SALT??

Hank,

Salt has absolutely nothing to do with the transfer of oxygen across the
gills.

Tom L.L.
"Hank Pagel" <hankpage.DeleteThis@litenet.net> wrote in message
news:B6BOa.24$fa3.9@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com...
> I think salt helps in the transfer of oxygen in the gills which helps
> lessen stress. IMO it has nothing to do with hardness in this case.
> "fishbee" <fishbee88.DeleteThis@yah00.c0m.au> wrote in message
> news:3f0a8a4b$0$5432$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au...
> > Hi:
> >
> > I am new to this newsgroup and found "salt" mentioned in a few
> messages.
> > Can someone tell me whether "salt" is needed for FG - my water is of
> the
> > "soft" variety.
> >
> > Fishbee
> >
> >
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: SALT?? 

In article <EtUOa.1688$fa3.1219@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com>,
hankpage RemoveThis @litenet.net says...
> Yes and a BIG NO!
> Yes you should add salt.
> NO NOT table salt . The iodine is n/g.

No, no, no! It's not the iodine that's the problem:
it's the anti-caking stuff most table salt contains,
usually yellow prussiate of soda (YPS), and it can be
found in non-iodized table salt. Kosher salt is
additive-free. (And it's great in the kitchen too!
Try Diamond Crystal brand.)

I suggest you go to koivet.com and search for the
salt article there. It's good.

I tend to use it only as a non-specific treatment,
or for parasites, not all the time. That is,
my tanks are normally salt-free unless there's something
else going on. This is mostly out of laziness -- I don't
want to have to do the math to keep track of salinity
levels. Remember, too much salt is not a good thing.

Gunther
 >> Stay informed about: SALT?? 

Ah! so you do agree that fluctuating salinity levels can fight some
diseases and kills most freshwater parasites. Why not prevent them????
You can't be that lazy if you bothered to find out about the
anti-caking agents in table salt. All it takes is a scoop and a stir
every other water change. And yes, yes the iodine is not good for the
fish also.
So, with that said I will rest my case and say. fishbee, ....
IMO ...... Use the salt, especially if you are adding new fish and not
using quarantine. ( Gunther, there is a topic I bet we can agree on)
"Gunther" <gunther.RemoveThis@his.house.org> wrote in message
news:MPG.1975f75ea88883a59897a0@netnews.comcast.net...
> In article <EtUOa.1688$fa3.1219@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com>,
> hankpage.RemoveThis@litenet.net says...
> > Yes and a BIG NO!
> > Yes you should add salt.
> > NO NOT table salt . The iodine is n/g.
>
> No, no, no! It's not the iodine that's the problem:
> it's the anti-caking stuff most table salt contains,
> usually yellow prussiate of soda (YPS), and it can be
> found in non-iodized table salt. Kosher salt is
> additive-free. (And it's great in the kitchen too!
> Try Diamond Crystal brand.)
>
> I suggest you go to koivet.com and search for the
> salt article there. It's good.
>
> I tend to use it only as a non-specific treatment,
> or for parasites, not all the time. That is,
> my tanks are normally salt-free unless there's something
> else going on. This is mostly out of laziness -- I don't
> want to have to do the math to keep track of salinity
> levels. Remember, too much salt is not a good thing.
>
> Gunther
 >> Stay informed about: SALT?? 

In article <zrZOa.3111$fa3.1524@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com>,
hankpage.RemoveThis@litenet.net says...
> Ah! so you do agree that fluctuating salinity levels can fight some
> diseases and kills most freshwater parasites. Why not prevent them????

I'm not sure about the fluctuation part, but yes, controlled
low-dosage salt is beneficial.

> You can't be that lazy if you bothered to find out about the
> anti-caking agents in table salt. All it takes is a scoop and a stir
> every other water change.

Ah, you have no inkling of the depths to which my laziness can descend!
I enjoy reading/researching because it can be done on my ass.
Actual effort is another matter entirely. ;-)

Seriously, I have three tanks of 3 different sizes, all goldfish,
and when I do a water change, I use the eyeball (I'm tempted to
say IEBIBALL, but that's pretty obscure) method.
That is, I guess at how much was removed, so then I'd have to guess
at how salty it was before, figure how salty I want it to be, then
guess at how much additional salt that would require. In my experience,
guessing compounded upon guesswork results in bad results.
The "zero-additive" rule, on the other hand, is easily implemented
with precision.

> And yes, yes the iodine is not good for the
> fish also.

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply it was benign, only that
"non-iodized" isn't the only requirement for safe use.

> So, with that said I will rest my case and say. fishbee, ....
> IMO ...... Use the salt, especially if you are adding new fish and not
> using quarantine. ( Gunther, there is a topic I bet we can agree on)

Oh yes, I'm in agreement. Although I'm very hesitant to forego
quarantine. I usually do both. E.g. right now I have two
new orandas (picture posted earlier to alt.binaries.aquaria)
in a 0.1% salt environment, since I fully expect them to be
carrying ich. Depending on what I see in the next few
days, I'll either increase that (up to 0.3%) or let it
drop out with normal PWCs. In cases like this,
I keep better records and actually measure the water
changes, simply by using a bucket instead of my Python®.
That has the additional benefit of not contaminating
the python in case the newbies are _really_ sick.

But once I'm convinced the danger is over, I try to
make it as easy as possible on myself by limiting the
need to think during PWCs. Thinking = Work, the
antithesis of Hobby.


Gunther

> "Gunther" <gunther.RemoveThis@his.house.org> wrote in message
> news:MPG.1975f75ea88883a59897a0@netnews.comcast.net...
> > In article <EtUOa.1688$fa3.1219@fe01.atl2.webusenet.com>,
> > hankpage.RemoveThis@litenet.net says...
> > > Yes and a BIG NO!
> > > Yes you should add salt.
> > > NO NOT table salt . The iodine is n/g.
> >
> > No, no, no! It's not the iodine that's the problem:
> > it's the anti-caking stuff most table salt contains,
> > usually yellow prussiate of soda (YPS), and it can be
> > found in non-iodized table salt. Kosher salt is
> > additive-free. (And it's great in the kitchen too!
> > Try Diamond Crystal brand.)
> >
> > I suggest you go to koivet.com and search for the
> > salt article there. It's good.
> >
> > I tend to use it only as a non-specific treatment,
> > or for parasites, not all the time. That is,
> > my tanks are normally salt-free unless there's something
> > else going on. This is mostly out of laziness -- I don't
> > want to have to do the math to keep track of salinity
> > levels. Remember, too much salt is not a good thing.
> >
> > Gunther
>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: SALT??