Feeding Garlic

[Dave66]

Wrote this up this afternoon after mixing up a batch. I hope its helpful.
———
Most fish, those wild caught especially, come equipped with a full complement of parasitic nematode worms in their intestines. In healthy fish, they don't bother them. In new or wild caught fish that have been starved for some time due to shipping, the worms can kill them. Mysterious deaths of newer fish can often be attributed to these worms.
The solution? Feed Garlic.
Mixing fresh garlic with food is my standard method with new fish. It takes six weeks of daily feeding with garlic-laced foods to eradicate the worms, but as fish like the garlic so much, I feed it to them all the time.
You'll need cloves of garlic from the grocery store, a garlic or lime press from a cooking shop, and a quality pellet. Put the pellets into a bowl. Peel the garlic, and take out the tan kernels. Place two or three kernels in the press, squeeze until the garlic is pureed and in the bowl. Do as many kernels as it takes to have about 30 percent garlic to the pellets. Mix the pellets with the garlic; I use a cocktail spoon. Then feed the fish.
I know some folks who puree the garlic in a blender, but the juices are precipitated out that way, making the garlic less effective.
The worms can't metabolize the garlic-laced food, and slowly starve. It takes six weeks to eradicate them all. If you see your fish expel little white strings, thats dead nematodes.
The garlic also seems to strengthen and enliven the fish. I've never met a fish that wouldn't take garlic-laced foods; one that wouldn't is probably too far gone.

Dave

[NickFish]

Very informative thanks Dave!
One question though, I have some Omega 1 foods that have a little garlic in them, would that have the same affect only slower or would it not do anything to the nematodes?

[Fishalicious]

There goes Dave giving out all the insider info again hehehehehe I also lace my food with garlic with new fish in the quarintine tank for 2 weeks before they move into their 'home'

Garlic is so good for fish in many ways and they love it as Dave says... I notice all round health improvements with feeding garlic now and again and intenser coloring.

I believe the trace amounts of garlic in flake foods are in such small amounts that it may not show the same effects as good old proper kitchen garlic... luckily fish don't burp often so there is minimal smell thumbs2:

[NickFish]

Ok I gotta start feeding my fish garlic more often. I should easily be able to add some garlic to some food.
Thanks for the advice!

[Lady Hobbs]

I've also read of soaking food in garlic juice. Great to have a way to get rid of worms without harmful medications. Garlic works in dogs food to get rid of their worms, as well.

[sailor]

I alternate feeding NLS Thera-A which is garlic enhanced with regular NLS.
You can really smell the garlic in it.

[country_boy454]

I'll have to try this sometime. If anything it will add a little variety to their diet!

[cocoa_pleco]

good post dave! to prevent ick when i first got my yellow tang i fed him minced garlic, worked like a charm. great for treating internal parasites too

[Fishguy2727]

Many doubt that garlic is good at all but it has proven its power over and over. Jack Wattley has recommended it in his article in TFH.

NLS Thera+A has garlic in it (enough to rid my discus of internal parasites when they had it when I first got them) as do many of the other NLS foods. It seems to have enough to achieve the same results as homemade garlic mixes. Many other foods add some, but as was said I would not assume it is enough.

[NickFish]

I'm not sure what you mean by the kernal of the garlic. Is it the part in the middle or the part sort of at the bottom. Can fish eat all parts of the garlic?

[Dave66]

I'm not sure what you mean by the kernal of the garlic. Is it the part in the middle or the part sort of at the bottom. Can fish eat all parts of the garlic?

Nick,
Its these (http://english.foodqs.com/product/productinfo.asp?Pid=103192); the little bean looking things inside the white Garlic cloves. You peel the garlic to get to them. It is very easy.

Dave

[gm72]

For the tanks that prefer flake foods I use NLS freshwater flake. It has garlic in it and smells accordingly tasty.

[NickFish]

Dave can you please put that link up again or see if there is another picture?
That link says cannot display webpage for some reason.
Thanks

[Incredulous_Ed]

I feed mainly There a+ to all my fish. No parasites so far!

[Dave66]

Dave can you please put that link up again or see if there is another picture?
That link says cannot display webpage for some reason.
Thanks

Weird it worked for me. I always check my links before I post stuff. Here's another one. The kernals are those bean looking things to the right of the bulb (http://www.thegarlicstore.com/index.cgi/softneck.html). They are in the cloves of the garlic plants that grows from that bulb.
Edit: Here's the pic I meant (http://english.foodqs.com/product/pic.asp?path=200541584518.jpg) to show you.

Dave

[NickFish]

Oh you just mean the entire clove! I thought it was a small part of the garlic that was used. So when you say bulb you mean that cylindrical thing in the middle and the kernals are the individual cloves that break off right?
So all of this can be used?

[mitcore]

great article dave

i had no idea you could use garlic on fish

i will keep it in mind for if i need to use it

thanks dave

[SkarloeysMom]

I mixed up some food and garlic today. Its pretty sticky because of the garlic juice. Is it going to keep well with all the moisture? I was kind of worried that it might get moldy. What do you keep your garlic-laced food in to keep it fresh?

[Dave66]

I mixed up some food and garlic today. Its pretty sticky because of the garlic juice. Is it going to keep well with all the moisture? I was kind of worried that it might get moldy. What do you keep your garlic-laced food in to keep it fresh?

