# negative effect of aquarium salt on p's



## gloom (Nov 11, 2006)

i've heard a lot of pros and cons about using aquarium salt with p's so i did a little experiment with my (2) 8" rbp's to see whether they preferred it or not. I have a 55 gal tank and put 2 tbsp of aquarium salt in the first week and another 2 tbsp the following week. I will say this, there was a drastic decrease in their appetite and appeared overall not very happy, very sluggish







. I will probably never use it ever again with them. Has anyone else noticed this while using a.s.?


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

gloom said:


> i've heard a lot of pros and cons about using aquarium salt with p's so i did a little experiment with my (2) 8" rbp's to see whether they preferred it or not. I have a 55 gal tank and put 2 tbsp of aquarium salt in the first week and another 2 tbsp the following week. I will say this, there was a drastic decrease in their appetite and appeared overall not very happy, very sluggish
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The amount of salt you used is in-significant. I've used 100 teaspoons over a 3 day period in a 33G tank with no ill effects to treat fungus. Anyways, if you noticed something wrong with your fish in those 2 weeks the first place to look would be any changes in water parameters or if you fed live infected feeder.


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## cfb (Mar 14, 2007)

And to add to what Dr. Giggles said, 2 TBSPs is only enough to treat 10G of water. The amount isn't enough to see a huge impace on them. You also said you put 2 more in a week later... was there a water change in between? If so, you removed the majority of the first 2 TBSPs. If not, the decline in water paramaters (higher nitrate levels) over a two week period could be to blame for the lethargy.

Salt is used for medicating purpose, not for use with every water change.

Randy
CFB


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## clhay1 (Mar 25, 2007)

First and foremost, thanks for asking this question...................Secondly, thanks to all that responded. The information sharing around here is unparalled.

Clhay1


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## LGHT (Nov 9, 2005)

I look at it this way. In their natural habitat is salt found in the water? If not why would you put it in your tank?

I think any species of fish would thrive in a controlled environment that is closest to their natural habitat not the opposite.


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## gloom (Nov 11, 2006)

LGHT said:


> I look at it this way. In their natural habitat is salt found in the water? If not why would you put it in your tank?
> 
> I think any species of fish would thrive in a controlled environment that is closest to their natural habitat not the opposite.


^^^^^
this is what i was trying to say basically...i don't think salt is found in their natural environment, but i could be wrong...tks for the responses.


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## gloom (Nov 11, 2006)

Creatures From Below said:


> And to add to what Dr. Giggles said, 2 TBSPs is only enough to treat 10G of water. The amount isn't enough to see a huge impace on them. You also said you put 2 more in a week later... was there a water change in between? If so, you removed the majority of the first 2 TBSPs. If not, the decline in water paramaters (higher nitrate levels) over a two week period could be to blame for the lethargy.
> 
> Salt is used for medicating purpose, not for use with every water change.
> 
> ...


there was no water change in between, i've been doing 50%-60% water changes every 3 weeks for the past 3 years which i know is not by the book, but it still works at keeping ammonia & nitrate levels down to a minimum, plus i only feed them once every 3-4 days. So every time i feed them catfish nuggets, shrimp, feeders etc. they eat everything i put in the tank. Only when i used the a.s. did they let the food sit there overnight. Then i did another water change and fed them later that day and they were back to normal. But anyway, i just wanted to share that with anyone contemplating using a.s. with their p's. Some p-keepers on here claim to use it all the time but i just don't see it.


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## LGHT (Nov 9, 2005)

gloom said:


> And to add to what Dr. Giggles said, 2 TBSPs is only enough to treat 10G of water. The amount isn't enough to see a huge impace on them. You also said you put 2 more in a week later... was there a water change in between? If so, you removed the majority of the first 2 TBSPs. If not, the decline in water paramaters (higher nitrate levels) over a two week period could be to blame for the lethargy.
> 
> Salt is used for medicating purpose, not for use with every water change.
> 
> ...


there was no water change in between, i've been doing 50%-60% water changes every 3 weeks for the past 3 years which i know is not by the book, but it still works at keeping ammonia & nitrate levels down to a minimum, plus i only feed them once every 3-4 days. So every time i feed them catfish nuggets, shrimp, feeders etc. they eat everything i put in the tank. Only when i used the a.s. did they let the food sit there overnight. Then i did another water change and fed them later that day and they were back to normal. But anyway, i just wanted to share that with anyone contemplating using a.s. with their p's. Some p-keepers on here claim to use it all the time but i just don't see it.









