i purchased a new betta a few weeks ago and i've been doing a 50% water change per week. i was just wondering if i need to salt his tank each time...i know goldfish need the salt but what about bettas?

Goldfish don't need salt ALL the time. When a fish is stressed, such as when it gets moved about, has an infection or parasite, has a traumatic experience (e.g., getting sucked up the filter intake tube), or has poor water quality (like a cycle or pH crash), salt is used as a stress-reliever as well as a guard against secondary infections.

However, just like human antibiotics, the more it is used, the more resistant bad buggies become to it. I wouldn't recommend salting every time you do a water change, because then if something happens or your fish becomes ill (parasites especially), you will need even MORE salt to be beneficial.

Is there a specific reason you need to salt your tank?

i had to start salting my tank when my last betta, cujo, got ich. i read that salting the tank the first time you move them into a new tank was beneficial...i just wasnt sure if i needed to continue doing that. my newest betta, no name, is getting along famously in his tank now, and after the experience i had trying to keep cujo alive, i wanted to make sure i'm doing stuff right.

also, right now i just rescued four little goldfish and i have them in a 10g tank while my 35g gets here and set up...so i'm salting that tank for medicinal purposes.

In that case, you should to salt the tank after every water change to replace the salt removed with the old water, to keep the salt concentration at the desired level.

i'm just a little confused about which tank we're discussing now...betta or goldfish? i have the goldfish fairly under control. its the betta tank i'm trying to get up to par now.

I just wanted to clarify the usage of salt question. Goldfish and betta's don't need salt persay, but it does come in handy when trying to rid the tank of some general parasites. It will not harm the fish if used correctly, and I could be wrong, but from what I understand, the parasites will not build an immunity to it as with antibiotics. There are many of us keepers who add aquarium salt to our tanks just as a preventative measure. (Of course you wouldn't dose to the same salinity when using it preventatively than when using it to treat parasites.)

Again, from what I remember about aquarium salt, it's ok to use in tanks with fish that have scales. It is the scaleless fish are sensitive to salt, so it's not advisable to be used with fish such as corydoras or tetras. If you have live plants or snails, they also need to be removed before salting the tank. So basically, it is ok to be used with your betta.



It's also important to keep in mind that when water evaporates from your tank, the salt is still there. So if you "top off your tank" then you wouldn't want to use the same dosage for that amount of water you're replacing. I personally do salt my tank a little bit with each water change, and I don't ever do the whole "topping off the tank" thing, and all my water changes are fairly large like 50 - 75% of the water.

Hope that helped clear up some confusion.

thank you! someday i might even be able to answer some poor newbie's questions with the efficiency and simplicity you guys are giving me. i'm so glad i found this site!

Unfortunately there are some strains of parasites that have become more tolerant to salt over a long time, but this in the bigger scheme of things, at breeding factories etc, -I'm personally doubtful that small additions of salt to a home aquarium is going to breed super parasites like antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, but some hobbyists maintain this and I am not going to disagree as there is evidence this happens in the largescale end of the business, it's a bit of a grey area. I think it mostly depends on what your tap water is like in your area, some areas have very hard water, in this case I don't see any reason to maintain conditioning salts in the water as the water already has a high cconcentration of dissolved salts already, I live in an area where the water is EXTREMELY soft, and if I don't add conditioning salts my water is too soft for goldfish to thrive. I guess it comes down to a balance, -how much more robust is your fish going to be with the addition of salt, and able to have more immunity to parasites, as to how strong will your fish be to survive high levels of salt if needed for treating for parasites. In the wild Bettas are found in drying muddy ponds where the salt levels can rise dramatically, I'm not an expert with bettas, but from their habitat I'm sure they're quite hardy when it comes to additions of salt if needed for treatment. (just my 2c.. )

hmm okie. in that case sorry about that TofJ,
i guess you were right and i was wrong.
i didn't know about this!

thanks for clarifying it for me mads!
haha i hope all this hasn't confused you liz.

coming from a medical background, i understand superbugs. i will probably continue to salt lightly to maintain. my betta seems to be happy with the conditions as they are. thank you for all the info tho! it really gives me a broader knowledge base to pull from in the future.

Hey Liz, what sorta medical background? u a doc/nurse/allied/research? I'm (well, was, before being a stay-at-home mum) a hospital histology/mortuary scientist. Nice to see a few medically minded people on the board!

i'm a nurse actually. and my parents are both physicians assistants. so not only did i grow up with it, i got into it myself for a while. i decided recently to go back to school for psychology/social work. i'll be completing my degree in another 6 months or so.

It depends. Bettas do not neccessarily have to have salt . some of the breeders I know do use it routinely. I allways keep a small amount in my bettas water. like 1/2 teaspoon per gallon.