Garlic = Bad for Fish Liver/Heart?

[smitty_1280]

I see there is a lot of debate over "Garlic". All I want to know is if you use Garlic, how do you use it? Also, has anybody actually had a bad experience with it?

[Euphyllia]

It entices fish to eat and can help strengthen the immune system. You should soak the fish's food in the garlic directly, because just adding it to the water won't help at all.

 

I remember reading that calcium can build up in fish's livers, but I've heard nothing about garlic doing so. In all of my research, I've never read anything bad about it other than the claim that it is "pointless and does nothing."

[smitty_1280]

It entices fish to eat and can help strengthen the immune system. You should soak the fish's food in the garlic directly, because just adding it to the water won't help at all.

 

I remember reading that calcium can build up in fish's livers, but I've heard nothing about garlic doing so. In all of my research, I've never read anything bad about it other than the claim that it is "pointless and does nothing."

 

That is exactly what I was planning on doing. Do you recommend a specific brand of garlic over another?

[Gerk]

I put a couple drops on the shrimp i feed to the tank. Using Kents Garlic Extreme.

[floppybass]

That's bout what I've read also, from what I've read its really not understood what the negative or positive aspects of garlic. I have soaked food with Seachem Garlic Gaurd for finicky eating fish, worked for me.

[smitty_1280]

It seems the more I read about this, the more of a divide there is against people doing research and hobbyist actually adding garlic to their food. I have yet to read where anybody posted "Garlic killed my fish" lol. It seems like people have really good results with Garlic. I haven't read anything yet that says either way if garlic is beneficial or not. Still looking though lol.

 

I did find this:

 

"Treatment Option 13: Garlic

 

Garlic is another of the alternative treatments for Cryptocaryon to be touted lately. I have read of many people reporting using it "successfully" as a preventative. The difficult part in assessing these reports is whether the fish would have developed Cryptocaryon in the first place. And, when someone claims it to be a "cure," how can they definitively rule out natural, acquired immunity or even confusion over Cryptocaryon's life cycle.

 

At the very least, garlic does have some proven anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and antiviral properties (Bartelme, 2003 and and Cortes-Jorge, 2001). I included it here because this treatment has shown enough promise to warrant further scientific evaluation. Unfortunately for us, all the real money in this industry is directed to commercial food fish, not our ornamentals. With other effective and inexpensive treatments available, I don't know if grant money will ever be directed into finding out if this alternative treatment conclusively works. Perhaps we could convince the fine marketing people at Mrs. Gordon's that they should try a pre-flavored version of their famous fish sticks by feeding the fish garlic. I can just hear the ad now, "A hint of garlic in every bite."

 

My biggest problem with the use of garlic is the mythology that has developed regarding it. This all began quite simply and innocently. Kelly Jedlicki was studying the use of garlic as an intestinal dewormer. For those who don't know who Kelly is, she is affectionately referred to as the "Puffer Queen" as they are her favorite fishes and oftentimes are brought into the trade polluted with various worms. As I said, she was examining the effectiveness of garlic against nematodes and cestodes on impacted puffers when she noticed a general decrease in Cryptocaryon irritans incidence. Later on, she proposed feeding garlic to fish as a preventative for Cryptocaryon irritans. From there the legend of garlic has spread. Feeding garlic to fish is now an accepted cure for Marine Ich by some individuals. Furthermore, I have read of people merely hanging cloves of garlic in their tank in an effort to ward off the parasites, like some sort of bad vampire movie. And lastly, I have recently heard of a surprising number of hobbyists who soak their corals' food in garlic in an effort to combat possible pathogens when target feeding them. It goes to show that garlic has become an all-purpose wonder drug in some peoples' eyes based on little more than anecdotal observations."

 

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

[thehobdenmarina]

lol this is the second forum I've seen this on tonight! no its great for your fish's immune system!

[smitty_1280]

lol this is the second forum I've seen this on tonight! no its great for your fish's immune system!

 

Lol, I could probably guess the other forum.

