aquarium salt

[mopedman]

I bought a carton of this and am wondering how I should put it in the tank? I have seen them in plastic cups with lids and was wondering if I should do something like that. What would happen if fish ate the salt with it not in a covered cup? Can any fish not handle having a cup of aquarium salt in the tank? Anything else you may think I may need to know, please fill in. thanks

[emc7]

What kind of fish do you have? Goldfish and mollies like salt in the water. Many others don't need it and some fish dislike it. Also you can usually skip the salt if your water is very hard. I don't think most fish are dumb enough to eat salt. I really think you should control the concentration if you decide to add salt. You should dissolve the salt in dechlorinated water and add the solution to the tank slowly so as not to shock the fish. No more than 1 tsp/gallon unless you are treating ich or have brackish water fish.

[mopedman]

I have two Jack Dempseys (I plant to be getting rid of soon), one upside down catfish, one common plecostmus, one electric yellow cichlid in my 55 gallon.

[Obsidian]

You could put in a low amount (no more than 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons, and personally I would go with less). What I do when I need to add salt is I dissolve it in a cop outside of the tank, then when it is all dissolved I pour it in.

Pay close attention to your cat and pleco. They may not like the salt, although at low amounts they should tolerate it.

It would be good to know what the goal of adding the salt is.

[Fishfirst]

Why add salt when there are no signs of a problem? Salt is a great as a quick fix to problems but sucks as a "preventative"