# Just add salt?



## PBrods

I was told by a couple LFS' that I should add salt to the tank if I have yellow labs. They said that they come from salted lakes. They also said their colors won't be as nice if I don't add salt. Is this true? Does anyone here add salt to their tanks? If so, is there a special kind or do you use the same one that you use for sick fish?


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## BBradbury

PBrods said:


> I was told by a couple LFS' that I should add salt to the tank if I have yellow labs. They said that they come from salted lakes. They also said their colors won't be as nice if I don't add salt. Is this true? Does anyone here add salt to their tanks? If so, is there a special kind or do you use the same one that you use for sick fish?


Hello P...

You're opening up a "can of worms" when you bring up the subject of salt and fresh water. But, I must admit, this is my favorite discussion. 

I've been adding a little standard aquarium salt to my "Livebearer" tanks for about eight years and my fish are extremely healthy and reproduce regularly. I also keep a large number of Corydoras (the little cats) and they do very well with it too.

I believe most tropical fish will do well with a little standard aquarium salt added to the replacement water, but others disagree, which is all fine. If you want to use it, then add about a teaspoon to every five gallons of your water change water. You can also use commercial canning salt or kosher salt. Don't use table salt. It has additives that can be harmful to your fish.

If you need more specifics on the benefits of salt in fresh water tanks, just PM me anytime.

B


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## Scottyb442

Salt is a natural antiseptic. small amounts of salt in your tank can help to ward off disease. IMO, however, if your tank is healthy why mess with the chemistry?
My opinion only. I feed my Africans a diverse diet (Omega One super color chiclid flake, alternate brine shrimp, blood worms and krill)and their colors are amazing. This is what has worked for me.


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## drunkenbeast

I add salt to my cichlid tank a little heavily their colors are great i dunno if it relates..i think omega one food really brings out their colors everyone who feeds that says their fish have good color.

but i would say add some salt, yes its the same salt you use for sick fish, i would recommend it.


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## jshill103

yep add a little it does help


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## PBrods

Ok, I bought the Cichlid Lake Salt and the Malawi / Victoria Buffer. Now that I'm adding salt...Does that make my tank a salt water tank and I need to get protein skimmers and other things that a salt water tank needs?


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## drunkenbeast

no not at all...just add the recommended on the box that you bought like a tbsp per 5gal or something like that and your done dont need any of the saltwater stuff...and it doesnt mean you can add sw fish hehe but your cichlids will love it...when i add my salt my fish chill right above it while it dissolves into the tank its kinda cool


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## navigator black

Salt is just one mineral. Malawi cichlids, like labs, evolved in a huge lake with little outlet, under an African sun. The mineral content of the water is very high, and all the functions of their bodies are adapted to mineral rich water. An Amazon fish could die in their mineral rich, hard water, just as a Malawi would die in the mineral poor, soft rainforest.
That's why we add rift Lake buffers, etc - to give the fish the chemical balance they need from nature. The lakes are not salted, and your pet store person is really oversimplifying the question. They are mineral rich. Salt won't harm Rift lake cichlids if used in reasonable quantities, but it's not needed if you are hardening your water, or if your tap water is hard. You are simply adding to the general hardness of the water (which you should measure first!).
I lived in a town with hard water, and I never needed to spend a penny on mineral supplements. I bred hundreds of yellow labs. Where I am now, they would die without added hardness.

Livebearers usually love a little salt, as many are coastal fishes with actual salt in their natural environments, and if not, they come from mineral rich waters anyway. But it's apples and oranges - the great Lakes of Africa are inland, far from any sea salt.


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## JohnniGade

Just add in case of disease, because you dont mess with an already functioning tank.


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## dette21

I use it in all my tanks and after the first day of adding it the fishes color was more radiant and they seemed to be thriving now


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## navigator black

Please. consider what 'salt' is - one chemical heavily used by humans and found in the sea. But then consider other salts - basic high school chemistry you can teach yourself in a few minutes. Malawi cichlids come from a lake with saltS. Not SALT. Salt is great for them, but you do not have a saltwater tank. 
here is seachem's Malawi salt mix: 
Ingredients: magnesium chloride, calcium chloride, potassium sulfate, sodium chloride, aluminum sulfate, iron sulfate, 

It's a little more complex than using sea salt in your tank. Don't oversimplify!


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## fishguy2727

IME African rift lake cichlids do even better with cichlid lake salts (I prefer Seachem's) and a buffer. They will be EVEN more colorful, EVEN happier, etc. These fish evolved in some of the hardest bodies of freshwater on the planet and do better in our aquariums when the water is similar. 

In general in freshwater: FRESHwater fish are from FRESHwater. Most tap water has all the needed minerals, no need to add salt. Even livebearers come from freshwater water and if they are taken care of properly (fed a high quality food like New Life Spectrum and given enough water changes to keep the nitrate under 20ppm) they should thrive. These fish evolved in FRESHwater and that is what their kidneys can handle. Forcing them to constantly deal with higher salinities will cause damage long term.


