I cant Stress how much i believe in the garlic juice additive or "dosing", I only say dosing because I myself add drops to the Tank itself and Food. I hear people say all the time i have ick or my tank has cir-cum to ick. I have used Garlic juice for Years and have actually beaten ick with garlic juice,Its a way i swear by and wouldn't go with out.The fish always stay healthy eating like pigs and corals dont seem to mind it at all. Maybe this infatuation with Garlic is because im Sicilian and Garlic is in everything with our food But on a serious note save yourself the headaches and worries and boost your odds by using Garlic Juice!!! I hope to have everyone chime in on this so we can all share our opinions,stories, And knowledge.
Garlic Juice helppsss!!!
- Thread starter reefnhard
- Start date
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
I think its a good practice as a potential preventative but if you took time to analyze the fish that had ich and recovered by feeding garlic my guess would be most of the fish are hardy-somewhat hardy fish. I haven't seen too many stories of people saying garlic cured ich with their Powder Blue Tang or Achilles Tang. Also the health of the system overall plays a role too.
The steps that should be taken when fish break out with ich is a tiered level of actions with the best scenario at the top (remove the fish and treat in a qt asap) to the bottom where I would put last resort actions like feeding garlic and hoping for the best.
Of course, the "tier" of action changes depending on your goals, the types of fish involved and the level of capabilities/resources at hand.
My two cents
The steps that should be taken when fish break out with ich is a tiered level of actions with the best scenario at the top (remove the fish and treat in a qt asap) to the bottom where I would put last resort actions like feeding garlic and hoping for the best.
Of course, the "tier" of action changes depending on your goals, the types of fish involved and the level of capabilities/resources at hand.
My two cents
- Location
- Rockville Centre LI
I dont dose the tank i feel that may just be more organic clogging your carbon and/or skimmer. I figure when i feed mysis and brine i soak in garlic, selcon and zoe. So when i put this in the water some garlic doses into the water so to speak. I had ick in my tank. Every single fish was getting more and more. And i just kept my parameters right, and fed with STARTED feeding garlic,zoe,selcon.... and it all went away. Months later i bought a blue tang and even though no fish showed signs of ich for months the blue tang immediately was covered in it. Again i just made sure the water was good, fed alot! Soak in garlic, zoe, selcon..... and it went away. Havnt seen ick since.
I know some say that ich may be in the gills where you cant see it. But wouldnt i see one on their body? Atleast one? I havnt seen one in over a year. Its not like ich says, hmmmm... lemme chill in the gills so reefer cant see me therefore i wont be killed.
Not saying the garlic did it. Not saying the vitamins did it. All im saying is that ich went away and i keep good params, water changes, skimmer, carbon, and fed well food thats soaked in garlic, zoe, selcon.
All that works for me so ill keep on doing it.
I know some say that ich may be in the gills where you cant see it. But wouldnt i see one on their body? Atleast one? I havnt seen one in over a year. Its not like ich says, hmmmm... lemme chill in the gills so reefer cant see me therefore i wont be killed.
Not saying the garlic did it. Not saying the vitamins did it. All im saying is that ich went away and i keep good params, water changes, skimmer, carbon, and fed well food thats soaked in garlic, zoe, selcon.
All that works for me so ill keep on doing it.
- Location
- Franklin Square, NY
I've been dosing a few drops of garlic extract every week for years...don't really know for sure if it helps or not, but my PBT has had ich only once in the 12-13 years I've had it.
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
Ich in its natural balance will not be seen. Almost everyone has ich in their tank whether they think so or not. Ich in its natural balance lives in the gills. Its only when it starts getting out of control (sick/stressed fish, poor water/environment conditions, etc) cause ich to over take the fish and you start seeing it all over the body and fins.
I believe in a healthy reef/FOWLR system with hardy to semi-hardy healthy fish, ich will not be a lethal problem.
I believe in a healthy reef/FOWLR system with hardy to semi-hardy healthy fish, ich will not be a lethal problem.
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- Location
- Ronkonkoma, NY
+100
- Location
- Franklin Square, NY
+101...lol
I had ich when I added my sailfin tang. Right after that my hippo and all the other fish caught it.
I kept feeding and used garlic when I thawed the food. A week later all traces disappeared.
In my experience I agree that all tanks have ich to some degree and probably worse diseases. The goal is to keep the fish eating and therefore healthy enough so they keep those from consuming them.
I kept feeding and used garlic when I thawed the food. A week later all traces disappeared.
In my experience I agree that all tanks have ich to some degree and probably worse diseases. The goal is to keep the fish eating and therefore healthy enough so they keep those from consuming them.
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- Location
- The Big City
-100
- Location
- The Big City
Does garlic kill ich, or keep the ich from re-infecting the fish? Most likely not. Does it help the fish fight the ich off, probably, but then again keeping a fish eating and active goes a long way in helping a fish fight off ich. You'll also find that most of the food sold nowadays is load with garlic already, so you probably don't need to add any more. Stress and water conditions do play a part in helping the fish fight off ich, but, if you don't have ich in the tank, then it doesn't matter the level of stress or what the water conditions are, the fish isn't going to get ich. You see this all the time, horrible conditions, fish is small tank completely stressed out and no ich.
The tanks that seem to have ich, where the fish are living with it, usually have things that can help keep it in check somewhat. Things like fast water movement, corals and inverts that can trap and eat the spores, and filter socks, helps keep the ich in check.
