Using Salt for Medical Purposes

[BennySings]

Safe salts for aquarium use:

Aquarium Salt




Kosher or Pickling Salt

 

Solar Salt (for water softening)



Ice Cream Salt



Rock Salt




Salt can work wonders for your fish.  It can help promote gill function during the cycling process when nitrites show.  It can help relieve stress.  It can be used to help rid your fish of certain parasites, such as:

Ichthyophthirius
Chilodinella
Costiasis (Ichthyobodo necatrix)
Almost every single Trichodiniid/Tripartiella organism.
Glossatella
Scyphidia
Epistylis
Trichophrya
External Tetrahymena
Inhibits trematode reproduction, clears 30% of adults.
Inhibits Lerneiid reproduction


Here, we are going to discuss using salt for medical purposes...

Salt is often used when a fish is stressed, or suffering from a parasite such as ich.  When using salt for medical purposes, it is VERY important to remember that salt does not evaporate from your tank!  You must keep a log as to how much you are putting in the tank and how much you are taking out during WCs.
Salt must be added very slowly over a course of 12 hour increments.  The salt must also be dissolved in tank water completely before adding it to your tank.



To add salt to your tank to treat for an illness, follow these instructions:

Never put salt into your filters (Will destroy BB's)

1.  Dissolve 1TSP of salt for every gallon of water in your tank.  If you have a 10g tank, then you will dissolve 10 TSPs of salt in some tank water in a seperate container.  After it is completely dissolved, add it slowly to the tank and stir it in well.  This will bring your salt content in the tank to 0.1%.

2.   12 hours later, repeat step one again.  This will bring your salt content in the tank to 0.2%.

3.  After 12 more hours have passed, repeat step one for the last time.  This will bring your salt content in the tank to 0.3%.  Do not add any more salt than this.

Remember, salt does not evaporate from the tank.  If you do a WC, then you will need to calculate how many gallons of water you removed and add that salt back. 
Let's say you have a 10g tank and you have it salted to 0.1%.  You change out 5g of water during a WC.  You will have to add back 5 TSPs of dissolved salt to bring the salt content back to 0.1%.

Same senario, but you have the salt content in the tank at 0.2%and you change out 5g of water during a WC.  You would then have to add back 10 TSPs of dissolved salt to bring the salt content back to 0.2%.

Same senario, but you have your salt content at 0.3% and you change out 5g of water during a WC.  You would have to add back 15  TSPs of salt to bring that salt content back to 0.3%.


It is VERY easy to forget how much salt you have in your tank and how much you take out.  We recommend making a log to help you keep up with it. 
Also, some fish can be salt-sensitive, so it is very important to watch your fish during salting.  If the fish seems to stress out after adding the salt, then do a partial WC and bring the salt down to a level where the fish is comfortable.

It is incredibly important to be sure that the salt you are using is safe, if it is not, it can do more harm than good. When looking for salt to use on the goldies, be sure that it has nothing else added to the ingredients, except salt.