Has anyone here successfully rid their tank of ich by supplementing garlic?

[LosingSleep]

I've read many articles about it and it does sound promising.

It's hard for me to tell if the clown has ich but I'm pretty sure it does. I noticed one white spot on the firefish's tail so I'm pretty certain they have ich. I'm prepared to set up a QT but if I can get away with not having to stress the fish in a QT that would be great.


EDIT: sorry, I wanted to make this a poll but it's too late.

 

[Behrmon]

IMO it helped, I think - maybe coincidence who knows. Some think it's just an old wives tale. I think basically as long as you don't marinate your fish it should not really hurt.

If it does help, it won't "cure" the ich just control it.

 

[RobboT]

I always add a little garlic when I make fish goo or periodically add garlic juice (the stuff you buy at the LFS not homemade) to the tank. Cant prove that it works but it definitely doesnt hurt and if it helps to boost the immune system as people claim then why not.

 

[Fingolfin]

It was vert clever of the person who first introduced garlic into the fish business as some type of anti-parasite medication. I guess people dislike fish parasites as much as vampires.

If you analyze garlic, you shall see the components like allicin, an antibiotic and anti-fungal compound, vitamin B, and other minerals. Overall, I would define it as a vitamin supplement. As for its anti-parasite property, I highly doubt it. After all, to repel parasites, you have to use poison. And garlic is not a poison.

Of course, unless you are a vampire.

 

[smpross]

Has anyone used the Garlic juice that you can by at the grocery store?

Scott

 

[Fitzy]

The garlic is used to boost the immune system of the fish to help fight off ich. Ive used it in the past, and worked wonders... Now i use UV it it helps quite a bit.

 

[Rays]

The garlic is used to boost the immune system of the fish to help fight off ich. Ive used it in the past, and worked wonders...

Likewise, with great success, I used the garlic extract from natural food store, tres expensive, but I've heard of people using the garlic juice from grocery stores.

 

[Fingolfin]

The garlic is used to boost the immune system of the fish to help fight off ich.

Why not multi-vitamins then? There are liquid forms of multi-vitamin everywhere. I believe that it would do a better job than the limited vitamin in garlic.

Maybe garlic is just plain old cheap to get.

To me, omega-3 fatty acid is more important to fish.

 

[KAS]

I had a tang severely infested with ich once. The garlic didn't cure it but the combination of garlic and a couple of cleaner fish did. I really believe the garlic helped.

When we make fish goo, we always through 4-6 fresh cloves of garlic into the food processor.

 

[nickyblase]

I agree with what Karen says. Also - If you combine it with other things before pulling them out, it will help their stress level. I'd do garlic, get a couple cleaner shrimp, and slowly lower salinity. then see what happens.

 

[Jim Tansey]

Under the "test" conditions of our home aquariums it would not be possible for anyone to draw the conclusion that garlic cured ick, but than again when I got sick my mother always gave me chicken soup, and I always got better.

Jim

 

[Behrmon]

Yup, hard to tell if it really contributes. Most people take multiple measures at the same time so unless you are using only garlic and even then who knows.

For me I soaked food w/ garlic, added a cleaner who my YT went RIGHT to for a cleaning. I also reworked some rock work and added caves to try and reduce some stress.

 

[Fingolfin]

10 years ago, vitamin C treatment was the hottest. Albert Thiel swore by it. He even sold his vitamin C in the powder form. I remember that Charles Delbeck was arguing against the idea in the reef newsgroup. His argument was simple: there was no lab data to support it one way or another. Fish could've very likely recovered on its own, with or without vitamin C.

Maybe the question we should ask is, will the garlic supplement be harmful to fish in the long run? And the long run means beyond 3-5 years. Vitamin overdose is not healthy, either. For example, vitamin C overdose can cause diarrhea in human.

 

[The Jester2]

I can't say that it is a cure. But I can say that in the past I have had 2 major outbreaks of ich in my system. I added extra garlic (from LFS) to the food and in a short period of time the ich was gone.
Now I do understand that the ich is always in my system but the healthier the fish the easier it is for them to fight it. I have always added some small amount of garlic to the good I give them during their major feed in the evening. I am 100% convinced that it helps and I will continue to use it.

 

[delta]

To add a poll got to "thread tools" and choose "add poll to this thread" option

 

[joefitz]

Nothing has been scientifically shown to eliminate ich other than copper or hypo-salinity. I think the majority of aquarium keepers opt for the 'containment' approach rather than eradication.

If you want to eradicate ich you'll have to quarantine them and either use copper or follow a hypo-salinity treatment.

Many people believe garlic has helped get their ich issue under control. Fish are naturally resistant to ich. They have a 'slime coat' that, with healthy fish, is usually sufficient to protect it from serious problems from the parasite. Garlic may contribute to the fishes ability to produce that coating. Or it may provide other benefits. Or none. Who knows.

Many of the commonly available commercial remedies involve a pepper component which supposedly improves the fishes ability to produce the coat or otherwise enhances the coat's ability to withstand attack from the parasite.

UV, when used properly, will kill pretty much anything that passes under the bulb...and therefore it may help reduce the overall numbers of the parasite in a tank but it is also not a cure.

What you'll find is that all the evidence supporting any other method of treatment than copper or hypo-salinity is anecdotal, not scientific. You'll find plenty of people that believe in garlic or a commercial product or who knows what else -- as well as plenty of people that say all of these 'solutions' are junk. The truth is nobody knows either way. But lots of people like to feed garlic for one reason or another.

FYI, buy pure garlic extract from a supermarket and save yourself a boatload of money. There is nothing in the stuff marketed in the aquarium industry that makes it special/better.

 

[TomD]

It went well for me with a UV for 3 weeks, 2 Cleaner Shrimp(Need these!), garlic daily, and good waterchanges. Has not come back and all the fish are healthy, fat, and colorful.