Salt & plants

[Rigio]

Hello, I'm fairly new to the forum here. I joined because my poor little betta, Shark Bait is sick and I was seeking some assistance. However I do a lot of research on whats best for his aquarium and such and I've recently added a live plant (anubias) to his abode, Much of my research has resulted in mixed opinions. I'm curious to see what opinions I can find on here.

details -
10 g tank
lights
filter
live plants: Anubias
fake plants
large stones and small stones
gravel substrate
temperature: 76 F

Question: Hows does aquarium salt affect live plants, what quantity do you suggest adding? Are there plants that are more resistant to salt or like salt?

please feel free to comment, criticize or add other questions/concerns

[Laki]

What's wrong with him that you need to add aq salt? *first of all*

[Rigio]

My wanting to add aquarium salt is not due to him being sick its more that I've read it's of benefit to him to have trace amounts of salt in the water.



However, here's his sick tread
http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=109935

[Laki]

Hm, I don't think adding salt will help that. It looks like missing scales or his darting could indicate parasites. Betta are freshwater fish and putting salt in his water all the time can lead to more bad than good. Contrary to popular belief, bettas should only get aq salt when afflicted with illness.
That spot, do you notice him rubbing it on a decoration? Or do you have any decorations that he might have gotten stuck in?

[Rigio]

Thanks for the response, I will not add aq salt as part of my routune.

I have not seen him rubbing on plants nor is there anything he could get stuck in.

[Myates]

It's not beneficial to bettas to have any salt in their tank. Period.
AQ salt can be harmful and even deadly when freshwater fish are exposed to it for any extended period of time. Even a little bit of AQ salt will in time harm.
AQ salt is used to treat external problems in fish, and only used in certain measurements and for only a specific length of time.
Exposure to salt on a regular basis will lead to kidney and liver failure. It will also cause the "bad" bacteria to become immune to it, and the fish can become immune to it.. so when you actually do need it to help with a sick fish, it won't be effective.
AQ salt and live plants do not go together and highly recommended not to place AQ salt in with live plants.

Wherever you read that a bit of AQ salt is good for bettas was completely wrong. Some people use it, but those tend not to be people who are as knowledgeable with bettas. It's best to get information from people on here such as Oldfishlady who has been breeding and raising bettas for 40+ years, MrVamp, DQ.. and even me (I only have a little over 18 yrs experience in tropical fish keeping). Unless things have changed in the last couple months since I've been off the forums... AQ salt is still a big NO-NO for healthy bettas.

*edit* was typing when you responded- woops! (at work)

[Laki]

I hope it is just missing scales. Have you heard of indian almond leaves? I swear by them. They can be bought for really cheap on ebay (I got 30 for 5$ from aquaticmagic) and what they do is tan the water and act as a natural protectant and antibacterial aid. It would help your boy heal up, it helps tails grow back normal and it improves their overall health.

[Perseusmom]

From what I have read AQ salt will harm your plants. You could take the plant out and put it in some conditioned water if you ever need to treat your Betta with AQ salt.