Beneficial bacteria live in different places in a mature tank. You can find them in the filtration system, substrate, glass walls, and decorations. They play a crucial role in balancing the delicate nitrogen cycle and maintaining the quality of water. Unfortunately, these organisms are vulnerable to certain chemicals and medications. So, you should be very careful about what you put in your aquarium. Since many fish hobbyists use aquarium salt to treat various fish illnesses, you may wonder if it will affect the beneficial bacteria in your tank. So, does aquarium salt kill beneficial bacteria?
Beneficial bacteria can withstand moderate levels of salinity. Hence, you will not harm them by dosing the tank water with low concentrations of aquarium salt. However, higher concentrations of aquarium salt can affect the beneficial bacteria and disrupt the natural filtering mechanism of the tank.
Let’s talk more about the beneficial bacteria and aquarium salt.
How Do Beneficial Bacteria Help In An Aquarium?
Many bacteria cause illnesses in fish. However, there are a few bacteria that are very useful in aquarium systems.
Such bacteria play a big role in maintaining the balance of the aquatic eco-system in mature fish tanks.
To introduce beneficial bacteria into new aquariums, fish tank owners often add a cup of gravel or substrate from an established tank.
Another common method that is used is to rinse a filter pad in the water of a mature tank and add it to a new filter box.
Once bacteria enter a tank, the colony grows and becomes an integral part of the aquatic environment.
Beneficial bacteria make aquarium maintenance easy.
They convert harmful toxins in the water into less harmful components through their metabolic activities.
Beneficial bacteria serve the following purposes in a fish tank:
1. Clean the aquarium.
Uneaten food, fish waste, and dead and decaying plant matter dirty the aquarium water.
Cycling the water eliminates these organic substances. However, water cycling cannot be performed every day.
Beneficial bacteria help to clean this waste between cycles.
They feed on the organic waste and clean the tank of harmful toxins to a considerable extent.
2. Balance the nitrogen cycle.
All animals like fish, shrimp, and snails in an aquarium release waste in the form of ammonia into the water.
Over time, the ammonia level spikes and makes the water unhealthy.
Purifying bacteria balance ammonia spikes by oxidizing ammonia into harmless nitrates.
Through a two-step process, they first convert the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates.
The entire process is called nitrogen cycling.
A mature and established tank will have enough beneficial bacteria to keep the aquarium nitrogen cycle going.
By maintaining low ammonia levels in the tank, they make it a safer place for the inhabitants.
Recommended Further Reading:
- Should Aquarium Water Be Hard Or Soft? (Alter Water Hardness)
- Is Aquarium Salt Safe For Plants? (Which Plants Can Tolerate Salt?)
- Will Aquarium Salt Raise pH? (Why Not And How To Adjust pH?)
Why Is Aquarium Salt Needed For Aquariums?
Aquarium salt is a special type of salt used in fish tanks. It is different from regular table salt or iodized salt.
Aquarium salt helps to prevent or treat various fish illnesses.
When used sparingly, it protects the fish from harmful pathogens.
Aquarium salt is used to treat certain illnesses caused by external parasites.
Many common fish illnesses are caused by external parasites that attack the skin and external organs like fins and eyes.
These microorganisms attach to the body surface and cause conditions like fin rot.
Although these creatures are small, they cause significant damage.
Fortunately, aquarium salt can help to eliminate these organisms and give the fish a better chance of recovery.
To treat such infections, fish owners use aquarium salt.
When the salinity of the surrounding environment increases, the fluid inside the cells of pathogens is sucked out of their cell membranes.
As a result, the microorganisms become dehydrated and die.
Since the fish are much bigger, they are not affected by the slight increase in salinity of the surrounding water.
And once the parasites are eliminated, they have a better chance of recovery.
However, you should closely monitor the process when dosing an aquarium with salt.
An accidental overdose can harm the fish and disrupt the delicate ecological balance by wiping out the beneficial bacteria in the tank.
Aquarium salt does not break down over time. It will remain in the water. Hence, it is easy to overdose.
To avoid this from occurring, remove the salt by performing a partial water change at regular intervals.
Advised Dosage For Aquarium Salt In Fish Tanks
For mild bacterial and fungal conditions, the recommended dosage of aquarium salt is 1 tablespoon per 3 to 5 gallons of water.
If the symptoms do not improve, you can increase the dosage to 1 tablespoon salt for 2 gallons of water.
If you must increase the concentration even further or treat the affected fish to a salt dip, it is best to use a separate tank or bucket for the ailing fish.
By quarantining the sick fish, you can administer the salt treatment without affecting other tank inmates.
Related Further Reading:
- Is Aquarium Salt Safe For Shrimp? [Ghost, Amano, Cherry, Etc.]
- Is Aquarium Salt Safe For Bettas? [How Can It Help Bettas?]
- Can Fish Eat Chocolate? (No, Here’s Why…)
- Can Aquarium Salt Kill Snails? (How Salt Can Harm Snails)
How Does Aquarium Salt Affect Beneficial Bacteria?
Aquarium bacteria are vulnerable to chemicals like chlorine in tap water. They are also affected by certain medications.
Even cleaning liquids like bleach or hot water can kill beneficial bacteria.
So, be very careful when introducing any new ingredient into an aquarium.
The good bacteria in a fish tank can tolerate a small increase in the salinity of the water.
When you use aquarium salt at treatment levels, it will not hurt the bacteria.
However, at elevated levels, aquarium salt can become problematic for beneficial bacteria.
If it kills the filtering bacteria, the bio-filter will be incapacitated.
It is not easy to re-establish a colony of bacteria once it has been eliminated.
When there are no beneficial bacteria, your tank will start experiencing ammonia spikes.
It can disrupt the water chemistry and result in an unhealthy environment for the fish and other inhabitants of the tank.
Interesting Further Reading:
- Do Aquarium Snails Eat Algae? (How Snails Control Algae Growth?)
- Can Aquarium Snails Drown? (Nerite, Mystery, Etc.)
- What Is Aquarium Salt? (Why And When To Use It)
- Can Aquarium Salt Go Bad Or Expire? (How To Make It Last Long?)
How To Prevent Aquarium Salt From Affecting The Beneficial Bacteria In The Tank?
Most aquarium salt manufacturers specify the recommended dosage of aquarium salt. It is advisable to stick to this amount.
The required concentration of salt will vary according to the purpose for which it is being used.
Smaller concentrations are enough as preventive medication. However, to treat illnesses, you will need higher doses.
High concentrations of aquarium salt will affect aquatic plants, delicate fish, and filtering microorganisms in the tank.
Some plants like Elodea are killed by high doses of aquarium salt.
Similarly, scale-less fish like Corydoras catfish and cichlids are sensitive to increased salinity levels.
Smaller microorganisms like nitrifying bacteria are also susceptible to high salt concentrations.
To avoid adverse reactions, never dump aquarium salt into the water.
You can slowly build it up to the desired concentration by adding small doses of salt over several days.
When an infection has affected a fish to a greater extent, a concentrated salt dip may solve the problem.
Here, the fish must be left in highly concentrated salt water for several minutes.
Exposure to concentrated salt will kill the parasites.
However, continued exposure to the solution for too long can adversely affect the fish also.
To create a saltwater dip, you can use a separate enclosure or bucket.
After dipping the fish in the salt solution, move it to a separate tank with clear water.
You can repeat the same process every day till the fish starts showing signs of recovery.
