Regarding GARLIC...

[RD]

Ok, you guys all realize those studies did not cover commercial foods with garlic as an ingredient and even stated that the amount of garlic in commercial foods will most likely not be significant for anything other than a sales pitch

I've yet to see a manufacturer of commercial food that contains garlic claim that it can cure Marine Ich. If anyone is, well, that would certainly be a stretch ....

Also, in the comment below the author of that article makes it sound as though the use of garlic in commercial foods is something relatively new, at least with NLS food it's anything but.

Various brands of fish food are now even promoting that they have added garlic to their recipes. And yet, none of these alleged benefits has ever been proven.

Garlic has been used in NLS from the very get go, and until the TherA formula was developed this fact was never even mentioned on the label.
Tested for over 10 years, and on the market for close to 8 years, with no negative effects seen in any species of fish fed this brand of food. As previously mentioned, some of the marine fish seen in the link showing Pablo's 2000 gallon marine tank are 7+ years old, and have been eating food containing garlic, every day, since they have been in captivity.

In fact, the only formula that NLS markets as an "anti-parasitic" formula is their TherA formula, which does contain a significant amount of the active ingredient found in garlic. (allicin complex) Allicin complex is the 4th ingredient listed on their TherA formula labels, with the same amount found in their flake foods, and with the flakes there is no mention of garlic, or it's potential as having any anti-parasitic properties, so in those formulas it's hardly a marketing ploy, or a sales pitch.

In my humble opinion the author has used a rather broad brush when referring to commercial manufacturers.


Also, there is in fact evidence that shows it does have anti parasitic properties, which the author of this very article has previously stated himself. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

At the very least, garlic does have some proven anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-parasitic, and antiviral properties (Bartelme, 2003 and Cortes-Jorge, 2001). I included it here because this treatment has shown enough promise to warrant further scientific evaluation.

While garlic may not be a silver bullet, especially in regards to Marine Ich, it has been used for centuries for its anthelmintic properties. While the clinical trials using ornamental fish may be lacking, the anecdotal evidence is certainly strong enough to support the fact that in some cases, with certain parasites and/or worms, the active ingredient found in garlic does much more than add flavour to fish food.