Garlic for Ich... Maybe?

[Flatbrook]

Hello everyone,
After losing 2 fish in my 55 gal mixed, I decided to do some research. I happen to come across possible advantages of lacing pellets and other fish foods with crushed garlic. I have read dozens of threads of people swearing by it and others saying its never been proven. I happened to come across an article that I would like to share with anyone that has given thought to it.
Scott.

http://allicincenter.com/pdf/aquacin.pdf



Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[KoleTang]

Garlic just boosts the immune system. It has no direct effect on parasites.

 

[Flatbrook]

I don't disagree. Still found the article interesting.


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[90greefman]

Seachem metronidazole, mix it with your pellet food. Works wonders for me.

 

[Flatbrook]

Seachem metronidazole, mix it with your pellet food. Works wonders for me.

I was actually researching that when you replied...lol


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[skinz78]

I soak all my fish food in garlic guard, I have a Dottyback that I could literally see his insides via a hole in his side that I think was a bacteria. He's on the mend now and I completely wrote him off....

 

[Flatbrook]

I soak all my fish food in garlic guard, I have a Dottyback that I could literally see his insides via a hole in his side that I think was a bacteria. He's on the mend now and I completely wrote him off....

I lost both my dotty backs already,and my bicolor blenny.


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[Flatbrook]

Seachem metronidazole, mix it with your pellet food. Works wonders for me.

How long do you dose the food for?


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[KoleTang]

Seachem metronidazole, mix it with your pellet food. Works wonders for me.

Not sure that is supposed to be used in the DT...

I soak all my fish food in garlic guard, I have a Dottyback that I could literally see his insides via a hole in his side that I think was a bacteria. He's on the mend now and I completely wrote him off....

That's crazy! Any luck with ich?

 

[Flatbrook]

From what I read it is ok. Also found a video confirming. Add to mysis with seachem "focus" as a binder.


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[KoleTang]

From what I read it is ok. Also found a video confirming. Add to mysis with seachem "focus" as a binder.

You probably should double check with seachem. LMK what they say if you do.

 

[mess7777]

Nothing is proven to cure ich except copper, tank transfer, and hyposalinity with a fallow tank for 8 or more weeks.

You will find anecdotal evidence of almost every other imaginable thing working such as garlic, pepper, vitamins, feeding certain foods, etc. In these cases the ich goes into a sort of dormant phase, it is still there but invisible to us. I guess we could say it's in an equilibrium. Stressors can cause outbreaks to recur.

I also believe that a lot of times the spots we call ich may be something else, which is why so many times even the best treatments seem to fail. It is extremely difficult to do a proper treatment of a sick fish, and there is nothing more disheartening than doing an 8 week treatment and then find spots on your fish two days after returning them to the main tank.

Many of us, myself including, have just accepted that fact and have learned to simply manage the disease by being very careful with new additions, keeping the tank as stress free as possible(enough food for everyone).

Good luck.

 

[90greefman]

How long do you dose the food for?


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

7 days

 

[90greefman]

Not sure that is supposed to be used in the DT...



That's crazy! Any luck with ich?

Been doing it for a year now. Basically if the fish eat all the food then you are simply treating the fish and not the water column like with other treatments.

 

[90greefman]

From what I read it is ok. Also found a video confirming. Add to mysis with seachem "focus" as a binder.


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

Also worth pointing out i didnt have much luck mixing it with the focus and mysis. It basically still comes off in the water. The pellets absorb it nicely. I just take a little tank water mix in some metronidazole, stir it up nicely, dump the mix out on a plate or something with a wide surface area that wont let the water spill over, dump a lot of pellets on the plate till it absorbs all the water, let the plate sit out till the pellets dry out and de-clump them if some stick together and then simply put them in my auto feeder.

 

[jedimasterben]

Nothing is proven to cure ich except copper, tank transfer, and hyposalinity with a fallow tank for 8 or more weeks.

You will find anecdotal evidence of almost every other imaginable thing working such as garlic, pepper, vitamins, feeding certain foods, etc. In these cases the ich goes into a sort of dormant phase, it is still there but invisible to us. I guess we could say it's in an equilibrium. Stressors can cause outbreaks to recur.

I also believe that a lot of times the spots we call ich may be something else, which is why so many times even the best treatments seem to fail. It is extremely difficult to do a proper treatment of a sick fish, and there is nothing more disheartening than doing an 8 week treatment and then find spots on your fish two days after returning them to the main tank.

Many of us, myself including, have just accepted that fact and have learned to simply manage the disease by being very careful with new additions, keeping the tank as stress free as possible(enough food for everyone).

Good luck.

All of this.


Also, there is a little fact that most people don't realize - garlic has not been proven to do ANYTHING to a fish other than give food a certain smell that makes the more willing to eat that food. No health benefits, no 'curing' of diseases or parasites, etc.

 

[90greefman]

You probably should double check with seachem. LMK what they say if you do.

All you have to do is read their instructions that are readily available online about the product. Pretty straight forward.

 

[Flatbrook]

Update.....
I have lost nearly every fish in my 55 mixed read after an ich outbreak nearly a week and a half ago. My manderin, goby, 2 dottybacks, 3 out of 4 cardinals, and my yellow tang are all gone. I know the only true way to rid my DT would have been to QT all my fish and treat them alone whiled DT ich dies off, but just wasn't possible with room constraints and $$. It would have taken at least 2 Qt tanks setup, and cycled in a free spot in my home to have saved them. In a last ditch effort I decided to try kordon treatments before myself and my wife headed to Laconia NH for our planned weekend bike week vacation, but came home today to 3 out of 4 of my cardinals no nowhere to be found, and my yellow tang passed. Now there is only 1 cardinal left hanging on. I don't believe he will make it through the night. With all this said, I know I need to change my ways when acclimating new fish to my tank. With the last fish in my DT gone, I believe the ich parasite will die off completley on its own. I don't want to copper treat my tank due to there being corals, snails, crabs, and my shrimp still thriving and doing well.
What should my next step be? First off I am picking up a 20 gal tank to start to cycle this week for my new fish acclimation. Is there anything special I should do to my DT. Thanks everyone,
Scott.


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!

 

[jedimasterben]

Leave it fallow for 72 days and you'll be all set to begin adding fish again. Once your QT tank is ready, you can purchase fish and have them conditioned (and treated if necessary or prophylactically treated) in time to go into your display.

 

[Flatbrook]

Thank you for the input. My wife and I defenatly don't want to go through this ever again!


Reefing is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get!