# Adding Salt to Guppy Tank?



## JackFu (Jun 6, 2011)

I usually do a tablespoon per 10 gallons. It inhibits some pathogens and improves gill function, from what I understand. 

You have to remember that salt doesn't evaporate and isn't filtered out. The only thing that removes salt is water changes, so don't add salt when you're replacing water for evaporation. 

I'm not sure if marine salt is ok or not. Definitely research it before you use it.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

JackFu said:


> I usually do a tablespoon per 10 gallons. It inhibits some pathogens and improves gill function, from what I understand.
> 
> You have to remember that salt doesn't evaporate and isn't filtered out. The only thing that removes salt is water changes, so don't add salt when you're replacing water for evaporation.
> 
> I'm not sure if marine salt is ok or not. Definitely research it before you use it.


It has crap in it for coral growth. Calcium, magnesium, ect. Plus, it raises the dKH to the reef tank level. I just read something online saying that it causes more harm than good since most plants (and fish, but just guppies shouldn't be worried about since they can adapt to SW) so should I not go down this road or what? How much salt would be detrimental to more sensitive plants?


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## [email protected] (Jul 17, 2008)

Here is one of the better articles I've read about salt use in aquariums. 
Marine mix is the preferred option as kitchen salt is only NaCl. 
http://www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2008/03/salt-in-freshwater-aquariums.html


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## Trickerie (May 10, 2012)

GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy said:


> I know guppies can live in saltwater. I remember that when I used to do FW tanks, I was sold some special salt to put in the tank. I assume adding salt is mainly for the purpose of keeping the fish healthy. I have a huge bag of leftover salt mix I used for my reef tanks that I just took down. Just wondering if it would be beneficial to use some of that in the tank. I have no interest in keeping anything but guppies in the tank.
> 
> How much should I add to the tank, if I should add it?


JackFU was correct. It helps by lowering the osmotic pressure on the fish, thus helping heal any minute to severe wounds that may occur. Also, several types of bacteria and fungus have a hard time surviving even in the slightest salinity. Finally, it aids in gill function by allowing the gills increased transfer of oxygen from the water. 

One thing to note, though, a lot of plants are extremely sensitive to salt. Its a toss up. It helps your fish, but is detrimental to your plants. All in all, salt is usually reserved for hospital tanks.


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## Fishly (Jan 8, 2010)

I used to use Instant Ocean salt in my guppy tanks at up to three tablespoons per gallon until I got tired of mixing it up for every water change. I also used aragonite sand, which should have bumped the pH to around 8.2. Neither did any harm to the fish, but the salt killed my E. densa. I don't remember if it hurt my java moss, though.

I remember reading somewhere that if you match the salinity in a birth tank to the salinity inside a mother guppy, the fry will be able to adapt to almost any salinity without any trouble.


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## Schoolofdisabledguppies (Jun 9, 2018)

A post from another time (Copy and pasted)
*ACCLIMATION PROTOCOL*

Here folks is a process to acclimate some guppies / endlers (even MTS) over to marine. I am currently doing this for some MTS, and is currently what I would do for guppies / endlers. It takes about a week doing this way, but the slow method is better from my experiences, and from what I have learned from my research. 

You will need 
* a gallon jar / container (scale everything if acclimating more than a few fish and using larger container)
* half cup of marine salt mix 
* a cup 
* a tablespoon measure (the kind in your kitchen for measuring stuff, not what you eat soup with) 
* a gallon of clean water (if you use tap water then dechlorinate it of course) 

Important point: Half a cup of marine salt mix to a gallon of water brings the salinity to *approximately* 1.023, give or take a bit. There are 16 tablespoons to a cup, thus 8 tablespoons to half a cup. 
Fill your jar with the gallon of water (clean, not from tank). Add a fish, to a max of say 3 guppies / endlers (for more fish use a bigger acclimation container & more water & salt). Pour some of the water out of the jar into a cup. Add two level tablespoons of salt mix to it and stir to dissolve completely. Slowly pour about a quarter of your cup into the jar and gently stir up the water. A couple of hours later add another quarter of your cup, then a couple of hours later add another quarter, then another couple hours later add the rest. Leave your fish overnight. 
Now for the next 6 days follow this step. Pour out some of the water into a cup and add one level tablespoon of salt, then stir to dissolve completely. In the morning pour in half of your cup, then in the evening pour in the rest. Gently stir up the water when adding the salty water. Don't feed them every day. Perhaps just one tiny feeding on day 4, but keep an eye on the water. If you need to change the water for some reason (like you've been feeding them and now have lots of ammonia) then mix up another gallon of water with as many tablespoons of salt you already used, and use that for your water change. 
By the end of the week, 7 days, you have added in 8 tablespoons of salt to the gallon of water. Test the SG of the water. It should be in marine range now. Ideally, it should be within a point or two of your marine tank's salinity level that you'll be putting in your guppies / endlers. 
Acclimating to the tank - Simply pour out a bunch of the water, approx. half, from your jar (into your main marine tank perhaps) and then over a couple of hours keep on adding cups of water from your main marine tank into the jar until it is filled. You may pour out half again & repeat or just plop them into your marine tank by now. It would be kind to bag the and let float in your tank for a while to let the temperature match before you release the fish into your tank. 
Voila. You now have guppies / endlers in full saltwater. See how your like them. Beware that huge fish might also like your guppies, but with far more sinister reasons. 

Good luck!


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