[thehobdenmarina]

take a guess! I bet you'll be right

[Euphyllia]

That is exactly what I was planning on doing. Do you recommend a specific brand of garlic over another?

 

I use Kent Garlic Xtreme... It's all the same really. Go with whatever is cheapest, as long as it has the same concentration.

[smitty_1280]

I use Kent Garlic Xtreme... It's all the same really. Go with whatever is cheapest, as long as it has the same concentration.

 

That sounds good. I will have to remember to check out the concentration when shopping around. Thank you

[Euphyllia]

That sounds good. I will have to remember to check out the concentration when shopping around. Thank you

 

Just so you can compare, Garlic Xtreme calls for two drops of garlic to soak the food in because it is so concentrated. It says it is 99% Allium Sativum (garlic oil) extract.

 

Now that I think about it, I remember reading that you can't give chopped garlic directly to the fish because it can kill that. That may be what you're reading about it building up in their liver/heart. However, liquid garlic extract is perfectly fine.

[smitty_1280]

Just so you can compare, Garlic Xtreme calls for two drops of garlic to soak the food in because it is so concentrated. It says it is 99% Allium Sativum (garlic oil) extract.

 

Now that I think about it, I remember reading that you can't give chopped garlic directly to the fish because it can kill that. That may be what you're reading about it building up in their liver/heart. However, liquid garlic extract is perfectly fine.

 

In reading about this, I have read that garlic alone is toxic to dogs and cats. I am thinking that people are just carrying that over to fish as well.

[Euphyllia]

In reading about this, I have read that garlic alone is toxic to dogs and cats. I am thinking that people are just carrying that over to fish as well.

 

I would say there is some science behind it. At some point, somebody has had to try mixing in garlic with fish's food, which ended up killing the fish. That's where they got the idea.

 

If you have a fish you don't like, you could conduct a little experiment.

[ColaAddict]

I've thrown in minced garlic in my tank a few times and nothing bad has ever happened to my fishes. I did that to experiment on ich treatment when I was first intruducing tangs because they would almost always get ich when I put new ones in my tank. They all recovered from ich without drugs/chemicals. Just garlic (minced/and drops).

[smitty_1280]

I would say there is some science behind it. At some point, somebody has had to try mixing in garlic with fish's food, which ended up killing the fish. That's where they got the idea.

 

If you have a fish you don't like, you could conduct a little experiment.

 

Lol, I don't think that I could bring myself to do that though.

 

I've thrown in minced garlic in my tank a few times and nothing bad has ever happened to my fishes. I did that to experiment on ich treatment when I was first intruducing tangs because they would almost always get ich when I put new ones in my tank. They all recovered from ich without drugs/chemicals. Just garlic (minced/and drops).

 

Did you add the drops to the food prior to feeding or just put drops in your water?

[Euphyllia]

Did you add the drops to the food prior to feeding or just put drops in your water?

 

You can go either way, but think of it like this...

 

There are millions of drops of water in your tank. Adding two drops of garlic will do absolutely NOTHING to help the fish. However, if you soak the food in garlic, the food goes straight into the body of the fish you are feeding it to. The concentration is MUCH, MUCH higher than it would be just in the water column.

 

Soaking the food is the best method. I have added up to 6 drops of Garlic Xtreme with no ill effects on the fish. That's three times as much as the strongly suggested maximum dosage.

 

[HecticDialectics]

Garlic supplementation is pointless unless your fish just won't eat.

 

 

Feed high quality food and there's no reason to use any of that stuff. PE Mysis, Cyclopeeze, high quality pellets, etc.

[Euphyllia]

Garlic supplementation is pointless unless your fish just won't eat.

 

 

Feed high quality food and there's no reason to use any of that stuff. PE Mysis, Cyclopeeze, high quality pellets, etc.

 

Garlic is actually proven to boost the immune system. If you dose it in high enough amounts and it is ingested directly into the fish through the food, it will actually help.

[HecticDialectics]

Garlic is actually proven to boost the immune system. If you dose it in high enough amounts and it is ingested directly into the fish through the food, it will actually help.

