Regarding GARLIC...

[reeferaddict]

FDA approved? For what? Since when does anything we feed our fish need to be FDA approved?

RD - don't remove your sig. We like knowing who you are & what you do... it lends credibility to your posts. Even though I insinuated you had something to gain by the sales of your products I also said that I doubted you would sell such products without doing your due diligence re: research & development.

"Aspartane killed more people than in many wars?"

Which wars? Do you think for ONE second that if Aspartane could be linked as a direct cause to even a SINGLE human death that this "lethal" substance would be available every day to BILLIONS of people? I know not of a war where less than one person died...

Just one point to ponder here - results or not;

Just how would garlic get into a natural reef anyways?

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by RD

I was told that her dept had used New Life Spectrum (which contains garlic) "for years", as a control diet in their studies, as well as for newly arrived wild caught marine fish that are placed into quarantine, and that it "performs very well".

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. the way the garlic was administered in the tests was and extract given by inter muscular injections. I don't know about you guys but I don't feel like catching my fish every day and giving them a needle.

as for aspartame it is still a accepted sweetener that is suspected to be carcinogenic if taken in enuf quantity to feed a horse. so in other words it is not poisonous or dangerous well unless you had a severe allergy to it but then again peanuts would be illegal if that was the case.

Steve

[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.

[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 suspect that the author of the original link posted in this thread might be eating a little crow now.


The subject of using garlic in fish food seems to come up quite often, with some hobbyists suggesting that the main reason that fish food manufacturers use this ingredient is strictly to enhance palatability of the food, or in some cases, as nothing more than a sales pitch.

In many cases this may be true, but this is certainly not true of all fish foods. The main reason for such a large inclusion rate in certain brand/s is due to garlics anti-parasitic qualities. When used in larger quantities, this raw ingredient can be expensive, hence the reason why many manufacturers skimp on the amount of garlic that they use.


Over the past decade there has been a number of studies involving garlic and fish food and the anecdotal evidence with regards to feeding fish allicin complex (the active ingredient in garlic) to rid them of parasites appeared to be quite strong. The following is a link to a more recent study that confirms what some people have been saying all along. http://www.scielo.br/pdf/jvatitd/v12n2/v12n2a03.pdf

A. M. Shalaby et al. EFFECTS OF GARLIC (Allium sativum) AND CHLORAMPHENICOL ON GROWTH PERFORMANCE, PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND SURVIVAL OF NILE TILAPIA (Oreochromis niloticus).
J. Venom. Anim. Toxins incl. Trop. Dis., 2006, 12, 2, p.196


In this particular study the inclusion of garlic powder at a rate of 3% has shown to increase the overall digestibilty of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, as well as to lower the total bacteria count within the intestine, muscles, as well as the tank water itself.

Being one to only use medication as a last resort, I find that garlic is a great preventative solution to keeping your fish (and water) free from outbreaks of various disease causing pathogens.

[Sebae]

How come stores such as Big Al's don't sell the Ther A ?

[RD]

I guess that you would have to ask BA's.

While the TherA formula contains a mega dose of garlic (Allium Sativum), the rest of the formulas all contain 3%.

[BCOrchidGuy]

Bravo Bob I, Aspartame if I'm not mistaken was thought a safer sugar substitute than Sacharine. Aspartame is either derived from or contains ethanol (wood alcohol) and if taken in large amounts has and can cause a variety of side effects including, seizures, blindness, tremors, blurred vision etc. Some, not all, people who drink excessive amounts of diet drinks have been found to have liver damage that is very similar to alcohol abuse (long term). I once read a study from Johns Hopkins about Aspartame, a number of pilots were given the equivellent dose of two diet soda's but it was given IV... all but one or two pilots experienced side effects that caused them to be grounded (flight clearance was suspended) for different periods of time, one of the pilots never regained his sight.

Anyway, garlic is good, I've used it with fish and in cooking and in both cases it's been a good thing. Debate away folks, but keep it friendly and that way we all learn something new.

Doug