Can You Kill Parasites in Aquarium Fish Using Salt?

Sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt, is a compound that has quite a few uses beyond the kitchen. This compound is added to a few medicines such as intravenous solutions administered to patients in many healthcare facilities. The medicinal properties of salt also extend to the aquarium hobby, and not just to saltwater fish tanks. You can use salt to treat freshwater species for parasitic conditions, but you should learn about the correct kind of salt to use as well as the proper dosage. Here are few recommendations about using salt in an aquarium as a treatment against parasites.

Aquarium-Safe Salts

Table salt is highly treated and fortified sodium chloride that includes various additives conducive to human nutrition and health, but it should never be poured into any tank or pond, and this is probably one of the most important bits of knowledge in the aquarium hobby. The only salts safe to use are aquarium salt and Epsom salt. The latter isn’t even sodium chloride, but it’s worth discussing in relation to treating fish and invertebrates.

Aquarium Salt Isn’t Sea Salt

When you purchase salt from your aquarium supplier, you’ll likely be asked if you keep a freshwater or saltwater habitat. If this is the case, you’ll be getting aquarium salt, which is essentially pure sodium chloride. Sea salt is used to establish saltwater and adjust the pH. It isn’t the same as kosher salt and should never be used to dose a freshwater tank or koi pond.

Using Aquarium Salt to Treat Freshwater Parasites

In essence, aquarium salt raises the salinity of enclosed aquatic ecosystem through the process of molecular osmosis. Sodium chloride suffocates parasitic microorganisms by depriving them of dissolved oxygen, but it should be noted that the osmosis is happening throughout the habitat, which means other species are being affected as well. Many parasites won’t be able to withstand osmosis, but most tropical fish will. Only a few freshwater shrimp will tolerate salinity, and very few plants will, which means you should be careful when dosing. The best way to use aquarium salt is to prepare a container with 75 percent freshly dechlorinated water and 25 percent established aquarium water. You’ll then transfer fish that are showing signs of parasitic disease into this salt-dosed container, where they’ll stay for no more than six minutes before being returned to the tank. The recommended dosage is one tablespoon of aquarium salt per each gallon of quarantine water. It’s better when used in conjunction with a digital salt meter designed for freshwater, not a refractometer for saltwater. A very easy treatment that’s really changed the aquarium and pond industry and takes the guesswork out of dosing to much or too little salt is a product called MinnFinn:

https://www.aquaticwarehouse.com/minnfinn-freshwater-fish-and-koi-treatment-?search=minnfin

Epsom Salt

Magnesium sulfate won’t help with the treatment of aquarium parasites. However, it’s a good remedy for fish that suffer from dropsy or distended bladder disease. The dosage and manner in which Epsom salt should be used is the same as what’s described above for aquarium salt. If for some reason you’re not able to treat a separate container for aquarium or Epsom salt dips, ask your aquarium shop’s personnel for medication that’s safe for dosing the tank.

Whether you need salt for your aquarium or any other supply, from aquarium controllers and monitors to beneficial bacteria and filtration, you can find everything you need at Aquatic Warehouse. Stop by our store in Kearny Mesa, order what you need from our website, or give us a call at 858-467-9297 if you have any questions.