 

:sigh:

 

No, it hasn't been proven to boost the immune system. And no, it has never been proven to help against marine ich or any other disease dosed high, whether in fish food or directly in the water.

[Milad LEDGroupBuy.com]

garlic killed one of my fish, im not sure why. He was one of these:

 

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/predatory/payara.php

Edited November 30, 2011 by Milad LEDGroupBuy.com

[petkingdom619]

I used garlic with mysis for my kole tang and it seems to get rid of ich. either that or it went away by itself?

[HecticDialectics]

it went away by itself?

 

This.

[scoobahSAM]

It seems the more I read about this, the more of a divide there is against people doing research and hobbyist actually adding garlic to their food. I have yet to read where anybody posted "Garlic killed my fish" lol. It seems like people have really good results with Garlic. I haven't read anything yet that says either way if garlic is beneficial or not. Still looking though lol.

 

I did find this:

 

"Treatment Option 13: Garlic

 

Garlic is another of the alternative treatments for Cryptocaryon to be touted lately. I have read of many people reporting using it "successfully" as a preventative. The difficult part in assessing these reports is whether the fish would have developed Cryptocaryon in the first place. And, when someone claims it to be a "cure," how can they definitively rule out natural, acquired immunity or even confusion over Cryptocaryon's life cycle.

 

At the very least, garlic does have some proven anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and antiviral properties (Bartelme, 2003 and and Cortes-Jorge, 2001). I included it here because this treatment has shown enough promise to warrant further scientific evaluation. Unfortunately for us, all the real money in this industry is directed to commercial food fish, not our ornamentals. With other effective and inexpensive treatments available, I don't know if grant money will ever be directed into finding out if this alternative treatment conclusively works. Perhaps we could convince the fine marketing people at Mrs. Gordon's that they should try a pre-flavored version of their famous fish sticks by feeding the fish garlic. I can just hear the ad now, "A hint of garlic in every bite."

 

My biggest problem with the use of garlic is the mythology that has developed regarding it. This all began quite simply and innocently. Kelly Jedlicki was studying the use of garlic as an intestinal dewormer. For those who don't know who Kelly is, she is affectionately referred to as the "Puffer Queen" as they are her favorite fishes and oftentimes are brought into the trade polluted with various worms. As I said, she was examining the effectiveness of garlic against nematodes and cestodes on impacted puffers when she noticed a general decrease in Cryptocaryon irritans incidence. Later on, she proposed feeding garlic to fish as a preventative for Cryptocaryon irritans. From there the legend of garlic has spread. Feeding garlic to fish is now an accepted cure for Marine Ich by some individuals. Furthermore, I have read of people merely hanging cloves of garlic in their tank in an effort to ward off the parasites, like some sort of bad vampire movie. And lastly, I have recently heard of a surprising number of hobbyists who soak their corals' food in garlic in an effort to combat possible pathogens when target feeding them. It goes to show that garlic has become an all-purpose wonder drug in some peoples' eyes based on little more than anecdotal observations."

 

Marine Ich/Cryptocaryon irritans - A Discussion of this Parasite and the Treatment Options Available, Part II by Steven Pro - Reefkeeping.com

I saw that same thread on 3reef.. those exact words, actually. I'm not sure what garlic does effectively but I do know that my lfs puts garlic into their mixed frozen batch and they feed all their fish this.. not sure if they scatter the same food in their frag tanks but its obviously a concentrated dose and they've been doing it for years. All the fish seem to love it, they use Brightwell Aquatics Garlic Powder and Ocean Nutrition Marine Algae W/ Garlic.. I feed this to my ywg and b&w every other day and I haven't had any problems except very happy and food accepting fish..

 

I've only been feeding them this for the 1 1/2 months ive had them and am starting to wonder if I should start switching up their diet a bit more.. Although the mix I give them has pretty much everything, anyone has ever said to use, in it. i.e. cyclopleeze, hikari bloodworms, mysis etc.

[petkingdom619]

so it went away by itself all of a sudden? when it only had been getting worse until I added garlic... Thats strange