Aquarium salt For Betta fish

Almost never. Bettas are a freshwater fish and are somewhat sensitive to salt.

but what if i want to use it as a preventative for fungal infections like ich, can i not add some salt to the tank at least once a week?

Unless you actually SEE or know for sure they have an ailment, never never never use salt. You will ruin their kidneys.

i agree with John and DK, i cant see any reason to use salt unless you can say for sure your fish have an ailment. i know prevention is better than cure but in this case i think if its not broke dont try to fix it lol

The best thing you can do to prevent fish parasites and diseases is provide them with a healthy environment. Most aquarium fish have robust immune systems, but they can be compromised by poor water quality. Done properly, regular partial water changes will give you a healthy aquarium that seldom if ever requires any medication beyond a good water conditioner.

Oh crud, I guess I need to stop using any more salt, now that all the fungi is gone. Hope I haven't already done the damage.

Before this post i used to put salt in my tanks once a week for six months and bettas never complained but i dont want to take the chance of kidney failure

Thank you. I will stop using it unless I end up with a problem and then I will only use it for ten days.

can i put some cooking salt in my betta tank to get rid of white water mold?

No, Bettas are sensitive to salt and the cooking salt will kill your betta.Bettas are Freshwater fish.

The only way you can use salt is to cure a disease but it depends on what fish you have and what kind of water they prefer.
Don't use cooking salt to cure a disease, use Non-Iodized salt but in this case your betta seems healthy.

Cooking salt is usually iodized, which is harmful to fish. If you can find aquarium salt or plain, non-iodized salt (these are the same thing) it'll do the trick. I'd recommend only exposing your betta to salt if necessary, as they are not built to live in saline water.

I believe Kosher salt and canning salt are pure sodium chloride. Salt can have profound effects on freshwater fish. Never use it casually, and try to understand how salt works on freshwater fish and aquariums. Once you understand what it does, you may decide to never put salt in a freshwater aquarium.

Thanks! I will not use salt in the tank. I wasn't because I a have a snail in with my Betta. But now that read about the kidney failure I will not use salt for sure!

Can you recommend a good water conditioner?

No. Never use cooking or table salt. It is very bad and can kill the fish. Use aquarisol only. Sold at Walmart and Petsmart.

Prime is one of the best all around water conditioners available. It dechlorinates chlorine/chloramine, detoxes ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & heavy metals plus it aids in slime coat. A tiny amount goes a long way when compared to other brands so its economical as well.

thats odd you say that I was told by several betta fish stores that they are tropical... and live in little water in south east asia. doesnt sound fresh water to me.

Hi Bob. OP question is 4 yrs old. Maybe if you have a question or a point, you can make a new post? Anyway water in the rice paddies is fresh water, as opposed to salt water from the sea. That's what that means.

Now how would know that it was old? I answered a post period.
it doesnt matter when you posted it I could still want to know what I asked. never mine i will go to another place where people are pleasant not worried about how old the post is.

You can tell how old it is by the date stamp on the top right

CarLey was not unpleasant, we ask people not to post on old threads as it pushes them up the list, while knocking newer, possibly urgent threads down where they may not be seen.