Ornamental fish usually do not need to add salt, because salt does not help the growth of fish, its only role is to change the osmotic pressure, thereby reducing water into the fish body, this advantage is to avoid bacterial damage, but also to reduce the burden of kidney drainage. But if the fish are sick, they usually add salt after each water change to maintain the salinity at about three thousandths.
1. Prevent the invasion of bacteria: The biggest advantage of adding salt to fish is to prevent the invasion of bacteria, because the osmotic pressure of freshwater fish is higher than that of water, so water will continue to penetrate from the body surface, so that bacteria will also invade, after changing the osmotic pressure, less water will enter. It can also prevent the invasion of pathogens.
2. Reduce the burden on the kidneys: Freshwater fish need to continuously discharge water from the body due to the osmotic pressure, which requires the help of the kidneys. After the osmotic pressure is changed, less water enters, so that the fish will discharge less water, thus reducing the burden on the kidneys.
3. Immersion and sterilization: In addition to properly adding salt to the fish tank during the illness period, you can also use salt water with a slightly higher concentration to immerse and sterilize the fish. For example, immerse the fish in 5% salt water for 5 minutes, or immerse the fish in 2% salt water with 3% baking soda. This can treat symptoms such as pine scale disease.
