can i have a tang?

To combat ich, you are better off with cleaner shrimp and feeding garlic than using a UV sterilizer.

Here is a little reading about marine ich, and it's life cycle. It's definitely not a disease that can be cured in a couple days.

Cause, Treatment, and Prevention of Ich in Saltwater Fish

 

Ah, I knew there would be neigh sayers. Its obvious if I have a recurring problem that the sterilizer isn't killing the parasite to the point of extinction in the system but it is knocking it down enough that it won't constantly infect the fish. Leaving it off as the tang starts to get ick turns it into a legit infestation within 3 days.

 

I am by far no fish expert(ugh... believe me),but have done alot of reading..from what i gather is ICK is exist on all fish,and is only present when they are stressed(may it be from whatever)...I read that a good way to combat it, would be nice water quality and good nutrition(what they eat/garlic etc)..HTH...

 

Having a fish well fed reduces its stress. This is the only way garlic helps with ich: getting a fish to investigate the source of the very strong smell, which makes them a bit more likely to eat, which helps their stress level, which helps their immune system. It's so indirect a result, it's not even funny.

 

I run a UV all the time at pretty much a trickle. Not all of the ick in its free floating stage will go past a UV. A UV mutates the RNA and DNA of an organism as it passes the UV radiation. Due to the mutations caused by the UV, the organism is unable to have healthy offspring. These normally die before they can have any detrimental effects on your aquarium.

If your ick keeps coming back you are obviously not treating your fish and/or your fish is continuously stressed.

I completely agree with everything blackraven said.

 

The only thing with garlic in fish is that it has not been disproved that it actually strengthens the immune system like it has been proven in humans.

Until that theory is proven to be false by clinical studies by well known and accredited sources, I will contend that feeding garlic does help to strengthen the immune system in fish and ward off ich.

 

I would like to add that to much garlic will ruin a fish's liver. Garlic also hasn't been proven to help their immune system either. It has been proven to entice fish to eat as well as ruining the liver over time. Since the garlic entices fish to eat, a fish infected with ick will eat garlic soaked/enriched food. This nutrients will help the fish rebuild its immune system and become less stressed. Therefor, helping the fish fight off the ick.

 

There's one problem with your comparison between human and fish use of allicin.

Humans get raw garlic, which contains Allicin. Allicin is an antibiotic, similar to Penicillin. Allicin breaks down extremely quickly (gone in 16 hours at room temperature), as it is a volatile compound.

This means that if you buy a garlic supplement, you're guaranteed not to have any allicin in the supplement, and will not get the real effect. The only possible way to have a legitimate effect from garlic is by squeezing garlic yourself.

The other compound that's likely to have an effect in Allixin, which is generally a toxin, whether to fish or microbes.

 

Not all humans eat only raw garlic. I like mine roasted, as do many other folks. Garlic has been known to be good for humans in any form, cooked or raw.

 

Ready guys? I'm gonna bring this thread back on track for the OP.

Yes I agree my fish is stressed. Its a Tang and its in a 29g. Its getting more grumpy every day waiting for me to finish building my 30x30x24 93 cube. (Thread coming in the next week.)

To the OP: I'd say go for a small juvenile Tang; I mean the smallest you can find at ur LFS. Aim for the smaller species like everyone mentioned but if after ~2 years its getting too large then perhaps it'd be a good time to find it a new home. I've had mine for 7 months and its gone from 1.5"-2" to 4.5" now so...