Mom,
I don't store it. I mix up a batch for a day's feedings, takes me about 20 minutes to make enough for all ten tanks, but I've done it forever, so I'm pretty fast at it. Those hand garlic/lime presses really gives you strong hands lol. Each fish has access to seven or eight different food items during the week (prepared, live, frozen, vegetative, freeze dried), so I spend about 45 minutes planning menus every week based on kind of fish fed. Needless to say I keep a chart on fish diets for each week.
Suppose you could cover and refrigerate the mix, but I haven't.
Its the stickiness of the pureed garlic that makes it able to stick to the pellets so the fish'll eat them.

Dave

[YaYgoldFish]

What live foods do you feed your fish?

[Dave66]

What live foods do you feed your fish?

Dropsilia species fruit flies, Daphnia pulex and D. magna, Mysis shrimp (Mysis relicta), Hawaiian red shrimp [Halocaridina rubra] (last two freshwater, marine and seahorses), Gammarius shrimp, white, Grindal and small red worms, California black worms and gnat larvae I culture in water butts on my deck. I can grow a bunch of Brine Shrimp if I need to, but even though I gut load them before feeding, they don't have near the nutritive value as Mysis. I also culture a LOT of freshwater and marine green water, not only to feed Daphnia and Brine Shrimp, but to feed marine clams, FW egg-laying fish fry, all kinds of things. I also culture algae on rounded river cobbles in kiddy pools on my deck. I've been debating with myself about culturing Tubifex worms for months now.
None of the above is particularly difficult to culture with the right equipment and time. Been culturing since I was a kid.
The fruit flies, algae and the worms are the easiest to culture.

Dave

[YaYgoldFish]

Thanks for the great post! I've been looking for live foods for my polypterus senegalus so he can have a snack at night..I'll probably look for some worms. Do you think normal earthworms would be any good? OR are the california blacks really better? Can't quite get ahold of them since im in Canada.

[Dave66]

Thanks for the great post! I've been looking for live foods for my polypterus senegalus so he can have a snack at night..I'll probably look for some worms. Do you think normal earthworms would be any good? OR are the california blacks really better? Can't quite get ahold of them since im in Canada.

Normal earthworms are fine, just run your fingers along the worm to make it expel the soil. I wrote a post about culturing red worms some time ago, if I could remember when. It's very, very easy to culture your own. I use the worms sold in styrofoam cups at bait shops as my starter cultures.
Can't find my post, but here's a link (http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/See_CulturingRedworms.html) to How To.

Dave

[SkarloeysMom]

Mom,
I don't store it. I mix up a batch for a day's feedings, takes me about 20 minutes to make enough for all ten tanks, but I've done it forever, so I'm pretty fast at it. Those hand garlic/lime presses really gives you strong hands lol. Each fish has access to seven or eight different food items during the week (prepared, live, frozen, vegetative, freeze dried), so I spend about 45 minutes planning menus every week based on kind of fish fed. Needless to say I keep a chart on fish diets for each week.
Suppose you could cover and refrigerate the mix, but I haven't.
Its the stickiness of the pureed garlic that makes it able to stick to the pellets so the fish'll eat them.

Dave

Bummer, I guess I shoulda asked before I mixed up so much. I guess I'll see how it keeps in the frig. Thank goodness I have a huge thing of NLS so no big loss if I have to toss this stuff. I'll just mix up less next time. The fish seem to really love it too. Thanks for the insider tip :ezpi_wink1: !

[doug z]

You'll need cloves of garlic from the grocery store, a garlic or lime press from a cooking shop, and a quality pellet

Like NLS small fish formula?

What about their H20 stable wafers?

Is Seachem's Garlic Guard any good?

[TorqueWorks]

Awesome idea!! I will try that this weekend.

[troy]

Old thread.
edit: Whoops! I didn't know this was a sticky.

[doug z]

Old thread.

And that's.... bad?? :)

Old doesn't necessarily mean out-dated.. LOL

I'd rather see an oldie re-hashed than 5 different posts on the same subject, myself..

[Time-Out]

What about feeding dried garlic to fish? That comes out in flakes, would that work?

[Dave66]

Dried garlic lacks the natural juices of natural garlic cloves, thus it wouldn't have the same benefits. Nothing wrong with feeding your fish the garlic flakes, though, as part of their diet, if they'll eat them. I'd soak the flakes first in something like Kent Zoe for freshwater to add nutrition and make the flakes more palatable to the fishes.

Dave

[taralm13]

What about Seachem Garlic Guard? I was thinking of ordering some today but wasn't sure it would work for me. I feed my guppies some really tiny guppy food from Hikari. It is not in pellet form but tiny crumbs. Would this product work the same?

[Gisela]

That garlic fish food is expensive! I think it is cheaper do buy your own garlic and mix it like Dave says. One question about the worms, it is safe to buy worms what people sell to catch fish in some stores. What worms should I get?

[Dave66]

The red worms are usually sold under the name 'Red Wigglers'. They are perfectly save to use. If you look at my How to Culture Manual stickied in the food forum, you'll see how to home culture the red worms, which is more than easy.

Dave

[Forhad]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the information.
Just wondering if you could correct me for what I'm planning to do. Actually I'm new as fish-keeper.

"I squeezed for about 10-15 minutes 2 garlic cloves with knife handle. While doing it, I boiled some tap water. Later in a small cup, mixed the boiled water and squeezed form of garlic cloves and stored it in refrigerator. After around 1 hour, I put some pallet food into the cup. More after 2 hours around, I have noticed the water color of the cup is changed to dark like(The pallet food was mix of normal pallet and micro pallet and color was pink and black)"

I'm planning to feed the pallet with mix of squeezed garlic water the next day(after more around 6-8 hours)

Thanks in Advance