salt treatment How to for beginners

[Finny]

Hi I searched for this info but thought I'd start a new thread to talk about specifics.

Personally I'm a bit nervous about doing fast water changes let alone chucking in a pile of salt.

I keep goldfish, is salt appropriate?

This from Pegasus, a moderator on this site:

"Get some "SEa Salt" from the supermarket.. (blue bag).. and treat the fish in a container of around one gallon (4.5ltrs)

Use one heaped tablespoon of salt to start the first treatment.

Leave the fish in the soloution for around ten to twenty minutes.. and watch for signs of undue stress.

The next day increase the salt slightly.. and repeat the above.

Do this each day for around a week and you will hopefully see some improvement.. plus new fin growth.

What the salt does is it strips the old mucus from the fish and promotes new cell growth. "

http://i434.photobucket.com/albums/qq61 ... spital.jpg

I understand that salt increases the fish's slime production which protects it yeah?

[Jaide]

You can buy tonic salt for fish from pet shops - you don't need to use sea salt. Be wary of American forums and what they suggest. If in doubt, have a chat to the fish expert in your LFS.

[Finny]

Right I'm off to Hollywood mt Roskill then

I learned about that on this site, apparently they're the local experts. Or Jansens?? That is where my fish come from after all.

Another of my fish seems to be unwell today and I do want to save them

[ryanjury]

Be careful of fish shop advice its been a while since I was in Auckland and there was only 1 or 2 people who knew much about fish in a few of the shops.. The others will try and sell you melafix or meth blue for anything which wont do anything.

Rock salt is fine to use its what I use and at $1 a bag its cheaper than tonic salt..

[Finny]

Thanks Ryan jury and all,

I've isolated a second fish which looked like it was losing a few scales and sulking and now I'm treating them both with flaked sea salt from the super.

I've started with a very small amount. because their water changes are a bit random right now. I'm just topping up with water that's been out overnight and getting rid of a jug or so at a time.

Too busy to go to hollywood, and probably got a case of fishachondria now too.

I'll let you know how I get on

[lmsmith]

What's making its scales fall off? It could be a fungal/bacterial thing, in which case, that needs to be treated too. In saying that, I think the salt, if anything, is going to help rather than make things worse.

[Finny]

Oh I'm pretty sure it's a result of being chased around the pond during breeding season. One female had a fluffy secondary infection on dorsal fin. Not cotton, but a single cystlike thing which had threads coming out of it briefly.

I've written about this in Coldwater and I'm looking for help with it because I'm quite new.

All are now out of the pond and girly is in a hospital tank. BUT I'm still nervous that it has a type of fungal infection which has infected the whole fish body... Now it looks like the Pearly one has also lost a couple of scales ... I'm just being cautious. So thus the second hospital tank.

or bucket rather. doesn't like it very much.

Any help gratefully recieved