what: (whats this about about garlic)

[Michael]

hi guys, i have been told by a fellow reefer that garlic has been scientifically proved to be harmful to fish, he says he would never allow his fish to have it, i was quite shocked when he told me this, obviously im not sure if hes right and thought what better place on the planet other than RC is there to find out if this is true or if its garbage, any thoughts?

 

[stuccodude]

garlic saved my tank, i have been a advocate for garlic cause of the success ive had ,i think your buddies wrong cause whenever i see a thread about garlic i read it and have argued with people on its ways of ridding a tank of ich and ive never heard of anything about it being harmful to fish, or anything like that for that matter.i feel your buddy got some advice from someone who cannot accept the fact that garlic rids a tank of ich, wait let me correct myself, will not rid your tank of ich it just makes the parasite get off your fish.

 

[Michael]

your buddie

your buddie

thanks for replying i value your opinion, hes actually not my buddie, hes a mod on another site who thinks he knows a lot more than he probably does, before i confront him and start a heated discussion i wanted to make sure of my facts first, here on RC i believe the aquarists are among the best on the planet and depending on the majority of feed back here will help me to decide on my tactics next time i mention garlic to him, i have never heard about garlic being dangerous to fish but need to be sure before all out war (ha ha)

 

[Freed]

Garlic is not harmful to fish from what I have seen on RC, BUT it is not a cure for ich nor has it ever been proven to cure ich. The only known proven and documented cures for ich are copper and hyposalinity.

 

[Michael]

thanks for that freed, i was talking to someone who had feeding difficulties with one of their fish, i recommended feeding food mixed with garlic, this was because once the fish got used to it, it would then feed with other offerings if mixed with garlic, i have seen this mentioned umpteem times on this glorious website, he than stuck athread on after me saying garlic was scientifically harmful to fish and he strongly recommended the person i was talking to didnt take my advice, hence this thread, hopefully either way ill know for sure soon and will know through proffessional advice on RC what is true or not

 

[Freed]

True, garlic has been known to cause feeding frenzies in fish and has helped some to start feeding.

 

[Michael]

garlic?

garlic?

just thought id jump back in at this point, he now says that garlic causes liver problems in fish and suggests its a mistake to ever use it, what do you guys think about that then, is he right, i dont know but id love to know the truth about that point raised

 

[Freed]

Never heard that here on RC but that doesn't mean it's not true though. The only thing I've heard of regarding issues with fish organs and meds is either copper or hypo can impact kidneys. Not sure which one it is but that's the only thing I've heard about. I'm sure someone else can jump in about the kidneys.

 

[Michael]

have found this on the web
http://www.reefs.org/library/article/h_cortes-jorge.html
apparently in small doses (ie for feeding no problems) however in large quantites it can be sort of harmful, have aread and see how you interpert it thanks

 

[vanmo92]

I think very large doses of anything could harm fish.

 

[Michael]

bad in high quantities

bad in high quantities

yeah i think ur right, i mean too much beer would be bad for them as well, seriously i think ur right, it does say extreme amounts, i mean if it was bad could/ infact would nutritional companys supplying fish food supply garlic flavoured food:

 

[stuccodude]

just shows you cant stop learning in this hobby. i understand garlic does not cure ich but i do believe the ich doesnt like hosting a fish with garlic in there system like a mosquito wont host a person with garlic in there system and if the ich has no host then it dies off. when i started this hobby like many others i got ich bad and with garlic it was gone within days, could've been my uv but i doubt it.

 

[Freed]

If you have garlic in your system mosquitos won't bother you? Seriously? I'll have to keep that in mind.

 

[Tang Salad]

I think a lot of people on RC turn cartwheels when they talk about feeding fish garlic, not becasue it necessarily does anything, but becasue they like the idea of garlic being a cure-all for fish. Just my $.02

 

[BLKTANG]

From personal experience I've actually done home research on the effects of garlic in my reef.

I have a huge # of fish in my 75g reef,& have seen the effect of garlic in my fish.My Scopas Tang,& Female GSM will play around with each other from time to time,& somebody will take a fin hit.The times when this happened I started supplementing garlic in all their food.They heal faster,seem more active,& I've never had a sick fish.

 

[tbittner]

I soak food in Garlic, Selcon, and Zoe. Over a year without an Ich or any disease outbreak. My fish have vibrant colors and look very healthy. I'm not changing a thing.

 

[Michael]

thanks for the input guys, i especially like what BLKTANG and tbittner said at the end there, i agree and so with the post i found i think its only harmful in large doses but good to use with food in moderate doses, and we all know its health benifits, thanks reef central

 

[Michael]

ok then i thought id let you guys know the latest, the mod on the other site is now saying he has tested garlic in (his lab) and has proven it can cause liver damage in fish in small amount, i have challenged him and am waiting for his reply, i will let you all know the outcome, i hope fish companies dont see his threads he could end up in court

 

[tbittner]

I've challanged "experts" before on some of their tests. Unless they performed it in a VERY controlled environment with THOUSANDS of fish in each group, with the exact same water, how would you know? It's pure speculation if that isn't the way the test was done.

The fish in his test may have had liver damage from it's collection means, such as the use of cyanide. Who knows....

 

[Michael]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12370908#post12370908 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tbittner
I've challanged "experts" before on some of their tests. Unless they performed it in a VERY controlled environment with THOUSANDS of fish in each group, with the exact same water, how would you know? It's pure speculation if that isn't the way the test was done.

The fish in his test may have had liver damage from it's collection means, such as the use of cyanide. Who knows....

fantastic answer, ive just got back here after a humdinger of a row with him, ive challenged him to state in court garlic is poisonous to fish even in small amounts, im again waiting for his reply