will garlic get rid of ich?

[xrenx]

About 2 weeks ago I added a lemonpeel angel, and suddenly he appears to have marine ich. There are little white spots on his body and gills. He seems to have given it to my valentini puffer as well. all of the other fish in the tank seem ok so far. i have read that garlic will work against this marine ich, and i really would rather not use copper. my questions are:

1) does garlic really work
2) what are some specific brands/products that i can use to treat my sick little friends.

thanks in advance.

 

[MATTT]

Hello, xrenx.

Sorry to hear about your fish, but you could try the and think it spell kyolic garlic. You can buy it at any health store. Soak your food in it and feed it to the fish. When my fish has ick, I did it and it seems to work. I overdose it a little bit, what I mean is some time I soak fish food in with 10 to 15 drops of kyolic garlic and dump it in the tank. My tank has sps, softy and etc. never did any harm. Do it until the ick is gone. Until after the ick is gone, I continue to feed my fish with garlic for about a month. You can also do a search on garlic. A few people might disagree with me. But I would try anything to save my fish. What you should not do is a fresh water dip, that would not work only stress out your fish. Also, if you have the money. Invested in a UV ster.. I hope that help.

Later,

Mattt.

 

[Anonymous]

By your statement that you would "rather" not use copper I assume that this isn't a reef tank.
This being the case, hyposalinity is the most effective cure. Garlic works sometimes on hardy fish if you catch the infection early. It's results are mixed in my experience, and I wouldn't trust the well being of an angel to it. "Your mileage my vary" is an appropriate statement about garlic. By the time you figure out that it isn't working, it's too late sometimes. It has worked for some, and been completely useless for others.
Jim

 

[Roach]

From what I have heard garic is hit and miss when the fish already has the disease. I believe it is more of a prevenetive supplement then a cure. In other words if you have been feeding the fish garlic soaked food then your chances of them getting ick to start with is less.

 

[Josh's Reef]

ditto to roach, its a preventative.
what happens is the fish digest the garlic soaked food then secrete the garlic through their skin mucus(fish slime). Just like you would smell like garlic after eating it.
ich hates bad breath....hahaha

 

[xrenx]

sounds like you guys are so so on the garlic idea. my tank is a fowlr, so using copper in there would kill everything in the rock right. if i lower the salinity, what level should i lower it too, and how helpful is this. i think what i have read is about 1.016. thanks for the replies.

 

[Terry B]

Listen to Jim he is right on the money. Hyposalinity requires a salinity of 16ppt or less not to be confused with a specific gravity of 1.016. Hypo can't be used with inverts or live rock and the specifc gravity should be about 1.009.
Terry B

 

[davelin315]

Garlic didn't work for me, and I hold it responsible for some problems with some anemones in my tank. However, that being said, when I did the garlic, I added pieces of garlic to the tank as well, as was advocated by someone (don't remember who it was, but it was in one of the posts). However, since listing the problems that arose with the introduction of actual garlic, I have been told that I shouldn't have done that. I am not sure why, or if it is really even the reason I am having problems, but I won't put garlic in my tank again. Also, someone told me that I'm only supposed to soak the food in garlic, and not pour the garlic in. I honestly don't see the difference. After all, garlic extract or garlic juice is no different from actual garlic, except there are the cellulose fibers in actual garlic and just the garlic juice in the extracts.

Since garlic has the affect of stimulating the slime coat, I am going on the assumption that the dangers of using garlic are the same as using one of the "reef safe except for inverts" medications. If it's the stimulation of the slime coat that makes the medications dangerous, then garlic will do the same in my opinion, and IME, has done just that.

 

[MATTT]

Well, beside using just garlic. I also try to feed my fish as much as it can eat so that it has enough strength to fight the illness. Don't forget to leave the lights in the tank on. Probably leave it on until the ick seem to be gone. Let me tell you a story. I think it was about many moons ago, I posted on this site about the same problem. I bought a purple tang and a yellow tang and added to my tank. Guess what, becuase of the stress they start to have icks and spread it to other fish fast. I tried garlic and it doesn't seem to work at first. My purple tang was looking really bad but it still eatings. I remember some one mentioned that to feed the fish as much as possible and leave the lights on. I did that too, and some of my fish started to do better. I over dosed the food with garlic and feed it to the fish, and all my fish improved very quick. Just added more treatment to the tank, went out and bought a uv ster. My tank now are so healthy. All the fish are looking so nice. I am not trying to say I am right or wrong, but just trying to share my experience with a some one else to save there fish also. If anyone else has any better idea, then I would like to hear that too. Next time, I would have a hospital tank also.

