Garlic :)

[Reef_kid]

you have to remember that marine biologists are trained in a very different aspect of science. though immunology and microbiology may over lap
dosnt mean that those marine biologists know anything about chemical compounds or the nature of chemicals in a immunological or microbiological view
garlic has many chemical compounds that are used in medicine
and to treat infections. you have to also note that just because a fish is covered in white dots dose not mean it has ick. could be many other microbial organisms. just like when we have a sore throat or cold may be a bacterial infection such as S. pyognes or could be a yeast infestation

garlic has anti microbial agents as well as antioxidants and anti fungals
most of the time these are for protection of the plant itself but serves a purpouse in another aspect of the world just happens that it works in the fish tank on some micoorganisms

so yes garlic does have antimicrobial effects

[Salmon King]

Are tou saying garlic kills ich

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by Salmon King

Are tou saying garlic kills ich

Nobody is saying garlic kills ich Rob. We're saying somehow it removes an ich infestation when fed to afflicted fish. But yes, it certainly does work. I'm not sure why you're so opposed to that being possible.

[michika]

Originally Posted by Reef_kid

you have to remember that marine biologists are trained in a very different aspect of science. though immunology and microbiology may over lap
dosnt mean that those marine biologists know anything about chemical compounds or the nature of chemicals in a immunological or microbiological view
garlic has many chemical compounds that are used in medicine
and to treat infections. you have to also note that just because a fish is covered in white dots dose not mean it has ick. could be many other microbial organisms. just like when we have a sore throat or cold may be a bacterial infection such as S. pyognes or could be a yeast infestation

garlic has anti microbial agents as well as antioxidants and anti fungals
most of the time these are for protection of the plant itself but serves a purpouse in another aspect of the world just happens that it works in the fish tank on some micoorganisms

so yes garlic does have antimicrobial effects

Well put!

[digital-audiophile]

I've never lost a fish to ich and garlic has always been my "snake oil"

[Salmon King]

Hey Reef Kid arnt you a first year student.I wonder why fish stores and fish farms dont use garlic to get rid of there parasites.You know I resd about garlic 10 years ago how it would cure ich in reef tanks.I thought I should market it.I did do reaserch and found it was a wise tale.How come when I have grilled all the pet stores about wether garlic works the all say no. They have delt with more ick then you would see in a lifetime.As I say are you garlic people going to pay for somebody new to this hobby that loses there fish because they used garlic to kill there ick

[findingnemo1]

Isn't this and everything in life what a single person believes works for them? It is a matter of opinion. You will find many people who say it works and just as many who say it doesn't.The first thing we tell everybody new to the hobby is do the research. So really if someone where to say to someone new who has ick to try the garlic than really they should be researching it first anyways and drawing there own conclusions.We have this WWW at our fingertips. Just because someone loses a fish to ick when someone says "oh the garlic works for me" doesn't make that one person responsible for there dead fish. If it works for the person who is suggesting it than i guess it works for them.
I think this hobby can seriously bring out the worst in people. Does any one person have all the answers? Not likely. We all have our idea's and i think that shooting down other peoples thoughts and idea's is wrong.
If someone doesn't like the idea of garlic than wouldn't it be just easier to post on the thread there own thoughts and let the person who asked the question make an informed decision but a decision that they made and will ineveitably learn from either way if it works or not?

Just my 2 cents worth which really may not be much

Lisa

[surgeonfish]

I think a lot of what we do in our everyday lives is based on habit or hearsay. Even in medicine a lot of what we do is still not based on hard science. Sure we know the chemical composition and anatomical structure of the compounds making up garlic, but do we have any "evidence based research" that garlic has a true benefit in preventing or treating disease in fish (or humans)? I think we should be asking for that evidence. Where is the randomized controlled blinded studies? Here is a good project for a zoology summer student or a thesis for a graduate degree. Unfortunately, until someone does these studies, we will never have the true answer and have to rely on rumors and our own biased experiences. However, even without this evidence I use garlic because it is inexpensive and I haven’t seen any obvious deleterious effects. I have had ich outbreaks in my tank during addition of new fish while using garlic, but not since I started to quarantine them for 4-8 weeks. Maybe we should trade in our garlic for quarantine tanks?

If anyone does find any scientific evidence of the benefits of garlic please share it with the rest of us.

Thanks,
Shane BSc, MSc, MD, FRCSC, FACS

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by surgeonfish

Maybe we should trade in our garlic for quarantine tanks?

If anyone does find any scientific evidence of the benefits of garlic please share it with the rest of us.

Shane, are those in the produce section?

I actually did a study in biology re: the effects of garlic on bacterial cultures. I proved it didn't do a darn thing in any of my dishes. Certainly not along th elines of what you suggest needs to be done, but in a simple test it did nothing.

However, when I fed it to my fish during an ich outbreak, the ich went away. Maybe by chance. The next time it did the same thing, "chance" is starting to get discounted as a variable.
It's my treatment of choice now, despite what my own experiments showed.

[michika]

Originally Posted by surgeonfish

If anyone does find any scientific evidence of the benefits of garlic please share it with the rest of us.

There was some research done on Allicine's effectiveness. I'll see if I can't find it again. I can't remember though if it was in relation to ich specifically though.

On another note what does FRCSC, and FACS stand for?