Disease treatment
- Thread starter quati
- Start date
b_ball12_99
Member
Welcome to the board. Neve heard of it. But if science is ever right I believe this idea won't always work. Some parasites thrive in warm water while others trive in cold water. Guess it would really depend on what you have. I would recemmend a hospital tank for treatments. The temperature could also stress out the fish even more.
tangs_in_pacifica
Member
Fluctuating temperatures often have the effect of making fish more succeptible to parasites. I've heard that cranking up the temp. might accelerate the life-cycle of some parasites (i.e. ich), but it might also make your fish more vulneable to infection. I know I've posted this response a number of times today, but garlic-soaked food has worked wonders for me.
b_ball12_99
Member
You soak you food in liquid garlic and feed it to your fish. Soak for about 30min. The garlic gets in the fish's slime coat and causes the ick to fall off. After 21-23 with no host the ick dies.
tangs_in_pacifica
Member
Trey,
I'm sure you think me the garlic nut, but it's one of the few things I have enough experience with to give qualified advice on... so, here goes. Downsides # 2, 3, 4 and 5 can probably be attributed to using oil-based vs. water-based extract. Having used both numerous times on my tanks and those of my friends', I've witnessed these symptoms with oil-based extract (i.e. squeezing gel-caps). Whith a nice water-based extract, however, you avoid these problems. I suspect water-based extract does, however, have it's own downside in that the garlic may become dilluted more quickly in seawater. To counter this, I try to use creative means to ensure that the fish gobble up the garlic-infused food quickly (i.e. soaking live brine in garlic extract).
The extra work and the need to continue treatment for a month do, of course, come with the territory. I've tried to alleviate some of the extra work by doing things like thawing Formula 1 for a bit... soaking it in garlic and re-freezing. I've done this for friends as "medication kits" and it's apparently worked. The caveat, again, is that they need to feed it in doses small enough for the fish to eat it ASAP. I suspect oil-based extract is less prone to dillution.
Just my observations???
I'm sure you think me the garlic nut, but it's one of the few things I have enough experience with to give qualified advice on... so, here goes. Downsides # 2, 3, 4 and 5 can probably be attributed to using oil-based vs. water-based extract. Having used both numerous times on my tanks and those of my friends', I've witnessed these symptoms with oil-based extract (i.e. squeezing gel-caps). Whith a nice water-based extract, however, you avoid these problems. I suspect water-based extract does, however, have it's own downside in that the garlic may become dilluted more quickly in seawater. To counter this, I try to use creative means to ensure that the fish gobble up the garlic-infused food quickly (i.e. soaking live brine in garlic extract).
The extra work and the need to continue treatment for a month do, of course, come with the territory. I've tried to alleviate some of the extra work by doing things like thawing Formula 1 for a bit... soaking it in garlic and re-freezing. I've done this for friends as "medication kits" and it's apparently worked. The caveat, again, is that they need to feed it in doses small enough for the fish to eat it ASAP. I suspect oil-based extract is less prone to dillution.
Just my observations???