Later,

Mattt.

 

[Lefty1]

If one of the points of garlic is to stimulate the slime coat, what about adding stress coat or novaqua? Or is this all old reefers tales?

RR

 

[naesco]

MATT gives good advice.
The garlic treatment worked for me and other members of the board. Do a search here for garlic.
The idea is to get as much into the fish as you can so use dry food like nori which will soak it up. Feed just the garlic soaked food.
In the meantime you may choose to lower the salinity as others have suggested.
Good Luck

 

[Osama]

In my reef tank (180g)I used garlic sooked flake food sucesfully on three separate occasions. I continue feeding with garlic for two or three weeks after the ich disappears from the fish as I was told the ich remains in the tank even after it drops off the fish.

 

[ToddinAtl]

Hi xrenx,

I am currently going through the Ick with Tang thing. I tried the garlic for about 2 weeks...The Ick seemed to go away for a couple of days then come back. I went to my LFS and talked with the fish manager. (thanks to Paul for hooking me up with James at Petland in Duluth GA) He tests all the products he sells on his tanks. He has 1 tank that he can induce ick on all the fish in it by doing a 30% water change with cold water...next morning every fish has ick. He then takes the "magic cure" and tests it. He told me the best ick remedy he has ever tested is a product from Tetra. It's a medicated food. It's in a white pill bottle jar with a red top and red cross on the container. As directed I'm feeding for 10 days. I started Saturday evening 11/3. My tangs are completely ick free already.

However, I will continue the feedings for the full 10 days. I'll post the progress but it's looking favorable for now....I hope this helps and good luck!!

Todd

 

[naesco]

Todd
Has he tested the garlic remedy as he has done for the new product?
What were his results?
Thank you

 

[Mabu]

garlic works

 

[davelin315]

An update on the ill affects of garlic in my tank, my long tentacle anemone whose nematocysts were damaged when I added garlic has now died, and I have lost 3 tridacnid clams that were in perfect health before the addition of garlic. Also, my red sea pom pom xenia melted (remnants are still there budding again). My water parameters are the same as always, and not all of my corals were affected, but the loss of a very healthy anemone and 3 clams really bothers me (the xenia not so much as it will grow back) and has soured me on the garlic idea for good.

 

[SPC]

Dave, I have read countless threads about garlic on all of the various reef boards and will have to say that this is the first time I have read an experience like yours. What do you think is in the garlic that would cause this?
On another note I have not seen anything that says definitively how garlic works to cure ich. My opinion about its effectiveness is based on the idea of adding it to my dogs food to repel fleas. Years ago a Vet told me to try this and it seemed to work to some degree. I have always thought that adding it to fish food is along these same lines.
Steve

 

[MATTT]

Hello, Dave.

Well that is wear, I have two roses in my tank and one blue maxima clam and they still look healthy til today. Maybe depends on what garlic and how you added it to your tank. I would not use fresh chunk garlic and throw it in a tank. I use kyolic garlic instead. The water base kind that you got in a helth store. I soak my frosen food with it and feed it to the fish.

Mattt.

 

[xrenx]

here's a little update to my ick situation. lost the lemonpeel angel yesterday. he had stopped eating the day before. the puffer is not looking so good. he is still eating a little but not much. i bought some kyolic liquid garlic stuff and i have been feeding the fish that for 3 days. i am afraid that the puffer isn't eating enough food to get enough garlic in his system to repel the ick. however, my false perc and orchid dottyback both have had ick appear on them and they are still eating regularly, so they should be a good measure of whether or not garlic really works. i just hope this whole ich outbreak doesn't take down my whole tank.

i guess the dilemna i am facing is i could 1) add copper and see if that really gets rick of the ich (however this will kill everything in my dsb and 50 lbs of good rock, and my sally lighfoot?)
2) keep on with the garlic and hopefully not lose all my fish

replacing the fish would be alot easier/cheaper than replacing my lr/dsb. but i've grown attached to these guys. guess i should invest in a hospital tank next time.