Loaches Online Forum

Are loaches particularly sensitive to aquarium salt or can I use the recommended dosing on the box?

Nah they're fine with the regular doses on the box, personally i would use just a little less to be safe... just a little less

What are you using salt for?

I have used aquarium salt with loaches, but they don't particularly care for it. I would not use it unless it was intended for some theraputic reason. To just add salt for the sake of it would be an unecessary stress on the fish.

They are fresh water fish. Keeping them in brackish water would not be good for them, long term.

Shari wrote:They are fresh water fish. Keeping them in brackish water would not be good for them, long term.

I'll up the ante here. I know that some people have used salt therapeutically in their loach tanks, but Shari's point is key to keeping healthy loaches.
They are fresh water fish. They live in rivers that are constantly refreshed with clean or murky water, not at the mouths of rivers and not in the ocean. Loaches need to maintain a key part of their health through their skin and slime coats - tools of (partial) respiration in many species. That is, the health of their skin relates to the health of their breathing.

I would never opt for salt if it could be avoided. There are others who have had positive results, but in my mind, if they wouldn't encounter somthing in their natural environment, why add it in the tank? The aquarium is already enough of a change and a stress, IMO.

Changes to the salinity of the water can affect pH, GH, and KH. If you have a system in place where you're trying to keep a balance, don't risk throwing the whole thing off kilter.

Adding salt will affect your loach's skin and slime coat - possibly for the benefit of the fish, but be careful. If there is ANY negative effect appearing, immediately begin a series of 25% water changes, to dilute the salt and remove it completely.

I was going to use it in conjunction with maracyn to treat infection. I'll try half dosing it.

If you are already planning to treat with antibiotics, you don't need the salt at all, imo.

Ditto. Let the medicine work and judge the results without salt first.

I used a half dose of aquarium salt with a gradual temp increase to about 85, about a year ago when one of my new clowns had a bad case of ich. For my tank, it worked better than medication. A few days after the white spots disappeared, I did a 25% water change, then continued with my weekly water changes so the tank was gradually salt-free. I had several other clowns, a BN pleco, and lots of cories in the same tank, and they all did fine.

A tip for ich... If you ever notice signs of ich on any fish in the tank (and it will show up first on loaches), do an immediate 50% water change and then treat for the condition. Repeat large water changes throughout the treatment, as you remove up to half the ich cells each time.
Salt may cause a reaction in the slime coat of loaches, and in some cases, it may complement the treatment for ich. But an ich-ridden loach is already under tremendous stress, so I'm still dubious.
I have dealt with ich a few times, and never used salt.

I started using salt in my tank with clown loaches as a treatment for ich along with formalin/malachite green. I started using 1tbsp per 5 gallons now with every water change, and I have not encountered any problems. I have used salt in quarantine tanks with clown loaches and haven't had a problem there either. They claim that the salt is good for osmotic balance, and I use it since I also keep archerfish with my loaches, though they usually prefer a little more brackish condition.

With accurate measurements and careful usage, both new and experienced fish keepers can benefit from this highly effective remedy dinosaur game .