yes, of course the sodium chloride works better and is cheaper and more extensively
used. I wouldnt think of using stuff made for walks in the water my fish are in. The
kind of rock salt used for water softeners is for human consumption, dont get the
stuff sold for walks in that either. There should be sufficient calcium in the water
to act as a buffer, and better to use organic dolomitic limestone to bring calcium up
than calcium chloride. Dolomitic limestone has both calcium and magnesium, provides
a good buffer.
You are right, prophylactic efficacy of low levels of salt is in stimulating the
slime coat. It is much better for the fish to fix high nitrites with water changes!!
I tend to think of my small and overstocked pond as more similar to hauling tanks
than large clay bottom ponds where they are raised. Besides, most of the aquaculture
people like Dr. Ruth Floyd and Jo Ann Burke also recommend the low level salt for
ponds and fish tanks.
I am a microbiologist. If there are salt resistant bugs out there not using salt
isnt going to "force" them to revert to salt sensitive. It is like saying not using
an antibiotic is going to result in bacteria becoming sensitive again. Maybe in a
couple hundred years, but not in our lifetime, nor the lifetime of the fish. My fish
were raised in ponds where salt was used at low levels. My fish "come" with salt
resistant whatever and my not using salt isnt going to change that at all. In the
mean time my fish are healthier and more able to throw off problems because I add a
bit of salt to my otherwise salt free lake water.
wow. that is interesting about the San Diego water supply, but not that surprising.
Actually, with that amount of salt in the water already adding more is not really all
that necessary either. Ingrid

Hal wrote:
I didn't know that, but wouldn't the sodium chloride work as well as the
calcium chloride? I had a bag of calcium chloride once but I spread
it on the walk to melt the ice. It never occurred to me to use it in a
pond.
I don't see a relationship between the oxygen level and salt
concentration. I guessed the increased salt was to stimulate the slime
coat and help prevent swapping of parasites during the trip in such a
confined puddle. Is there another reason?
Yes, I read a couple things about that too and it sounds reasonable to
me. I hope my adding a bit of salt (.1%) every winter doesn't cause
such a condition in my pond, but I'm still learning and if it does I'll
have to deal with it when and if it happens. I believe it was someone
in the San Diego Koi Club that said they have a natural concentration of
about .04% salt in the water.
Hal



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