platies
 

do these fish need salt added to the tank. like is it absolutely necessary. i ask because i was hoping to put a couple of them in my 29 gallon tank to add color since the predominant color is black.

nah they only need salt if they get ich but they do better in a little bit of salt but you dont need it at all

cool. thanks for the quick reply. i was thinking of getting some sunburst or red wag platies..... 4 or so since they are a relatively cheap fish.

get a silver balloon molly theyre hilarious they eat and eat and eat until theres no more food its like theyre bottomless pits oh and they look funny to

lol ill see if my local LFS has those.

i always read that mollies and plattys and swordtails prefer there water saltier, i always add 1 teaspoon per 5 us gallons and i even see where they say to put as much as 1 teaspoon per every 2 gallons. i don't add that much because they seem fine i the recommend tropical fish amount. they also like there ph from 7.2 to 7.5 according to the API freshwater master test kit

I haven't used salt with my swords since I found out it was causing the growth problems I was having with my plants. I don't think there is any real reason to use salt unless you have an ich problem. My swords breed just as fast as they ever have and my plants actually grow.

Mollies at least, and quite possibly Platies and Swordtails can use either Sodium (in saltwater) or Calcium (in hard water) or both to regulate their osmotic pressure., so as long as you have enough KH that snails don't grow holes in their shells, you should be fine. Or you could stick some oyster sheels in your filter and not worry about the salt.

Also, and again for certain with mollies and less so with platys or swords, they only need a little salintiy/harness - they're peakl grow is at the lown end of measurable salinity, with another relative maximum at near marine conditions and a trough in between.