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Talk:Salt

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what would be useful to link to here would be a detailed scientific explanation on why freshwater fish do not need salt and what happens in detail to them if salt is added regularly, and visa versa for saltwater fish, and brackish fish, or is this somewhere else on the wiki? I don't know the answer otherwise I'd post it up. i just keep seeing more and more posts, on forums & yahoo answers, with people adding salt regularly to their goldfish tank for example. AND the difference, if any, between "aquarium salt" (interpet aqualibrium salt for example) and "marine salt" (for saltwater tanks..) --Cat 07:20, 4 December 2007 (CST)


Salt alters the osmotic pressure on the animal. So an article on OP is required. It's been on my list to do for some months.

I too have seen people add salt to freshwater fish, mainly in the knowledge from the 'old days' that it does prevents a level of fungus, bacteria and parasite growth. But then so would proper regular water changes/care. ;-)

With modern knowledge and care I believe it's an unnatural state to put an animal in. Adding Bogwood and certain decaying leafs to the tank is the modern way to achieve the same state. I now always have a piece of wood in my tanks. Seems to work.

'Aquarium salt' is usually one or maybe two salts, sodium mainly. Marine salt actually contains a lot of different salts and may also include over 50 trace elements as well. Kent sea salt-PDF

--Quatermass 08:14, 4 December 2007 (CST)


i love bogwood, i have at least one piece in all my tanks too! thanks for that. i was reading about aqualibrium (of which i have but only use when fish are sick) its only recently clicked its a "ph buffer" as well...ohh my brain hurts! --Cat 09:12, 4 December 2007 (CST)


The linked article "All Salt Was Not Created Equal" by Robert T. Ricketts is no longer functional, and the Kent Marine link goes to the proper site, but gives a 404 error. Aphotic Phoenix 09:24, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


Links go out of date of course. I tend to use Archive.org to see if they've archived it and then use that link. Any one can do this. Of course you can always ask the site where a page or document has gone too.

--Quatermass 16:44, 5 October 2008 (UTC)


brackish water