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## navigator black

I think what happens is the kid in the fish store reads about or more likely is told about salts. He/she cuts the s off, decides to go with what's familiar and suggests you add salt. 
I have to harden my water to keep my hardwater livebearers happy. In too soft water, they lose colour and vitality, begin to fall prey to parasites, begin to die young and begin to have kidney problems.
A fish has to evolve a balance with its water - not as an individual you just bought, but as a species from a specific environment. Any submerged animal has to be able to keep water out, while having just the right amount of water in. It does so in relation to the water its species has been in for tens of thousands of years (or more). It takes millions of years for fish to fine tune their systems, and it takes a human several minutes to read up on what their fish is tuned for. 
The biggest mistake a cichlid keeper can make is to avoid researching their fish, and where it came from.


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## capt42a

Be careful if you add salt to a planted aquarium. Most plants don't do very well with salt.


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## BBradbury

Salt is an interesting topic. I've found if you keep the amount of salt you use in the tank, small, then the aquatic and emersed plants will do very well. I dose a couple of teaspoons of standard aquarium salt in every 5 gallons of my new water and the plants are thriving. I use it regularly in my 45 G "biotope" tank (see attched pics). The salt adds electrolytes the fish need for good health and provides minerals for the plants.

Just a thought.

B


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## fishguy2727

Keep in mind that the dosing of cichlid lake salt (for some of the hardest and most mineral rich bodies of freshwater on the planet) is only one tablespoon per 40 gallons. A couple teaspoons per five gallons is A LOT of salt. These are freshwater fish and plants. They have evolved in freshwater for millions of years. Their kidneys are not adapted to handling such high amounts of salt long term. Most tap water in the U.S. is pretty hard anyways so there is no need to add even more (not to mention that salt is just sodium and chloride, not all the other minerals that you would need if you had really soft water).


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## zero

'salt' is just one thing you need to keep mineral rich, hard water fish happy. if you live in a hard water area and do regular water changes then all the lost mineral cations important for osmoregulation, redox balance and in the end good fish health will be replaced. and if your using a gH test kit, dont rely on it being correct for usuable mineral content even if the results are where you what the gH to be.


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## fishguy2727

Freshwater fish do not need salt in their water, in fact their kidneys can't handle it long term. The natural mineral content in the water is more than enough for what they need. If you have fish from very hard water (like African rift lake cichlids) then adding cichlid salt and a buffer could be beneficial. Again, the dosing for these is MUCH less than what is recommended for aquarium salt so do NOT add aquarium salt all the time. But most freshwater fish do not need you to add any salt at all ever unless they are stressed, in which case add the recommended one tablespoon per five gallons of aquarium salt. 

So don't test GH if you are worried about hardness? Or test it so you know what to ignore?


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## zero

basically you need to constantly replace all lost minerals, the best way is with hard water water changes or buffers (if needed if you live in a soft water area). what i was saying about not believing the gH test is the same as testing for ammonia after using 'prime' for example, it will still test positive for ammonia although its the non toxic version in the tank as the test cannot distinguish between NH3 and NH4+. the gH kit cannot tell you if all positive calcium ions and other mineral ions are depleted due to Redox balancing. so it could still test high for gH even tho all the goodness has been depleted. tiss another reason why regular water changes for all tanks is a must.


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## BBradbury

Adding a little standard aquarium salt, Kosher salt or commercial canning salt is a good thing for "Livebearers" and I've used it for several years too, with my Corydoras since they're the only fish I've kept with my Livebearers.

I'm not sure about the need for it with egglaying fish, I've never kept them, but there's pretty strong evidence that a little works well for Livebearers. My plants are strictly, the average, hardy, low to moderate light requiring plants and they've done fine with a couple of teaspoons per 5 gallons.

Strictly up to the tank keeper, but I believe it helps maintain a generally healthy tank. 

B


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## zero

i personally wouldnt use it for live bearers, pristine water and a high temp will greatly improve the immune system, especially those of mollies, there for reducing the chance of illness.


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## fishguy2727

That is true for all fw fish, no need for salt all the time. They are FRESHwater fish. 

Water changes in general will provide everything that is needed whether it is hard or soft water.


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## navigator black

I'll disagree with the clean tap water works for all approach. Hard water fish need hard water. Soft water fish flourish in soft water. You have to know what your water is. A lot of aquarists have nice, up the middle water that works for almost everything right from the tap - I did for a few decades. In the last five years, I've had to learn to work with very soft water. 
I keep livebearers, and in unmodified water, I can see the loss of vitality almost immediately. My molly tanks get 40% changes weekly - they are clean. But their water is not appropriate for them unless I do a little work on it.


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