# tonic salt...why?



## mickey22 (Feb 16, 2009)

i have been keeping tropical fish for about 4-5 years now but still manage to find things that confuse me.

when i bought some platy in the week i noticed a sign saying 'we recommend using tonic salt with all livebearing species' which i was also told by the assistant. ive kept live bearers in the past and have neva used any salt what so ever. 

if im wrong please feel free to correct me: i thought that salt was only really used with livebearers to aid in reproduction as brackish water encourages breeding

what would the tonic salt be used for?
is it harmful to other fresh water species?
is it beneficial to the chemistry of the water?


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## AnythingWithAShell (Apr 14, 2009)

Tonic salt can also be used to keep background levels of bacteria/fungi at a lower level, as well as actually treating some fungi and diseases. It's also used to reactivate zeolite or sterilise equipment.

Not sure if it's truly safe long term for a freshwater species. I have used it for a turtle with a healing wound, but that's it 

I don't think it's harmful, but I'd imagine you'd have to be careful with the dilution you use. My turtle is a freshwater turtle, but tonic salts are often recommended to aid healing wounds, and many people use them all the time, to create slightly brackish water, as it helps prevent bacteria/fungi related problems.


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## DaveM (Oct 18, 2006)

If I remember correctly, it used to be used as a preventative measure against disease, to be used "just in case" but it isn't really neaccasary at all, and can cause harm to freshwater fish that are saline sensitive, if used incorrectly


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## dragonsnake (Jan 17, 2010)

As above ^^^ i use some about every 3 months as a precaution bit of a old wives tale i suppose but salt is good for infection etc i keep large cats/ oscars (who do fight and damage each other at times especially breeding) and assorted other large fish so i hope it makes them heal cleaner and better :whistling2:


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## mickey22 (Feb 16, 2009)

i was in Just For Pets today formally known as wilsons pets and saw somethin labelled aqualibrium, upon reading the label it sed it can be used as a buffer for ph, disease preventive or to create brackish water but not sure if it was what is known as tonic salt but not sure if it wat is also known as tonic salt.

i posted the exact same thread on another forum and found out that tonic salt is used for fungus and diseases and not a necesity for livebearers as i dont really know what it is myself i intend on not using it as ive kept livebearers before without any use of tonic salts


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## Bearnandos (Nov 24, 2009)

If you have had a healthy tank all these years why change anything - seems that you are doing pretty well already! 
I do use salt - not tonic salt.....but marine salt in very small amounts for my turtles and have used it in the past in quarantine tanks for whitespot as so on.
But there are a few fish which cannot tolerate any salt like certain species of corys.


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## Richcymru (Nov 21, 2008)

It helps to reduce osmotic stress in sick fish, amongst the other things described above. It can also help to alleviate nitrite poisoning


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## mickey22 (Feb 16, 2009)

i have neva had a problem with nitrite thats always been 0 however my nitrate does fluctuate a bit from time to time but its easy to control with more frequent water changes. 

as bearnandos sed if my tank is healthy why change it. 
if it aint broke dont fix it :lol2:


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

Hi,

I think i am right i saying that most of the livebearing species live in slightly saline water therefore the addition of a small amount of salt actually benefits their health. the problem is that within a community tank you may have species that are not tolerant of certain levels of salinity.

But as above, if you have kept your livebearers in fresh water up to now why change.

I know my Mollies develop a shimmer if they are not in a low saline tank and my Guppies and Platys all thrive in the same water.

P


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## Sutters (Oct 31, 2009)

One of my goldfish kept swimming upside down and on its side..I totally thought it was on its way out.....I contacted my petstore as the mother inlaw stated it was terminally ill ....This turned out to be a load of rubbish and the petstore advised me to get tonic salt.....I placed said fish in a tank on its own and added the required ammount of tonic salt everyday....The fish is now perfect and i haven't witnessed it swimming upside since.....


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