure your point here since that has never been in dispute.

I can appreciate your passion in this area, but you have to realize, that the concentrations that are being pushed by 90% of the salt supporters out there are way way too high. The salt concentration in the tap water we use is sufficient for 90% of the fresh water fish we keep. With the necessary salt already being provided in water and also in some of the food that is fed, the addition of salt is absolutely not necessary. It's amazing that when all of a sudden people started to challange the age old idea of adding salt to water, and simply doing the necessary water changes to provide a good environment for these fish, not only were their fish not getting sick, they were actually living longer. Many freshwater speces now live to their maximum expected lifespan and some are even living longer than that. There is absolutely nothing that can replace the good old fashion water change to keep water quality at a level it needs to be.

**knarf133** · 03-05-2009, 07:55 PM

thnks but i will continue to sing its prasies

**ILuvMyGoldBarb** · 03-05-2009, 08:18 PM

Originally Posted by knarf133

thnks but i will continue to sing its prasies

Go for it, just be sure you argue the facts and not just opinion.

**lovleeko** · 03-05-2009, 10:04 PM

It amazes me how touchy this subject can be. LOL At my local petsmart the signs claim that guppies mollys etc NEED salt in the water. It is funny when people come up there and tell my friend amber who works there that they can't have these fish because they need salt yet there is no salt in their system. My friend is forced into arguments with people at the use of salt with these fish. And people take it quite personally when you tell them they dont need it. For some reason people just want to use the stuff rather the fish need it or not. I use salt for ick. That's it. A while back I read an article about a big study on the use of salt. The fish specialising vet said it was a myth that catfish can't handle salt as well as loaches and tetras. The only fish who seemed super sensitive to the point of death were fry and young gouramis. The test was done only for tonic studies for curing ick and such. The doctor reccomended keeping freshwater fish in fresh water.

**allsmiles** · 03-12-2009, 05:41 PM

Wow, I know this was posted 5 months ago, but I'm very glad I ran across it. I, too, have always heard that mollies and platties have to have salt in order to thrive. However, I found it unusual that I never met anyone who had mollies that said they put salt in the water and they were just fine. Being that mollies are a common beginner fish, most beginners don't think to put salt in them anyway, and they do just fine without. Last week, I set up a 10 gal tank to breed some mollies as feeders and I debated on whether or not to add salt. Glad I didn't. Thanks hun.