Treating Cory's With Salt?

[Australian natives]

So i posted earlier today that i saw my BN flashing, and i am pretty sure that since he only did so once and has not continued, that it was nothing to worry about. but i then got to thinking what my plan would be if my new Julii corys did have ich.

normally my preferred method of treatment is salt and increased temp. but what is the salt tolerance of BN and julii corys like? would they handle 1 Tablespoon per 5g +? or would i need to revert to some more intense medications?

(hopefully it wont come to this, i just want to be prepared incase there is any complications =P)

[~Col~]

I've used salt with my albino, bronze & pepper corys with no problems. I usually do a 1/2 to 3/4 dose though.

[Australian natives]

oh ok =]. cheers. i guess then if i need to i will start with a smaller dose and see how they cope as i raise it. i am worried i have jinxed it by creating this post though =P.... maybe ill do a water change haha.

[Fishguy2727]

Cories, plecos, etc. are not nearly as sensitive to salt as many claim. I would up the temp and add salt, then do more water changes than usual.

Remember that for fish to get sick two things need to happen. 1- a pathogen needs to be present (in this case ich). 2- the fish need to be stressed enough to impede their immune system. In this case you need to check what stressed them to figure out what caused enough stress in the first place to let them get sick. Check pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and temp. It may not even be detectable anymore (like water too warm during a water change). If you don't fix the stressor then you will continue to have diseases.

[Australian natives]

thnx for the advice and info fish guy =].
the fish seem to be healthy at the moment, i am just worried as my quarantine tank sprang a leak so i did not have time to quarantine the new fish for as long as i would have liked. i just thought i would check if these fish could handle salt as a treatment incase something did arise.
(i like to have a plan of action prepared =P.)

thnx again for the helpful replies, good to know i can still use salt as a treatment (tis my preferred method as i dont like messing with the potentially nasty chemicals in meds, to easy to make a mistake =P)

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Cories, plecos, etc. are not nearly as sensitive to salt as many claim. I would up the temp and add salt, then do more water changes than usual.

+1 The idea that cories, plecos, and loaches are somehow extra sensitive to salt is one of the most well propagated myths in the aquarium hobby. Any FW fish will react negatively when put under too much stress, and those fish mentioned are no more sensitive to salt then many others. Many loaches are actually far less sensitive then people think.

[Phaedrus2129]

Do not push temperature over 86*F. I lost three Julii Corys that way.

[Australian natives]

hey guys, cheers for the +1 "Iluvmygoldbarbs"

and not to worry Phaedrus, i prefer to use the salt to ill the ich as opposed using the temperature increase. i just raise the temp enough to speed up the cycle, not actually kill the parasite.

[FishGirl-Seattle]

I've lost Corys after using salt - I think there must be other factors that effect the outcome when using salt. Like IluvMyGoldBarb said, the salt is just another stressor, so it pays to know what the fish's other stressors already are before adding another.