activated carbon use??

hey guys...
i was just wondering what are the advantages and disadvantages of using carbon...
i recently lost a damsel to HITH...and Tropical Fish, Aquarium Care, Freshwater Fish, Saltwater Fish, Aquarium Setup says cause of this disease maybe the use of prolonged carbon...
but i also read that carbon is use help get rid of unwanted substance in the tank such as copper and other heavy metals...
how important is carbon in the tank???
ups and downs of activated carbon???

 

you will get different answers, i say its unnecessary but helpful. there are some very adament carbon users here though.

IMO HITH is caused by a low immune system from vitamin and mineral difecencies(alot of preventitive measures point to this as the culprit). carbon does absorb vitamins and minerals, but many tanks do use it with out problems. the fish should get vitamins and minerals from food and not the water column.
i would suggest a vitamin and mineral dip for food like selcon

 

I never used it until a few months ago in my salt tank. my fresh always. I started using it in the reef tank and honestly my tank never looked better. Water??? there is none in my tank the fish are in air..... Haha not really but the tank looks so clean since i started using it. I talked to tangster alot about it and he asked me so your tank is clean so why are you not doing it? I have not looked back

 

thanks mate... feeding them meaty food all the time like mysis, brine and bloodworms is this good or bad?? i also always soak them in garlic guard???? good or bad???

 

well brine shrimp are supposed to be nutritionaly poor.
i would recommend flake food be the bulk of the diet since it is specially formulated.
garlic guard is good, as it helps the fish's appetite, its suppose to boost immune as well, it contains vitamin c

 

thanks mate... ill just give them a good nutritional diet for a while... with nori and flake foods... and ill keep using my carbon... for my water clarity!
cheers!

 

Hole in the Head - Fish Disease - Diseases in Tropical Fish and Goldfish.
heres a link to some info on HITH disease

heres some info from wikipedia

 

Carbon is great for clarity and smell ...Diamond Gobies are not ! lesson learned ! neccessary evil ! I have been running Carbon since day one ....but am wondering if that could be an issue with my Xenia...that and over skimming ( just what I have read ) ??