The Puffer Forum

I recently purchased two south american puffers and have been occassionally putting salt in the tank whenever I do a water change. So far they are acting normal. Does this harm the puffers? Thank you

And its only aquarium salt like the box you buy at walmart BUT thank you all for your answers and from now on I will not add ANY salt. I do have an ich problem at the moment though but I will not be adding anymore salt . Just increased water temp and adding ich medicine to treat them. Im hoping they get better! Thanx again !

that wont' hurt them. check out the thread about SAPs in brackish water.

i would not recomend putting very much in but occasionally is ok.

epsom salt or instant ocean? just due to the fact that they are purely freshwater species and presumably healthy i wouldn't put any salt at all, but no a lil salt won't hurt em

Aquarium salt should only be added when treating ich, adding it when everyone seems healthy will do nothing at all, and can sometimes contribute to the fish getting sick.
I wouldn't add salt anymore except if you get an ich breakout

crazedpuffer wrote:and can sometimes contribute to the fish getting sick.

Lots of South American fishes can't have any salt at all in the water (at least for more than a short time, as medication against ich), like corydoras and suckermouth catfishes. I would guess it's the same for apistogrammas too, but I can't say that for sure. Snails don't like it either, and would probably die pretty quickly. As for SAPs, I would listen to the people in the posts above, as I have no experience with SAPs.
But adding aquarium salt on a regular basis, just as a precaution, is not recommended. And if you want to go brackish with your SAPs, aquarium salt is not the right to use. To make brackish water you need a saltwater mix, like Instant Ocean. Saltwater and brackish water contains more than just salt and water, and you don't get that by adding aquarium salt (you only get salted water). Actually aquarium salt is a waste of money, as the few times you need it, you can use regular salt instead. But most LFSs (around here at least) tells you that you absolutely need it and that you must add it every time you do water changes. They are definitely not right, and earns money on it.

IMO, I'd leave them without any salt at all. It is an old myth that all fish need a little salt for their health: http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/articles/4770.htm