Salt now or later

[Airborne 82nd]

I've been stocking up on med supplies and salt is one thing I bought. There seems to be two schools of thought on when to use it. 1 Put it in now to help build slime coat as a prevention or 2. use it only when you have a problem. Would like to hear some of your thoughts on what way to go. Fish are Oscar and Pleco in good health.

Thanks

Airborne

[macdaddy36]

I don’t think there is a good reason to use salt unless you are treating something, especially because treating new fish could stress them out further. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I’ve only used salt to treat illness. 

[MattyM]

If your tank and fish are healthy there's no reason to add salt, the fish will have a good slime coat by just taking good care of everything. I've never heard of using salt all the time just to promote a good slime coat, but then again I don't keep cichlids. 

[lefty o]

ill be the devils advocate here. pretty much every living things needs a small amount of salt in its system to function. now i dont advocate going crazy, but a half to full tablespoon of salt for 20/30 gallons or more is not a bad thing (now to really fire people up, yes thats way more than any water softener will ever induce). a tiny bit is good for things imo, and when dosed in higher quantities, its still a good medication.😈