Ich.......again!

First, throw all that snake oil in the trash (just kidding, it might actually be good medicine, I'm generalizing here...) cuz the best cure you can find is as close as yer kitchen. Garlic =) Simple garlic juice will take care of your problem. Go to the grocery store and get minced garlic IN WATER, then soak the food in the water for a few minutes... Not only will they LOVE the taste of it, it will help the fishie fight off the ich naturally. It is harmless to corals and the only side effect is a slight oil slick on your water sometimes...

Simple as that!

Wow, I never knew that. That's pretty cool

"Your kidding...garlic???? I would never have stumbled upon that in a million years. Do you mind telling me how yourself or the person who informed you managed to figure it out? Also, how does garlic work to stop Ich on a scientific level? Does it contain some enzyme or metabolic agent which hurts the protozoa, or does garlic work to boost the fishes immune system?"

Ok, I was eatin pizza one night, right? I tripped and it flew into me tank............

Naw, just kidding =) Boggie suggested it to me a looong time ago when my coral beauty angel came down with it. I tried it, worked wonders within the week... As it was explained to me, it helps to boost the immune system so fishie can fight it off on their own. Boogie can lay it out better than I can, so maybe he will chime in soon...

"Well, if it's good enough to stop a vampire, it's good enough for me. Thanks, Corax!"

Vampires cannot be stopped, you can only to contain them.....

"PS- Has anyone ever had a fish show symptoms of Ich, but heal on it's own without any outside assistance?"
Yeah, in freshwater... SW fish cost to much to play "what if.....?" with =)

Actually, I think the whole garlic thing originated from the fact that it sometimes works with people too. I'm not to sure about it on the cellular level, but my understanding is that it boosts the immune system. However, it also can destroy internal parasites too, so it must have some negative effect on them. I recently had a tomato clown come down with a mild case of ich, but he's a really vigorous eater and my water conditions are fairly good so he got over it in a week or so.

Worked for me

I read about using garlic on this site, and tried it. It really does work. My coral beauty, ocellaris clown, and red firefish goby were coming down with it. Within a few weeks they are all cleared up and living happy (about 2mos now). It works.....

The originator was actually a woman who worked with horses and noticed that garlic kept the wee beasties which infest horses away from her equine friends.

Whoops. Spoke to soon. The tomato really has come down with it. I'll start doing the garlic action I guess. I bought some of the SeaChem stuff awhile ago. I better hit it before my fire goby gets it.