Aquarium Salt vs Sea Salt - Biology Educare

Aquarium salt is really a typical pure salt (sodium chloride) which is signified by symbol ‘Nacl’. It is prepared from the evaporated sea water. It does not contain artificial additives, color or sugar. It also lacks anti-caking ingredients and iodine.

Aquarium salt has lot of functions: it reduces stress, adds beneficial electrolytes, cleans aquarium and accessories and can be used to hatch Brine Shrimp eggs. Electrolytes are basic for the take-up of oxygen and the arrival of carbon dioxide and alkali through the gills. An absence of electrolytes may bring about genuine medical issues. Aquarium salt does not dissipate, and is not sifted through, so it should just be included with each water change. Aquarium salt adds with every water change to help condition water. Care should be taken when utilizing salt with live plants, as a few plants might be sensitive.

Basic Characteristics of Aquarium Salt :

It does not contain artificial additives, sugar or artificial colors.
It does not change water pH.
Aquarium Salt reloads natural electrolytes.

Functions of Aquarium Salt

It promotes healthy gill function and making it easier for fish to breathe
It temporarily blocks the toxic effects of nitrite to freshwater fish until water quality improves.
It does not change the mineral content of the water.
It supplies the electrolytes to fish that need to help fish breathe easier and remain healthy in their new surroundings.
It reduces stress.
It facilitates osmoregulation.
It helps disease recovery.
It inhibits algae growth in the water.
Salt helps to eliminate mild infectious lesions.
It makes a valuable solution for the avoidance and treatment of a few freshwater fish illnesses.
It helps the removing of wounds.
It lessens the take-up of nitrite.
It is powerful against a few parasites.
It helps in wound recovering.
Salt keeps numerous pathogens and organisms away.

Aquarium salt is utilized as a part of the aquarium world essentially for the treatment of diseased fish. It is very successful tool for treating many types of bacterial, fungal and some parasitic diseases of aquarium fish. Among them, aquarium salt is very effective and successful tool for treating well known diseases of aquarium fish are Ich or white spot disease (ichthyophthiriasis), skin fluke disease (Gyrodactylosis), gill fluke disease (Dactylogyrosis), water mould or cotton wool disease (Saprollegiosis), gill or rot disease (Branciomycosis), Blue-slime disease (costiasis/ichthyobodosis), mucous membrane problems, nausea, etc.

Doses for Salt bath:

For prevention of fungal and bacterial infections 10 gm salt per liter of water should be used. This concentration is achieved gradually over 2 days, increasing every 4-6 hours by 0.1%.

A less concentrated solution is used to treat the young of the weakened fish.

If the fish begin to feel bad, then you must immediately dilute the aquarium water with fresh water. Treatment should be lasts 10-30 days.

Short-term salt baths are good for such diseases of aquarium fish as water mould or cotton wool disease (saprolegniosis), Blue-slime disease (costiasis/ichthyobodosis) skin fluke disease (Gyrodactylosis), gill fluke disease (Dactylogyrosis).

Salt is also used to neutralize nitrites, to combat parasites such as Piscinoodinum and leeches.

Detachment of leeches can be achieved with short-term baths in a 2.5% salt solution.

Some Recommendations for using Aquarium Salt:

Treatment of fish with salt should be done in separate trays.
Water change should be done in the usual way and gradually add pure water.
Do not transfer the fish immediately after the salt bath in a common aquarium.
It is better to make a solution weaker, especially if the treatment is gentle, small or weak fish.
For the treatment of fish in individual trays, 1 tablespoon of salt per 10 liters is recommended.
If you have live plants in your fish tank, you should not use salt to prevent damage of the plants.
If you have scale less fish in your aquarium, avoid using salt.
Caution should be taken during treatment with salt of young labyrinth fish.
During the bath, the container with fish should be moderately aerated.
The temperature of water should be raised 2-3 days to 28-30 ° C with increased aeration.

Sea Salt:

Sea salt is considerably more complex and contains a large number of additional elements, such as sulfates, magnesium, calcium, potassium, hydrogen carbonate, bromine, strontium and others which help make water more suitable for marine invertebrates but aquarium salt does not have this effect. Sea salt creates favorable conditions for the inhabitants of the aquarium, for preventive purposes, for the treatment of fish and marine animals. Sea salt allows you to bring the level of salinity to the optimum, based on the species of the aquarium and its inhabitants. Water with sea salt and water from the sea are diffused among themselves by biological and chemical composition. The aquarium allows only a partial reconstruction of the natural system.

Sea salt is a fungicidal and antiseptic agent. It is used as a very useful tool for treating bacterial and some types of parasitic diseases, problems with the mucous membrane, accidental damage to the veil, and aggravation in aquarium fish. It is also used for prophylaxis in bacterial infections.

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Functions of Sea Salt:

Sea salt is a storehouse of the following elements:

Magnesium: It is anti-stress element which is very important for the functioning of the nervous system.
Iodine: Sea salt contains huge amount of iodine which support hormonal balance in the body.
Manganese: It preserves the immune system.
Iron and copper: They are very important for the process of hematopoiesis.
Selenium: Sea salt contains very small amount of selenium which slows the development of cancer cells in the fish body.

Final verdict

Aquarium salt or sea salt is used as a piece of the aquarium world basically for the treatment of foul fish. It is an extremely effective instrument for treating many sorts of bacteria and some parasitic disorders of aquarium fish. To make suitable conditions for the inhabitants of the aquarium such as Firemouth Cichlid, you should use salt with recommended doses.