I have found that garlic can be quite helpful in the early onset of ich. But if there is quite an infestation and/or the fish aren't eating, you will have to catch the fish,quarantine and start dosing copper.
Kich Ich basically just irritates the fish into producing slime, which is supposed to slough off the parasite. Apparently it works for some but I think the overall consensus is that it isn't the miracle cure that reefers want. Some fish just don't produce a lot of slime. It's pretty expensive and is a 50/50 chance of success at best.
Garlic is great in boosting immunity, but if your fish is covered in ich, garlic isn't your best bet. There are articles on line that debate whether the allicin in garlic is destroyed in the gut of the fish (digestion) and therefore isn't as great as some are boasting. It certainly is worth feeding either way.
Another thing you can try is to get some metronizadole (pet store or vet, cheaper at the vet) and mix it with some fish flake food. You can dissolve a quarter tablet in warm water and add some flake food to it and then feed your fish. Or you can mix it with some homemade frozen food. The small amounts of the drug you add to your tank will pose no problem on the reef inhabitants. Do a search on the net and you'll get more info on metronizadole.
Overall your best treatment is copper. It's a real pain to tear into your reef to catch fish, but if the fish are looking bad, you are best to make the effort. Read the instructions on dosing carefully and get a copper test kit. Copper is deadly on parasites and can be quite hard on the fish too, if dosed too high. Keeping any calcium based product (sand/decorations)out of the quarantine tank will help keep the copper in suspension longer too btw. Copper has a real affinity for calcium.
Good luck
Bill
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