What's the deal with garlic in fishfood. It seems like mainly a "saltwater thing" but does it actually have any proven benefit to the health of a freshwater fish?
Garlic in food?
- Thread starter TorturedSOUL
- Start date
Garlic is also used to get picky fish to eat.
There is something about the smell that the fish like. We use it in the store everytime there is saltwater fish and discus that have problems starting to eat after shipping.
This is the one we use at the store
http://www.kentmarine.com/foods/garlicxtreme.html
There is something about the smell that the fish like. We use it in the store everytime there is saltwater fish and discus that have problems starting to eat after shipping.
This is the one we use at the store
http://www.kentmarine.com/foods/garlicxtreme.html
Yes, garlic is not only a natural "warder offer" 
D) of internal parasites, but a documented appetite enhancer. It can coax even sick fish to eat that otherwise may not.
Relatedly, when you go deep sea fishing, it is not uncommon for people to dip the chum in garlic juice or the commercial "garlic substitute", or even string whole cloves onto their hooks. It gets the fish biting.
There is a chemical in garlic that causes this. Let me look for the name because I can't remember it offhand.
EDIT: The chemical substance in garlic that is linked to appetite is called allicin. There may be more, but that's the one I was thinking of. A google search furnishes all sorts of things on it - it boosts lung health in rats for instance!
"Garlic will stimulate appetite and metabolism, clear toxins, and act as an antimicrobial agent of the mucous membranes. A great deal of recent work has been done on the sulphur bearing amino acids in Garlic"
http://www24.netrition.com/garlic_page.html
(admittedly that's not a really scientific site, but the info is pretty much the same).
D) of internal parasites, but a documented appetite enhancer. It can coax even sick fish to eat that otherwise may not.Relatedly, when you go deep sea fishing, it is not uncommon for people to dip the chum in garlic juice or the commercial "garlic substitute", or even string whole cloves onto their hooks. It gets the fish biting.
There is a chemical in garlic that causes this. Let me look for the name because I can't remember it offhand.
EDIT: The chemical substance in garlic that is linked to appetite is called allicin. There may be more, but that's the one I was thinking of. A google search furnishes all sorts of things on it - it boosts lung health in rats for instance!
"Garlic will stimulate appetite and metabolism, clear toxins, and act as an antimicrobial agent of the mucous membranes. A great deal of recent work has been done on the sulphur bearing amino acids in Garlic"
http://www24.netrition.com/garlic_page.html
(admittedly that's not a really scientific site, but the info is pretty much the same).
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Buy minced garlic at the grocery store. The kind you would eat. You can use the juice to soak into foods. Or, even rubbing cloves against the food (really only works for big things, though) works. The minced garlic is the best that I've found because it comes in a nasty, stinky garlicy oil. Plus, I cook with it so it does double duty
Its usually in with the produce section around here, on a shelf somewhere. It comes in little glass jars (or big ones).
Its usually in with the produce section around here, on a shelf somewhere. It comes in little glass jars (or big ones).
You can used minced garlic as a subsitute.
Just put a little bit in a cup with some water and then place the food you want to use in with the water/garlic mix and let soak.
Works great with frozen and pellets. Colorbits and garlic are a discus favorite at the store.
[EDIT] ah Leopardess you beat me to it (grin) [edit]
Just put a little bit in a cup with some water and then place the food you want to use in with the water/garlic mix and let soak.
Works great with frozen and pellets. Colorbits and garlic are a discus favorite at the store.
[EDIT] ah Leopardess you beat me to it (grin) [edit]