There are also variations of ich that are pretty deadly and kill very fast, and usually when introduce, by adding another fish, take down the existing fish in the tank, regardless of how healthy the fish is. Plenty of case of wipe out in tanks were the fish are super healthy, great water conditions and eating. While other variations seem to be less fatal, and fish can live with them, even to the point where some become immune to the ich.
The real question is what we're seeing on fish is even ich in the first place. There is a good chance it maybe something else, which just happens to show similar symptoms. Hippo Tangs will always show signs of ich, but no other fish in the tank will get it. So it's possible that it mayn't be ich or could just be a strain that attack just Hippo Tangs.
The tanks that seem to have ich, where the fish are living with it, usually have things that can help keep it in check somewhat. Things like fast water movement, corals and inverts that can trap and eat the spores, and filter socks, helps keep the ich in check.
There are also variations of ich that are pretty deadly and kill very fast, and usually when introduce, by adding another fish, take down the existing fish in the tank, regardless of how healthy the fish is. Plenty of case of wipe out in tanks were the fish are super healthy, great water conditions and eating. While other variations seem to be less fatal, and fish can live with them, even to the point where some become immune to the ich.
The real question is what we're seeing on fish is even ich in the first place. There is a good chance it maybe something else, which just happens to show similar symptoms. Hippo Tangs will always show signs of ich, but no other fish in the tank will get it. So it's possible that it mayn't be ich or could just be a strain that attack just Hippo Tangs.
- Location
- Rockville Centre LI
So if i havnt seen ich for over a year, does it mean its still in the tank and most probably in my fishes gills. If so is the ich hurting my fishes gills?
- Location
- The Big City
Ich doesn't only attack the gills, it attacks the eyes, mouth and the inside of the fish, the organs and such. Ich is a parasite, and like most parasites, it will hurt its host. In some case it will kill it right away and in others over time.
If your tank has ich, and some of your fish do, you should see some sort of signs of it. Though the signs mayn't be like you the ones that you would see in a full blown out case, as when it starts to take over your tank, but you should still see some signs.
If your tank has ich, and some of your fish do, you should see some sort of signs of it. Though the signs mayn't be like you the ones that you would see in a full blown out case, as when it starts to take over your tank, but you should still see some signs.
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- Location
- Montclair, NJ
In normal balance it will not kill your healthy fish. If it did eventually kill all fish Wouldn't every fish be dead in the ocean? :lol2:
Keep your fish well fed and keep up with your water conditions and most hardy healthy fish will be fine.
Keep your fish well fed and keep up with your water conditions and most hardy healthy fish will be fine.
- Location
- The Big City
In our closed system you're not going to have normal balance. You also can't compare a closed system, box, to the ocean. In the ocean ich, and other parasites, fall off or are picked off. So the fish aren't under consistent attack as they are in our closed system. Keeping fish well fed, and good water condition , does help but health fish do die from ich, and other parasites, in our tanks all the time.
- Location
- Ronkonkoma, NY
Sorry , I am no scientist but have seen too many fish get ick that is prevalent in the tank at all times, when their immune systems is taxed from stress or other factors. Why does one tang get ick an the other tangs are fine. It's because one is healthier than the other.I surely don't want to debate this with anyone, because I know what works for me and I have been keeping all types of SW fish for over 35 years. In this case I just happen to agree with Dom
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
I'm sorry Mike but your responses don't make sense. Of course in a closed system there is a balance. There is only so much to support a population of parasites.
Think of it this way, when you set up a new system there is a period where the pods are in the zillions (exaggerated for effect). Eventually they die off to a population the system can support. Same thing happens with ich. If you introduce a new fish or fish become stressed the balance gets disrupted and there is potential for a population explosion of ich. Eventually it will die off to a balance that your particular system can support. As long as there is fish in your system there is some level of support. Now when there is a population explosion of ich it can overwhelm healthy fish and kill them. Same thing happens with reptiles in a closed system when it comes to parasites.
Of course there are exceptions. Some fish can deal with ich better than others. A healthy Damsel is more likely to survive ich than say a healthy Powder Blue Tang.
In response to your comment about ich falling off and being picked off in the wild, well, in the ocean, there is ich at all stages of the life cycle so it is basically always on the fish. I've never seen or heard of any invert or fish that is considered a cleaner in the waters of Long Island. So why are the fish not all dead up here?
Think of it this way, when you set up a new system there is a period where the pods are in the zillions (exaggerated for effect). Eventually they die off to a population the system can support. Same thing happens with ich. If you introduce a new fish or fish become stressed the balance gets disrupted and there is potential for a population explosion of ich. Eventually it will die off to a balance that your particular system can support. As long as there is fish in your system there is some level of support. Now when there is a population explosion of ich it can overwhelm healthy fish and kill them. Same thing happens with reptiles in a closed system when it comes to parasites.
Of course there are exceptions. Some fish can deal with ich better than others. A healthy Damsel is more likely to survive ich than say a healthy Powder Blue Tang.
In response to your comment about ich falling off and being picked off in the wild, well, in the ocean, there is ich at all stages of the life cycle so it is basically always on the fish. I've never seen or heard of any invert or fish that is considered a cleaner in the waters of Long Island. So why are the fish not all dead up here?
- Location
- The Big City
Highly unlike, especially in a close system like ours. A parasite is going to attack whatever fish it can, it's not going to just pass over a fish because it's more healthier than another.
- Location
- Montclair, NJ
He wasn't saying it passes over one fish for another. He is saying the healthier fish is able to keep the ich in check and not become overwhelmed where a stressed or weak fish cannot.
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