# Will adding Aquarium salt kill beneficial bacteria?



## miogpsrocks (Sep 3, 2015)

Will adding Aquarium salt kill beneficial bacteria? 

I am trying to kill ich and I am wondering if I could stick to the medicine or add salt also. 

I don't want to kill the beneficial bacteria because I am really fighting to keep ammonia down. 

Thanks


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## bt7896 (Oct 5, 2014)

No it will not, always add salt to my discus tank whenever someone in there gets ick. Find some rock salt and your good to go. Don't use table salt.


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## miogpsrocks (Sep 3, 2015)

bt7896 said:


> No it will not, always add salt to my discus tank whenever someone in there gets ick. Find some rock salt and your good to go. Don't use table salt.


Rock salt like kosher salt?

Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk


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## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

Any salt that doesn't have the caking agent added and no Iodised salt 
Yes Kosher salt will work
Start with several large water changes, above 50%
Keep up with water quality - that's number one
Problems will happen when water quality goes down, and fish get stressed
Do not use salt in the tank all the time, just when needed
Not all fish/plants can withstand high heat, watch your stock and have enough aeration in the tank.

If that doesn't work Quick cure med will


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## quiquik (Dec 13, 2013)

They make aquarium salt that I used one time when dealing with ick. PetSmart carries it. Not sure if it would be good for plants. I think I would just bump the heat. If you search this forum I'm sure you will find the answer.


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## miogpsrocks (Sep 3, 2015)

quiquik said:


> They make aquarium salt that I used one time when dealing with ick. PetSmart carries it. Not sure if it would be good for plants. I think I would just bump the heat. If you search this forum I'm sure you will find the answer.


Its a 75 gallon new tank and I have not really gotten to making it planted that much. I just threw in a few spare cuttings of water wisteria floating on top that I could easily replace or remove from the tank. 

I am considering maybe a combination of light heat( since I have neon tetras and I don't think they like high heat), maybe 81 degrees and natural herbal ich medicine(kordon ich attack) and perhaps light salt along with water changes. 

Does this sound like a good plan? 

I will do the water changes up until I add the medication then stop the water changes as to now dilute the medication? 

Does that sound like it would do the trick? 

Thanks


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## quiquik (Dec 13, 2013)

When I had to deal with this I did some searching online. But with what I can remember, raising the temp to at least 85-86 degrees only helps in speeding up the cycle of the parasite. When it has fallen off the fish it goes through a cycle and then tries to find another host. At this point is when the salt is effective. If you have a way of introducing more water movement during this process it will help the fish for better oxygenation. Also if I remember correctly it took a couple of weeks, during that time I kept an eye on all the fish everyday to see if there were any others that developed ick. So if it were me I would slowly bump the temp and follow the directions on the box of aquarium salt, dosing what it says and especially after your routine water change. The two week period starts when you have seen no ick on any fish. I know it is a real pain but it is part of the solution. By the way when I rushed to petsmart to grab a chemical cure it just so happened that the lady at the register kept a number of tanks and steered me in the direction of aquarium salt instead, saved me a bit of money.


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## Kobey (Nov 20, 2015)

API, Nutrafin, or lots of others make Aquarium salt...we are talking about $5 a box just go grab something you are sure of instead of $3 worth of the wrong stuff.


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## miogpsrocks (Sep 3, 2015)

Kobey said:


> API or lots make Aquarium salt...we are talking about $5 a box just go grab something you are sure of instead of $3 worth of the wrong stuff.


I ordered some API salt plus Kodon Ich Attack natural medicine. 

Since I have the tetras in the tank, I think I should go easy on the salt and heat and let the medicine do most of the work. 

Thanks for the advice!

Bump:


quiquik said:


> When I had to deal with this I did some searching online. But with what I can remember, raising the temp to at least 85-86 degrees only helps in speeding up the cycle of the parasite. When it has fallen off the fish it goes through a cycle and then tries to find another host. At this point is when the salt is effective. If you have a way of introducing more water movement during this process it will help the fish for better oxygenation. Also if I remember correctly it took a couple of weeks, during that time I kept an eye on all the fish everyday to see if there were any others that developed ick. So if it were me I would slowly bump the temp and follow the directions on the box of aquarium salt, dosing what it says and especially after your routine water change. The two week period starts when you have seen no ick on any fish. I know it is a real pain but it is part of the solution. By the way when I rushed to petsmart to grab a chemical cure it just so happened that the lady at the register kept a number of tanks and steered me in the direction of aquarium salt instead, saved me a bit of money.


I have been told that Tetra are more sensitive to salt than other fish. I am afraid that I can't dose high enough salt to kill the ich without killing the tetras. 

Did you have any tetras in your tank and may I ask if you used the recommended dose of salt or did you go easy on the salt?

Thanks.


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## quiquik (Dec 13, 2013)

I had Black skirt tetras, Pristella tetras, Cory cat fish that I had read at the time were sensitive to salt and other fish that I don't remember because this event happened about 1 1/2 years ago. All survived. The directions on the API aquarium salt box is as follows. Add 1 rounded tablespoon for every 5 gal. or 1/2 rounded teaspoon for every gal. of aquarium water. Aquarium salt does not evaporate, and is not filtered out, so it should only be added with each water change. This is me... Not how many gal your tank is but what is actually in the tank. My 50 gal holds 40 gal of water because of substrate, rocks, etc.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

I still prefer using medicine for treating things like this. Many fish don't like salt at all, and some, like many of the live bearers need it to prevent liver problems and things like that. Often we find fishes from both groups in the same community tanks. Also remember to treat the tank regardless of the method you choose, for at least a month to kill off all incubating cysts.


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