Treatment procedures involve calculating the volume of water to be treated, calculating salt dosage and choosing the treatment method. In the case of a specific disease, the corresponding rate of salt for applications needs to be calculated. The method of salt application depends on the disease organism, fish species, weight and type of aquaculture unit. Treatment methods include short-term dips, prolonged baths and indefinite treatments. Dip treatments involve exposing the fish to very strong solutions for short periods of time, usually 30 seconds to one minute.
Prolonged baths are useful for treating fish in small tanks that can be flushed quickly.
Strong solutions of salt are added to the water. Fish are held in this salt solution with aeration from 30 to 60 minutes, or until they show signs of stress. Indefinite treatments are used when transporting, handling fish, or when dealing with large volumes of water, such as ponds. Low concentrations of salt can be used indefinitely in ponds. Calculating tank and pond volume is an important step to effective salt application in aquaculture.