Looking for articles on Salt as a medicine

[Cory]

Anyone have some great links about using salt as a medicine? Academic papers preferred but would love to read your favorite article on the subject as well.

I'd love to compile a list of what organisms are killed by salt and at what levels.

For instance I know that 1 tablespoon per gallon will kill velvet and Ick. However, would 1 tablespoon per 2 gallons treat it just as effectively? Or perhaps only kill ick but not velvet etc. I also find that corydoras and loaches in general aren't as tolerant to the salt. Thus if I could use less to treat the same problems it would be easier on the fish.

This is mostly being done to continue to improve my quarantine room at the shop. I find the most common issues are bacterial infections due to stressed environments at wholesalers. And non visable ick. I feel like it may be in the gills but not on the fish when they are shipped.

Right now I'm using a med mix that is working out ok. I just feel like I could do more research and perhaps improve our procedures further.

 

[Madness]

Everything I have read says that adding salt to your tanks does more harm and damage to the fish than it does good via any parasites. Salt burns the scales on your fish and also forces them to use more energy to regulate their osmatic balance which in turn wakens them to allow said issues to attack a weaker fish.

I will get some readings for you.

 

[Cory]

I can seem to find about 5 things written on about anything in aquariums especially salt that would say it's great to it's bad, to it's only useful for X etc.

I will say that most wholesalers for fish run salt in their tanks 24/7 to ward off diseases etc. I'm not saying this is correct or that it's even working. But they do touch lots of fish and have deemed it industry wide as something they need to do.

The thing I'm looking to do is to come to my own conclusions. I find that if I can research a topic well enough I can weigh the risks vs rewards.

For instance if a sun burn would cure a broken arm. I'd say it's probably worth it. But if it was kidney failure to heal that broken arm.. Not worth it etc.

The problem is depending on who you are talking too is the level of harm. If I was talking to an air polution expert. They might say pollution in air is harmful to humans. This is true. They might say, there is enough pollution in Washington air to do harm long term.

As an independent person ,I may say, our air is killing us, and only use pure oxygen from a cylinder to combat it. Now, the question becomes, is it an over reaction or justified? Our air here is very clean compared to some parts of the world etc.

I guess it's my long winded explanation of salt could be the lesser of two evils. Salt to treat a bacterial infection on the body could be causing more problems than helping. But perhaps killing a parasite is worth it.

Even for humans. Right now I have a wicked sinus thing going on and was perscibed saline nasal spray. It's totally helping. This is after my ear drum ruptured. it's keeping my other one from rupturing and the current one from re rupturing. In addition to anti biotics. So in the strength the nasal spray is using it's beneficial. But if I was to say fall asleep for 8 hours with my hand in a saltwater tank. It'd be VERY bad for my skin etc. Likely get infected etc. So it comes down to how much salt, how long of exposure etc.

I'd love to see a study that shows at 1 teaspoon of salt per 5 gallon, Fish scales are effected by X. At 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons they are effected by Y. So that when I was dosing with salt, I'd know what it was doing. With the hope I could find a sweet spot where X isn't harmful, but will fight off this small list of ailments.

Also at the end of the research phase, I should be able to know why I wouldn't want to use it either. If I find that it cures 15 diseases but makes fish infertile to breed. I'd know the risks. Acriflavin is like that. Great for curing velvet but on like guppies. Will never be fertile after that.

 

[Cory]

Here is a quote from one of the largest farms in the united states. I had gotten some guppies and danios that absolutely crashed in my room.

"We keep our guppies in a TDS of 3-3.5ppt. They really like salt. Danio’s, just a little lower at 2-2.5ppt."
"Here are the parameters of our softwater systems… sorry about that! Totally forgot.
the pH is generally 6.5 – 7.2, the TDS is 2.0-2.5 ppt, and the Total Hardness is in the 150-170 mg/L range."

I'm also wondering if fish are having a rough time coming in not to salt when leaving a facility with salt in the water.

 

[Hefateus]

I just used salt to remove some white spots which I was advised was ick from my glass catfish. The young man that works at your store gave me that advise and it worked like a charm. It took 3-4 days and it was totally cleared up. I think I used half a cup of aquarium salt per 20 gallons of water.