How to use Aquarium Salt with Discus Fish
Aquarium Salt can be used as a symptom reliever for stress when dealing with a sick discus or when acclimating a discus to new home. Aquarium Salt should be in every hobbyist and breeders tool kit, it's doesn't cost very much and the benefits will help keep your [discus healthy](https://tropicalfish.io/article/106/9-signs-to-spo... more than you know.
How Much Aquarium Salt Should I Use?
Generally you are looking at a tablespoon of Aquarium Salt as a treatment. A tablespoon is equal to 3 teaspoons. The ratio should be 1 tablespoon or 3 teaspoons per 5 gallons of water. To be on the safe side, I like to use 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons of water because although discus benefit from the salt, it does introduce minerals, mostly sodium, into your water increasing hardness and discus prefer softer water.
What Can I Treat With Aquarium Salt?
Aquarium salt is a great multi-purpose treatment. If used correctly Aquarium Salt can help you treat your discus for the following symptoms.
Stress:
We all get stressed out, but stress can be very bad for your discus, leading to disease or death. When acclimating or medicating your discus in a quarantine tank, try placing a tablespoon of Aquarium Salt near or around your discus in a little pile. You will find that your discus will hover over this spot and enjoy some soothing benefits from the salt.
Bloat:
Sometimes your discus can eat too much, causing digestive issues and bloated abdomen. If disease or parasites are not suspected, quarantine your discus in a smaller tank and add a tablespoon of aquarium salt to the tank. Aquarium Salt has been used by discus hobbyist as a laxative to help discus pass blockages and return them to their regular tank when ready.
Rapid Breathing:
Anxious discus can demonstrate rapid breathing, but so can discus who are experiencing toxic water the prevents the gills from functioning correctly. Test your water to make sure your ammonia and nitrite reading are in line. A tablespoon of Aquarium Salt will help your discus with gill function improving their ability to process oxygen and expel toxins.
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Is Aquarium Salt Safe for my fish?
In general, yes, Aquarium Salt is very safe for your fish. Like all things, if you over use, meaning you dump the entire contents of your salt container in your tank, it can be dangerous. So don't dump salt, measure out what you need based on your tank size.
Aquarium salt has been around for a long time and can be very helpful to your fish to acclimate to their new home. With a tablespoon of aquarium salt, you can help boost gill function of your fish while soothing them from their stress.
While treating your sick fish in a quarantine tank, aquarium salt is an incredible reliever of stress. Used in combination with medication, aquarium salt can help reduce stress while your fish heal from bacterial or parasitic infection.
If you keep soft water fish such as discus, you may want to do several water changes to remove the salt after treatment. Salt is a mineral and can potentially add to the hardness level of your water. Brackish water fish wont mind much at all, it's the soft water fish that may react to water chemistry changes.
This of course is only if you keep adding salt to your tank and not do water changes. Salt will evaporate from your tank, but not at fast enough levels. So if you do have soft water fish, after treatment, make sure to do water changes.
Any way you look at it, Aquarium Salt should be in your cabinet to help treat your discus. It has been around since the beginning of tropical fish keeping, it's all natural and proven to work. Plus, you can get a large container of Aquarium Salt for very little, that will last you a very long time.
