Grocery store foods?

[banditpowdercoat]

OK, I have never used Garlic extract before. I have some coming from OA here soon. But, I was wondering is there a grocery store substitute that one can use? Like the Nori sheets that we get from Save-On?

Would acctually be neat if there was a list of grocery store foods/suppliments that were safe for our tanks.

[Myka]

Just buy real garlic. Use a garlic press, and catch the juice. Same thing. I used to do it all the time, but found it easier to just use the Garlic Extreme drops. :)

[Powertec]

And i use the nori from safeway etc all the time...It flakes apart easier in the tank than the lfs stuff so as long as your fish are rip it apart in seconds like mine are than it will be fine:)

[Kabong]

I get the big tub of minced garlic from costco.
Its packed in water so you get chunks and liquid to soak regular food in.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Apparently fresh garlic is the best because of something it releases right away once cutting into it. Don't know the name.

I just peel the garlic and crush it up a bit with the side of a knife and then chop it in half and soak my food in it. Very easy. Usually use the same garlic chunks for a day or two and then get new ones.

I have never looked for Nori from the grocery but I think I will take a look now.

[banditpowdercoat]

Ohh, you acctually feed the fish the garlic chunks too? When your using real garlic, how do you soak your food in it? for a couple minutes? hrs? Im new to all this Fancy fish foods LOL. Up till now, been Formula 1 and 2 pellets and PE mysis. So much to learn.....

[naesco]

The key is not to buy watered down product like garlic juice. You can buy garlic extract from health food stores. The idea is to put as much garlic into the fish as possible.
I started using Garlic Extreme which works but the other marine garlic products are watered down.

[fkshiu]

The absolute best food I've found in the grocery (aside from nori, of course) is smelt roe or masago, which can be found a any Asian grocer like T&T. It's the same stuff in sushi and everyting in the tank with a mouth goes nuts for it. It's dirt cheap too if you freeze it. For snootier fish there is tobiko (flying fish roe) which is a little more expensive and a wee bit bigger. I suspect that if you've got some big fish, salmon roe (ikura) would be a big hit with them.

[Patrice]

What are the advantages of using garlic? Is it worth the effort?

[fishoholic]

I used to use Garlic Extreme but I switched to Garlic Power by Brightwell Aquatics which is a more concentrated garlic additive. FYI you can smell this stuff a mile away, so trust me it's concentrated. One of the benefits of using garlic is to enhance/boost a fish's natural immunity. It also helps with getting picky fish to eat.

[banditpowdercoat]

Well, We got some Minced garlic in the fridge. And I decided to smear a little on a piece of Nori. Once placed in the tank, All the fishes went nuts. The only one eating it was the Yellow tang, but the Garlic sure enticed the other fishes too

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Ohh, you acctually feed the fish the garlic chunks too? When your using real garlic, how do you soak your food in it? for a couple minutes? hrs? Im new to all this Fancy fish foods LOL. Up till now, been Formula 1 and 2 pellets and PE mysis. So much to learn.....

I don't feed the pieces to the fish on purpose but some does get into the tank and the fish will usually spit it out. My rabbitfish does actually eat small chunks, hes a garbage disposal though :lol:

[chandigz]

Garlic extracts work great as attractants, but if you are venturing into the grey area of using garic a a treatment or preventitive, use fresh garlic. There has not been a lot of research into the medicinal use of garlic, its still kind of a grey area. Garic has several active ingredients mostly sulfur based, (allicin, diallyldisulfide, diallytrisulfide) but these are quickly oxidized and loose there potential benifit. There is some evidence that these active ingedients have a anthelmintic effect on nemitode worms. I have myself used garlic (25%) in feed to rid discus of nematode worms. It is also believed that garlic has anti-paristic properties. A lot of people swear buy adding garlic extract to food to prevent and help treat ich. I myself will treat ich buy adding crushed garlic directly to my reef tank in a mesh bag (haven't had any noticable adverse consiquences, but who knows if this is a good idea. wouldn't want to recommend it just in case, but it works for me. Haven't come accross other people doing this, most just add it to food.)