Garlic

[tebstan]

I finally got a Bellus Angel! I acclimated carefully, crossed my fingers, and said a little prayer.
The first few days were rough, she was stressed and not eating. I try to feed a lot of variety, but she showed no interest in anything.

I mixed fresh garlic cloves with a little water in a food processor. I slopped a teaspoon of garlic mash into the morning's food and stirred it up... and she ate! She ate like a pig!

I've heard about garlic being an appetite stimulant, but I was surprised how well it worked. The whole tank went nuts! It was a miracle worker.

Has anyone else tried home made garlic additives? I'm wondering if this would be good to add when I make my own frozen mix, of if I should just stick with fresh. I just can't see spending so much on a bottle of extract when fresh is so much cheaper.

Are there any other benefits to continue garlic use long term? Does it *really* help with ich, or is that a side effect of good diet as well? If there's actual benefits I'll keep garlic in the mix.

[StevenSeas]

Just like in humans garlic helps keep the immune system healthy and protecting you from disease. So I would say yes it does help prevent ich due to the bolstered immune system.

[StevenSeas]

I can't copy the link right now as I'm on my phone but if you google garlic and immune system, read the first artical it is a quick and easy 3 paragraph read. Bet that will help you out. Ooo and congrats on the angel I know your really excited bout it.

[Europhyllia]

I don't know if it's the same (do fish have the same kind of blood? can fish become anemic?) but in some animals extensive garlic supplementation has been linked to some kind of bad effect on the blood cells due to a compound in the garlic called N-propyl disulfide/allicin that can cause anemia.
I found that out when I looked into feeding garlic to the horses
http://www.equi-therapy.net/equi-therapy/herbal/garlic-horses.shtml

[alton]

I have been eating garlic sausage for 49 years and it has helped keep me healthy. I had a regal tang once that refused to eat garlic laced food. There are always arguements about garlic, but I think it helps with fish health. But yet like other things, I think we can over do it

[tebstan]

I don't know if it's the same (do fish have the same kind of blood? can fish become anemic?) but in some animals extensive garlic supplementation has been linked to some kind of bad effect on the blood cells due to a compound in the garlic called N-propyl disulfide/allicin that can cause anemia.
I found that out when I looked into feeding garlic to the horses
http://www.equi-therapy.net/equi-therapy/herbal/garlic-horses.shtml

The word anemia wouldn't come to mind when I was typing, but that's exactly what I was thinking of.

Not sure if the myth about garlic for fish is from our tendency as humans to think everything else is just like us. I'm the worst at it, I know, I anthropomorphize everything.

Dogs are given garlic and yeast as a way to treat and prevent flea infestations. Studies have shown this isn't always real effective, it basically just makes their blood taste bad to the pest. To give a dog an amount of garlic to be effective in killing fleas, would also be dangerous to the dog. And, to cats, it can be fatally toxic to feed any garlic or anything in the onion family.

I think its safe to assume garlic isn't toxic to fish... but does it really help prevent parasitic infections? Its suspected to boost immune systems, even I take it when I'm getting sick. But I don't want to sweat garlic smell so I don't take it all the time, lol. So should I feed it all the time, or just when it looks like something is suspicious?

I hear often that the best cure/preventative for ich is good nutrition. So if garlic stimulates the appetite, is it really the garlic that's helping, or the eating that the garlic causes?

[tebstan]

Just like in humans garlic helps keep the immune system healthy and protecting you from disease. So I would say yes it does help prevent ich due to the bolstered immune system.

Thanks! You know how I get when I'm excited about my tank. I was probably unbearable to be around on shipment day. :bigsmile:


I'm more likely to agree with garlic helping general immune system than as a treatment for ich. But, will constant use help more by building the immune system, or become less effective with long term use?
I only take garlic as needed, but I don't think my fish with have social issues if they smell like garlic... so if it doesn't become less effective over time I might as well use it.

Also a little concerned about the freshness issue, though. Fresh is always better, in general. But if I'm making my own frozen mix, will it keep?

She's really hard to get a pic of, but here's the best I could do:
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