i got API salt
i heard that salt is good for the health
of goldfish
but im worried about it
is the salt like a water conditioner or is it
just a add in
and are they meant to eat it or waht if they do should i be worried?
and what does electrolytes do for a goldfish ?
and does it disolve or will it be in my tank until i siphon it out
and does salt have any negative effects on the tank it self?
Answers:
Unless you have catfish or loaches, a little salt is a good thing. To add it, dissolve the amount in a container. The rate is best around 1 rounded tablespoon per 5 gallons for freshwater fish. Say you have a 55, you want to add 11 rounded tablespoons. You can dissolve them in about a pint of water easily. You might want to do 6 tablespoons on day and five more the next, so they can get accustomed to the salt.
It will not evaporate or filter out. It needs to be added in the process of water changes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/electrolyte...
the salt is really good for fish (any kind of fish) i recommend ice cream salt at Wal-marts (is adds slime to them)
Aquarium salt is an add in. You will still need to use a water conditioner. It helps to keep away disease. Electrolytes for fish are like you drinking a gatorade. It helps their body work more efficiently. It will disolve in the water. You're fish are not meant to eat it though. It won't have any negative effects as long as you follow the directions on the package. It will tell you how much to add, depending on the size of your tank. Also, Ice cream salt is not a good idea. It is different from aquarium salt.
A little bit of salt in the tank water is good for most fish, even if they are freshwater fish. It helps boost their immune systems and stimulates the growth of their slime coat, which is their first natural defense against injury and disease. Any kind of salt will work fine, as long as it does not contain additives like iodine (which table salt does) or chlorine (which pool and some softener salts do). Most rock salts or sea salts work well. The salt sold in fish stores as "aquarium salt" is usually just 100% evaporated sea salt, which you can also buy at the grocery store, for less money. A salt bath is often used as a medication for sick or injured fish.
Too much salt coming in direct contact with a fish will give them a chemical burn, so when adding salt into a fish tank you should dissolve the salt completely in water first (about 1 tablespoon per gallon maximum for medicating fish or 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons for standard use) and then add it into the tank when you perform a water change. Don't add a full dose of salt with every water change as salt will not evaporate out with the water and the concentration will build up over time. Just add in enough for the water you are replacing.
Salt in the water is not recommended for aquariums that contain snails, scaleless fish, or heavily planted tanks. Plants do not appreciate high levels of salt and as snails are basically slugs with shells, salt can kill them. Contrary to what many people believe, corydoras are armored catfish and can tolerate salt, but many other species of catfish are scaleless fish and cannot.
Hi Hopeless Romantic, there are two schools of thought regarding the use of salt in aquariums, one favours using it as as a tonic in small amounts %26 the other favours not using it at all unless you have a specific situation to treat. Personally I favour the 'less-is-best' idea because the least additives you have in your tank the less that can go wrong. Also there is the possibility that anything harmful will build up a resistance to salt %26 when you need to treat something nasty with a higher concentration of salt it may prove difficult.
Even in low amounts salt will kill most aquarium plants so if you have these you really don't want to be using salt at all. Half of the members of my forum do %26 half don't so I would wait until you have several opinions either way before making any firm descision-there's not really a right way %26 a wrong way with salt, just different ideas!
I personally don't add salt unless I'm treating a disease. When used as a disease treatment, salt is most effective when the salinity level changes somewhat dramatically. Just like antibiotics, you don't want to just add salt for no reason, or it won't be as effective when you need it to treat disease. Salt will dissolve in your tank, but it will also stay in your tank for a long time. Frequent partial water changes (twenty to thirty percent) will lessen salinity over time if you've used it as a treatment. It's great to have salt on hand, but only use it if you really need it.