[/quote]

To be on the safe side get rid of the carbon and put in some zeolite if your worried about amonia. This stuff works wonders for P's because it is specifically designed to get rid of amonia in the water preventing "spikes". If you read through water chemistry post you will find 1-2 guys a week with amonia spikes, or algae blooms caused by amonia spikes. If you keep some zeolite in your filters you won't have that problem, plus it's rechargable!!

here is some good info on *ZEOLITE*

Removes deadly ammonia, the number-one killer of tropical fish Protects against ammonia "spikes" in new aquariums Protects against ammonia "surges" in established aquariums Made from 100% all-natural zeolite Rechargeable Zeolite Ammonia Remover is a natural ammonia-removing mineral for use in freshwater aquariums. It works well in both newly set-up aquariums to help prevent "new tank syndrome" and in established aquariums to prevent sudden "surges" in ammonia. Zeolite Ammonia Remover is fully rechargeable and works in all types of freshwater aquariums.
Zeolites have many useful purposes. They can perform ion exchange, filtering, odor removal, chemical sieve and gas absorption tasks. In a similar way zeolites can absorb ions and molecules and thus act as a filter for odor control, toxin removal and as a chemical sieve. Most municipal water supplies are processed through Zeolites before public consumption.

*How Much to Use *

1 gram of Zeolite will remove 1.5milligrams of ammonia from a liter of water. Take an Ammonia reading of your tank in PPM (parts per million). Divide by 1.5. Multiply by the numbers of Liters in your tank (3.78 Liters = 1 Gallon). The final volume is the number of grams needed to treat your tank (1 level teaspoon of Zeolite equals 7 Grams).

*Recharging Zeolite *
You can also recharge Zeolite to about 78% of it's normal adsorption rate by soaking it in a salt water solution (1lb. of salt to 3 gals. of Water) for 9 hours or more. Remember to rinse the Zeolite before returning it to the tank.

*Caution-- *Salt will cause Zeolite to release the ammonia back into the tank water column after adsorption capacities are full. If you need to use Zeolite NEVER put salt in the tank as it will cause all the deadly amonia to be forced back into the water.


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## cfb (Mar 14, 2007)

gloom said:


> And to add to what Dr. Giggles said, 2 TBSPs is only enough to treat 10G of water. The amount isn't enough to see a huge impace on them. You also said you put 2 more in a week later... was there a water change in between? If so, you removed the majority of the first 2 TBSPs. If not, the decline in water paramaters (higher nitrate levels) over a two week period could be to blame for the lethargy.
> 
> Salt is used for medicating purpose, not for use with every water change.
> 
> ...


there was no water change in between, i've been doing 50%-60% water changes every 3 weeks for the past 3 years which i know is not by the book, but it still works at keeping ammonia & nitrate levels down to a minimum, plus i only feed them once every 3-4 days. So every time i feed them catfish nuggets, shrimp, feeders etc. they eat everything i put in the tank. Only when i used the a.s. did they let the food sit there overnight. Then i did another water change and fed them later that day and they were back to normal. But anyway, i just wanted to share that with anyone contemplating using a.s. with their p's. Some p-keepers on here claim to use it all the time but i just don't see it.








[/quote]

I have no idea how you run your tanks so I took a shot in the dark... what I said earlier about the nitrates was just an idea as to why they became lethargic. Besides, in an established tank, you should never have to worry about ammonia. Nitrates are what build up over time and have a negative impact on the fish. As long as they are below 40PPM at the end of the 3 weeks, keep with your routine. It is working for you. My point was that the small amount of salt probably wasn't to blame. Salt is excellent for medicating characins.

And yes, you are right. Ps should be kept in an environment as close to their home as possible... which is why I said only salt when needed, not all the time.

Randy
CFB


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## gloom (Nov 11, 2006)

Creatures From Below said:


> And to add to what Dr. Giggles said, 2 TBSPs is only enough to treat 10G of water. The amount isn't enough to see a huge impace on them. You also said you put 2 more in a week later... was there a water change in between? If so, you removed the majority of the first 2 TBSPs. If not, the decline in water paramaters (higher nitrate levels) over a two week period could be to blame for the lethargy.
> 
> Salt is used for medicating purpose, not for use with every water change.
> 
> ...


there was no water change in between, i've been doing 50%-60% water changes every 3 weeks for the past 3 years which i know is not by the book, but it still works at keeping ammonia & nitrate levels down to a minimum, plus i only feed them once every 3-4 days. So every time i feed them catfish nuggets, shrimp, feeders etc. they eat everything i put in the tank. Only when i used the a.s. did they let the food sit there overnight. Then i did another water change and fed them later that day and they were back to normal. But anyway, i just wanted to share that with anyone contemplating using a.s. with their p's. Some p-keepers on here claim to use it all the time but i just don't see it.








[/quote]

I have no idea how you run your tanks so I took a shot in the dark... what I said earlier about the nitrates was just an idea as to why they became lethargic. Besides, in an established tank, you should never have to worry about ammonia. Nitrates are what build up over time and have a negative impact on the fish. As long as they are below 40PPM at the end of the 3 weeks, keep with your routine. It is working for you. My point was that the small amount of salt probably wasn't to blame. Salt is excellent for medicating characins.

And yes, you are right. Ps should be kept in an environment as close to their home as possible... which is why I said only salt when needed, not all the time.

Randy
CFB
[/quote]
thanks


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