how many of u guys use salt in your Oscar tank and how often? i know it's not necessary but does it add any comfort to the oscar? will it hurt my pleco?

Quite a contentious issue. No, I have never ever used salt in my tank. However, salt can be used in circumstances when fish suffer physical damage, it can also be used when you have high nitrite. Personally, I would advise bathing the fish in a salt bath solution for a few minutes, rather than actually adding the salt to a main tank. You have got to remember that some fish such as catfish can be sensitive to salt. Some plants can also not tolerate salt as well.

im big on salt i stick two hand fulls of salt in my tank after every water change,salt helps to relax fish and helps with ich and is totally natural,i dont hv any plants so no harm done.

keep in mind scale less fish like clown loaches cant handle fish and will die when u add salt also remember that salt does not eveporate so the only ay to get salt out of yr water is to do a water change u cannot keep adding salt and not add water.

my water tests always show perfect results.

I agree that salt can be useful when treating problems however for most treatments it isnt necessary. When treating for swimbladder problems the treatment says to use salt, but other treatnments i have used havent mentioned it. I dont think using salt all the time is really necessary but if you do use it and things work then ok. An oscar can tolerate low levels of salt.

The only problem with using a salt bath is that you may stress the fish and possibly cause more problems than it helps!

I use a teaspon for every 5-10 gallons every water change and have had no problems with any of my oscars or the pleco. MY LFS recomended it because they use it in their freshwater tanks. I don't know how true it is but they said it will reduce the stress of water changes and when you figure how much 10 gallons of water is one teaspon isn't much. Even though ocar injuries heal extremely quickly I think that the salt helps them heal quicker and reduces the chance of infection. When it comes right down to it it is really all about personal preferance.

i'm a little new ( 14 months ) raising my tiger oscar. but i've learned alot, mostly from this site...my oscar just prior to changing from a 30 gal to a 55 got a mild case of hole in head,i did a 50% water change every other day for a week and it slowed it down, then after the 4th or 5th change i added 'proper ph 7.5 by aquarium pharmaceuticals,inc. i added 3 scoops at night and the next mornig they ( the holes ) were covered over and healing...and my water test all great and my oscar looks great...still has an attitude from moving to his new home...but he's a real good looking fish...the guy that told me about this salt also advised what the guys here are...vacum your gravel well cause it builds up which will not be good...and not to use it alot.i've only put it in my new 55 gal once about a week after the change.i was told once every 2 months or so.

THANKs guys, i will try some salt during my next water change! i don't think it will be a problem for my pleco, he looks tough!