Salt or no salt?

[Mmathis]

If you look up “salt or no salt,” yes, the articles can contradict each other. But I have found that sometimes is you include the word “veterinary” as one of your search words, you can come up with a different set of answers, maybe not 100%, but hopefully more scientific than a pond or a pond retail supply web site.

I found one article from Texas A&M that dealt with freshwater hobby fish in general, so I guess that means koi and GF, as well. Basically, it acknowledged the “electrolyte” issue, but the focus was on salt as a therapeutic agent: dips and baths.

Found this one (petcha.com):
“Q. An article recently published by a veterinarian stated that adding 2.5 pounds of salt for each 100 gallons of pond water will help reduce parasite problems like ich, anchor worms and fish lice. I have had serious anchor worm problems every summer and I wanted to add salt to my ponds this spring. However, some of the “old hands” in our local goldfish club insist that the salt will have no effect. Who should I believe?

A. Believe the old hands. They are right. The concentration recommended by the veterinarian is roughly a 0.3-percent solution. While a number of hobbyist publications have claimed that this concentration inhibits external parasites, well-controlled studies in laboratories and fish farms show that it has no effect of any kind. Indeed, some freshwater ectoparasites actually thrive in slightly salted water.

It is true that salting the water stimulates the production of fish slime, which has some degree of anti-parasitic effect. But it is not significant. Think about it: If fish slime was so toxic to parasites, there wouldn’t be any fish parasites. A number of ectoparasites actually live off of fish slime, as do a number of pathogenic bacteria.

I am afraid that your source was unduly influenced by the popular literature. Besides, there is no reason to have anchor worms in your pond. Proper quarantine procedures should prevent their introduction. Proper treatment should remove them permanently.”

So, my advice is to do your own scientific research if you can’t decide what school to believe.

 

[Lisak1]

That's a great answer - thanks for sharing that.

Another thought I had the other day - does salt kill bacteria? And how would salt affect all that good bacteria in a pond and filtration system that we all rely upon? I don't know if it applies, but I do know my kids were told to rinse their mouths with salt water after they had their wisdom teeth out to prevent infection. And salt is used to preserve meat and fish, etc by keeping bacteria at bay. It does make me wonder...

 

[Mmathis]

@Lisak1 While I’m not an expert.......I don’t think salt does have antibiotic properties. With mouth and throat gargles, the salt is more to create an isotonic solution that would clean as well as soothe the sore tissues. It might also work to dissolve and flush out excessive mucus from those membranes. I have to use a sinus irrigator and I add salt to the tap water. If I don’t add quite enough salt, it burns like heck. Well, it burns if I add too much, as well, but it seems to be worse if I under-salt the water.

As far as meat preservation......I have no idea. I thought that the salt was for drying purposes, but it could have other properties. Gee, now I need to look that up! The first thing that came to mind was Egyptian mummies, where they use salt to dry and preserve the skin.

 

[Mmathis]

OK, here ya go, per Wikipedia:


“Salting is the preservation of food with dry edible salt.[1] It is related to pickling in general and more specifically to brining (preparing food with brine, that is, salty water) and is one form of curing. It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food,[1] and two historically significant salt-cured foods are salted fish(usually dried and salted cod or salted herring) and salt-cured meat (such as bacon). Vegetables such as runner beans and cabbage are also often preserved in this manner.

Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially pathogenic organisms cannot survive in a highly salty environment, due to the hypertonic nature of salt. Any living cell in such an environment will become dehydrated through osmosis and die or become temporarily inactivated.

It was discovered in the 19th century that salt mixed with nitrates (saltpeter) would color meats red, rather than grey, and consumers at that time then strongly preferred the red-colored meat. The food hence preserved stays healthy and fresh for days avoiding bacterial decay. [1]”

But like the previous article said, that’s a lot of salt, and if you used that much in a pond, nothing would survive — not even the fish (marine or freshwater). So again, you have to look at the science for an explanation as to how and why things work the way they do.

 

[Magzire]

https://pondaquariumproblemsolver.co.uk/product/blagdon/blagdon-pond-guardian-pond-salt/

Here's a well known brand that sell pond salt. Yet people on the Internet say never add salt directly to pond.

 

[Lisak1]

Interesting stuff! And obviously there are bacteria that can survive - or more likely thrive - in the ocean. But a freshwater environment and salt? Just doesn't jibe.

 

[Lisak1]

Yet people on the Internet say never add salt directly to

I think you'd find that lots of people on the internet - and IRL - would tell you to add salt to a pond. There are definitely two schools of thought on this one.

 

[sissy]

And wonder about why most died young back then from disease or was it just really high blood pressure

OK, here ya go, per Wikipedia:


“Salting is the preservation of food with dry edible salt.[1] It is related to pickling in general and more specifically to brining (preparing food with brine, that is, salty water) and is one form of curing. It is one of the oldest methods of preserving food,[1] and two historically significant salt-cured foods are salted fish(usually dried and salted cod or salted herring) and salt-cured meat (such as bacon). Vegetables such as runner beans and cabbage are also often preserved in this manner.

Salting is used because most bacteria, fungi and other potentially pathogenic organisms cannot survive in a highly salty environment, due to the hypertonic nature of salt. Any living cell in such an environment will become dehydrated through osmosis and die or become temporarily inactivated.

It was discovered in the 19th century that salt mixed with nitrates (saltpeter) would color meats red, rather than grey, and consumers at that time then strongly preferred the red-colored meat. The food hence preserved stays healthy and fresh for days avoiding bacterial decay. [1]”

But like the previous article said, that’s a lot of salt, and if you used that much in a pond, nothing would survive — not even the fish (marine or freshwater). So again, you have to look at the science for an explanation as to how and why things work the way they do.