# Will Adding Salt kill other fish?



## Kevsawce (May 27, 2004)

I have a comunity tank with 9 barbs 1 mono 1 Green Spotted Puffer 1 Albino Cory Cat 1 Gouarmi and 1 Spiny Peacock Eel. Some of the fish are required to add a little salt (brackish). But Some fish arn't said to add salt. By me addding a little salt kill the other fish?


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## killum (Jun 3, 2004)

No!! it's good aquarium salt reduces stress and adds electrolytes,and helps disease recovery.


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## Kevsawce (May 27, 2004)

ok cool and what kind of salt do I put in, where do I get it and do I just drop it in the water? and how much per gallon i heard 1tblsp per 10g that correct?


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## DonD (Mar 11, 2004)

First, salt does NOT add any elctrolytes or anythig else beneficial for fish that are not from water with salt in it. Yes, it does help in treating certain diseases and injuries, but that is all it does.
As for your tank. Mono's eventually need to be in full marine conditions, puffers are fairly aggresive fish, the cory wont tolerate high levels of salt for extended periods and do best in groups anyway.
You didnt mention the size of the tank. Depending on which puffer you have, Tetraodon fluviatilis or T. nigroviridis (both are called green spotted) you have either an 8 or 6 inch fish respectively. So it needs a decent sized tank. They may or may not be aggresive towards non puffers, so you might not have an issue there.
The spiney eel, or peacock eel ( Macrognathus siamensis) I dont think is brackish. I couldnt remember for sure and I did a search and couldnt find anything saying that it was brackish. But I keeo thinking that it is a brackish fish. So I cant really offer anything one way or another on him.
The mono, as I said, will eventually need marine conditions. They are one of those fish that mature in the brackish estuaries and eventually move out into the ocean. They are also best kept in schools, and are fairly large fish at adult size of about 10 inches.
Aside from the cory, you might be able to pull off that tank for a while IF it is large enough.
As for how to get the tank brackish. You should use the salt they use for marine tanks as true brackish water is usually a mix of sea and freshwater and contains all the stuff found in the marine salt mixes, just less of it.
Full marine salinity is 1.025 on a hygrometer. Freshwater is 1.000. Shooting for somewhere in the middle there is usually the best bet. Say about 1.010 or so. To find out how much salt you need per gallon, take a 5 gallon tank or bucket, fill it with water, and add the salt one teaspoon at a time. After each teaspoon added, circulate the water with a small power head or the like for about 10 minutes to get the salt dissolved thoroughly. Measure the salinity and add if needed. Keep track the number of teaspoons to get where you want, and you then know how many teaspoons per 5 gallons will get you there.


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## Nethius (Feb 23, 2003)

okay to do it right, you have to separate the brackish water fish from the fresh water

as far as i know only the mono and gsp are brackish water fish, they will require water with MARINE salt, NOT table salt, NOT aquarium salt, but MARINE salt (like instant ocean)

you use about 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. but you probably dont want to throw them into brackish water right away... have these fish in a different tank, and slowly add a little marine salt every water change, to slowly bring the salinity to about 1.005 for the fish you have (you need a hydrometer to test this)

there is some good info here and here

here is some great info on green spotted puffers, and you may want to check the "Brackish Systems Articles/ FAQs" link on the left of that site

brackish inst too hard, but it is a bit more involved

good luck!

*edit* i see DonD posted while i was typing this, definitely some good advise there!


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## Kevsawce (May 27, 2004)

Yea I think I'll transfer the Barbs to another tank my brothers giving me and I'll make my hex a brackish tank maybe adding some more monos or skats. But he won't be giving me this tank for 2-3 months will the puffer and mono be fine?


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