GARLIC as treatment for ick??????

antkri

Member
Has anyone heard of treating ick with garlic????
It worked..strange but it worked
We were getting a snow storm and my yellow tang and royal gramma came down with ick, could no get to the LFS cause of said snow, LFS guy (dave the great) said to try some garlic oil that it sometimes helps. Chpped up gaarlic and pt it i a container with some fish food stuck it in the fridge for 4 hours and then poured it into the tank. 1 day later all seems well.
FYI
 
There have been many debates on this topic. Try doing a search in the disease and treatment forum. I'll just say it worked for me...
 

sparky0028

Member
SquishyFish
How long do you let the food soak in the garlic, I usually put 3-4 drops in a smal cup with flake and pellets(with water from tank) and let it soak for a minute or two. Is this long enough, and can the garlic extreem be added right to the tank water?
 

sparky0028

Member
SquishyFish
I though a steady diet of frozen foods was not heathy for the fish and the water quality, also do you defrost the frozen food in water from the tank or just let it sit in a cup with the garlic until it gets soft.
Thanks for your paitence-just trying to get it right :confused:
 

fishkiller

Active Member
No... The garlic extract (which is also sold in every fish store) does not boost their immune system. The garlic is an appetite stimulant for the fish. It make them eat more. The more they eat, essentially, the better their immune system will be able to fight off parasites and diseases and such. Regular crushed fresh garlic would work, but the garlic extract at the lfs is MUCH more effective. Smells good too.... We use every time we feed. Soak NON frozen food in it for 30- 60 minutes. Hope this helps.
 
The only difference around here on the garlic that the lfs sell's and what I can get at the grocery store is 12 dollars.14 at the lfs and 2 bucks at the grocery store.
I recently saw what I thought might have been ich on my Tang(that spent 4 weeks in qt,before being introduced to the show tank).So I tried a little garlic and the couple of white spots I saw on him did disappear. From what I have read all of this is pure speculation with no scientific proof if it works or not.Most use it as a preventive measure and not a cure. I have always read that garlic does indeed boost the immune system on fish,but them read my sentence before this.
On another note the garlic caused my skimmer to go nuts,just producingwater in the cup and constantly overflowing,on that note I would not recommend using garlic everytime you feed.I had to add some carbon to take it out.Th best way to fight ich is to use a QT tank,and keep them in there for around 4 weeks,that's what I do anyway.
jmo,
David
 

125intx

Member

Originally posted by fishkiller
No... The garlic extract (which is also sold in every fish store) does not boost their immune system. The garlic is an appetite stimulant for the fish. It make them eat more. The more they eat, essentially, the better their immune system will be able to fight off parasites and diseases and such. Regular crushed fresh garlic would work, but the garlic extract at the lfs is MUCH more effective. Smells good too.... We use every time we feed. Soak NON frozen food in it for 30- 60 minutes. Hope this helps.

I am not an expert, but from what I have read it does boost the immune system in fish. Its like vitiman C in humans. And some people take garlic in a pill for health reasons. But what the heck do I know. I feed mine garlic twice a week.
 

fishkiller

Active Member
Yes, garlic has nutritional benefits as well. But, with research as well as experience, I know that garlic is most effective as an appetite stimulant. Try some reading. It helps.
 
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