Adding aquarium salt to Tanganyika cichlid tank

[Cookie_apisto]

Can I add a little bit of the aquarium salt to my Tanganyika cichlid tank? I have Julidochromis Transcriptus and Neolamprologus Caudopunctatus.

 

[Mike Wise]

Aquarium salt (NaCl) doesn't harden water, but might help with osmotic regulation. A better option is to use a Rift Lake salt designed for Rift Lake cichlid tanks.

 

[Mike Wise]

Aquarium salt (NaCl) doesn't harden water, but might help with osmotic regulation. A better option is to use a Rift Lake salt designed for Rift Lake cichlid tanks.

 

[ButtNekkid]

Hi,

How does it help with osmotic regulation?

 

[Mike Wise]

Each fish has a different ability to regulate its body fluids, depending on the natural habitat where it evolved. Rift Lake cichlids have evolved in water with a high salinity more close to that of their body fluids. In their natural habitat osmotic absorption of water is low and their bodies have less efficient ways of removing excess fluids than, say, apistos from soft water where osmotic pressure is greater.