Why Put Salt in Water?

[Suc_Sid]

Hello,

Just wondering if some of you more experienced member can answer this question for me - What is the benefit of putting Salt in the Discus tank?

I notice it comes up as a regular suggestion when people have sick discus.

I'm about to get some new fish, and have set up a quarantine tank, should i put salt in there as a 'general' precaution, or only if they show signs of actually looking ill?

How much salt? The packaging suggests 1g per 1L - this sounds a little high, is it correct?

Thanks in advance. :wink:

S_S

[madaboutfish]

Hi,

I regularly use salt as a precaution. According to Andrew Soh's book it states that even at 2g/L it is still safe for discus. Can be used to eliminate ich.

Nick

[wickedglass]

can also be used to eliminate other external parasites like oodinium. what happens is that the difference in specific gravity will cause the oodinium to explode (well ... burst, anyway ... you won't see fireworks in your tank :P ) at 2 - 3g per liter. I've used this as treatment for pretty severe infestations and it works. It's not as hefty as formalin treatments, either. When I treat this way, I do a 30% water change after 3 days, and then 20% every couple of days for 2 weeks ... then back to normal. Scaled fish are fine to use this tratment on, but if you have scaleless fish like loaches, elephant noses or ghost knifes, you may be better off taking them out of the tank for the duration of the treatment.
A lot of people keep a small amount of salt (about 3% solution) in their tanks as a tonic and preventive measure, as it works on all kinds of organisms like nematodes etc.

[DR.V]

All you need to know about salt :
http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7113

HTH