lasvegasnights21 asked:
Is it ok to add some aquarium salt to an African cichlid tank? I have about 25 1″-1.5″ African cichlids! (red zebra, kenyi, auratus,lions cove, zebra OB)! They are doing fine, my pet store has salt in their cichlid aquarium, and said it was okay to put in your aquarium, to help eliminate disease. Is this true? Thanks in advance!
Is it ok to add some aquarium salt to an African cichlid tank? I have about 25 1″-1.5″ African cichlids! (red zebra, kenyi, auratus,lions cove, zebra OB)! They are doing fine, my pet store has salt in their cichlid aquarium, and said it was okay to put in your aquarium, to help eliminate disease. Is this true? Thanks in advance!
July 1st, 2009 at 10:21 pm
You could use salt if you wanted to. I personally don’t use aquarium salt, but if your fish are stressed or sick you might consider it. Just make sure that salt doesn’t interfere with other treatments or that your fish are too sensitive to it.
Cichlid salt is an entirely different matter. Rather than being made of regular salt (sodium chloride), it’s typically a combination of magnesium and calcium salts. Its main use is to buffer the water, which is a good idea if your water is too soft–cichlids prefer hard water.
July 2nd, 2009 at 7:20 pm
aquarium salt is fine.. some use it all the time.. I use it when I have sick fish ( knock on wood not often!! ) If you use it all the time it will not be as effective when you NEED it. Sometimes it to help buffer the water.. small amounts are fine.
July 5th, 2009 at 1:23 am
All fish need salt, that includes cories and other scaleless fish. They just don’t need as much as others. I know the old outdated information always says, don’t use salt with these types of fish, but recent university studies have been showing, this assumption is mislead and not entirely accurate. ALL fish, again need salt. How much and the levels to use just vary is all. It’s also important to consider the role all the different types of salts there are, and the role they play in mineralization, electrolyte balance, as well as redox in a closed enviroment like a tank.
I keep and breed quite a few different types of Africans myself. I have a group of 2 male and 4 female Kenyi maturing now, haven’t bred for me just yet, but my tank is going on three years running now, and I’ve been using API salt, and sometimes even Rift Lake salts as well. Again, keep in mind, this is YA and anyone and everyone can post and put up information. There is no screening on accurate information here, but I will give you some articles to read over, and you make up your mind from there.
Is it ok to add? Sure is, add as directed on the container. Are you going to hurt anything? Not likely at all unless you over dose.
Salts do help not so much in elimination, as there are tons of different pathogens out there. Some it will help kill off, but what I think more important, is just what I said above. It helps keep proper electrolyte balances, improves Redox, adds new minerals that otherwise do not get replaced, and helps with osmoregulation.
July 7th, 2009 at 8:10 am
All fish need salt. We put about half a cup of aquarium salt in our 75 gallon tanks and have always done so. I read the articles about it being good or bad and the good out weighed the bad.
July 7th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
generally speaking 1 table spoon per 5 gallons of water, Cichlids especcially Mbunas (what you have) prefer hard water, you might also want to use a PH buffer that will raise PH to about 8.0 that’s when your fish will show their best colors.
July 10th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I did extensive research before starting my first cichlid tank and found many experts use the following mixture: 1 Tablespoon of Epsom Sale, 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda, and 1 teaspoon of Marine Salt mix. This mixture really does a great job at mimicking the natural mineral content of the lake which your fish come from, Malawi. A great resource for these fish is. They have great articles for newbies as well as chat rooms and forums to ask others for advice. IF you do add this mix, do not use regular aquarium salt (which actually is no different then the non-iodized table salt you can buy cheap at any grocery store) and add it slowly with each water change. Remember also that this salt mix, as with any salt, will not evaporate. You only add what you take out. Add normal, de-chlorinated water for evaporation. I now have 8 tanks, including a 180 gallon all male show tank, and the pH is always great and the fish all do fabulous. They also breed like crazy with high hold rates and survival rates. Good luck!