Crushed Garlic Experiment

[CACAdmin]

It was an experiment with the garlic (1st time). I crushed a fresh garlic clove and soaked it for a couple of minutes in a tiny amount of water. I then removed the garlic pieces, added the shrimp pellets and soaked for abut half a minute. Then immediately fed the pellets to the fish. They all seemed to love it. Anything I should be concerned about (other than the annoying added particulates to the water?)

[Melody]

You can avoid the mushies (gawd I'm scientific...lol) by using freeze dried worms or shrimp. Sounds like a decent method to me, as long as the garlic gets crushed. You could probably keep it in the fridge for a few days with the garlic in there, so more soaks into the water.

The Allicin supplements seem expensive when you first buy them, but its all the good stuff so you don't need much. Its already in the Bottom Bites so you can just use those every 2-3 days if its easier. There's the usual crushed garlic in those, but I add an Allicin supplement now too. Formerly it was just crushed garlic, so it should be plenty. I wouldn't feed both on the same day, for the information of those passengers travelling with us ;), too much can irritate.

[Melody]

Have you continued to feed garlic using this method? Any observations?

[CACAdmin]

Yes, I have continued to feed it as one the many things in the diet of my fish. I haven't tried using freeze-dried bloodworms or shrimp in garlic yet. The shrimp pellets get a little mushy but still hold their shape. As long as you only feed a few pellets at a time they don't get a chance to foul the tank as they are devoured way too quickly for that. And if you have fry in the tank they go after the tiny suspended particles. The only fish who don't eat it are my Gouramis because the refuse to consider eating anything that doesn't float.:rolleyes:

You can avoid the mushies (gawd I'm scientific...lol) by using freeze dried worms or shrimp. Sounds like a decent method to me, as long as the garlic gets crushed. You could probably keep it in the fridge for a few days with the garlic in there, so more soaks into the water.

As far as keeping it in the fridge, I tried that but didn't use a sealed container... BIG MISTAKE... my fridge, my freezer, my kitchen, in fact my entire apartment smelled of garlic!:swoon: (It's a good thing I love garlic but even that was a bit much for me. It's a good thing I didn't have company coming over.:laugh: ). So, if you do decide to keep food soaking in freshly crushed garlic in the fridge... remember to put a lid on it!

[Melody]

LOL Good tip! At least you were safe from vampires!

[CACAdmin]

:rofl:I may have been safe from the vampires maybe but not necessarily safe from the other tenants in the building if they figured out where the smell of garlic was coming from. :Eeewww:

[Melody]

Better than Bottom Bites cooking, which can smell much like an illegal substance to the inexperienced nose. Then people pick up little bags of green stuff and put money through the door slot at my pick-up point :laugh: .

[Melody]

I need a garlic crusher. I've decided to try this after pricing the commercial soaks again...lol. I think I'll use nylons to put the crushed garlic in so its easy to remove from the water.

If you go by maceration methods (often used with herbs) overnight should be enough of a soak.

[CACAdmin]

What I do is very unculinary (if there is such a word) and unscientific...lol. I chop the garlic into small bits, put it in a container, add a bit of water and mash with a fork. Then I add the shrimp pellets & swish them around and leave them to soak. I never thought about how long they should soak... I usually only leave them for about an hour, I guess. That way the pellets are still firm. As the garlic pieces are still a good size, I just pick out the shrimp pellets from the mixture.

Additional note, don't overdo the amount of garlic... excess amounts and the fish, although drawn to it, don't really like it... I guess the irritant factor comes in to play at that point.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Better than Bottom Bites cooking, which can smell much like an illegal substance to the inexperienced nose. Then people pick up little bags of green stuff and put money through the door slot at my pick-up point :laugh: .
I knew Melody was up to no good! Sure the first bag was free but then she makes you pay for it after you get hooked.... :laugh:

[Melody]

I knew Melody was up to no good! Sure the first bag was free but then she makes you pay for it after you get hooked.... :laugh:


:rofl: You got me! One of these days you'll turn on the TV and I'll be on a police reality show as the Bottom Bite Bandit.

Jay, I don't want to pick through garlic...lol...I was also thinking I could make more of it and keep it in a jar in the fridge. Then I'll just use it to soak the food as & when.

If they're not eating it, water it down more. Garlic should enhance, not over-power... well in Italian dishes anyways. :laugh:

Soaks make me miss freeze-dried bloodworms - they used to be perfect for this sort of thing, but now they make me....well... die, which is no fun.:no:

[CACAdmin]

Good idea to make more of it... sounds like a good plan... just make sure it's tightly sealed or everything in your fridge will be enhanced with the smell of garlic...lol.

[Melody]

Still feeding the garlic? Are they accepting it better? Anyone else try it?

I thought of this because I'm dosing myself with garlic to get rid of this cold that I've had for over a week. Have to do it on the weekend or my co-workers won't play with me anymore. :( My allicin supplements expired, thanks to me not making Bottom Bites as much, so I guess I'll have to do some shopping.

Sure does perk my fish up. If I see more than one looking off, I start plugging the garlic to them. That can not only help them fight off what they're brewing, but will also give the immune system of the tankmates a boost so they don't pick it up as easily. I haven't had an illness go through my tanks in quite some time, which is more than I can say for when I only used commercial preparations. I've started feeding the garlic soaks at least three times/week, rather than just feeding it in my homemade foods occasionally.

Smells aweful, but it works!

[Katalyst]

http://www.picturescolourlibrary.co.uk/loreswithlogo/1916572.jpg

I keep a dedicated fish garlic crusher like the one in the picture. Is what I use to crush, garlic, steamed carrots, peppers, whole shrimp, fish, fruits etc. for fish with smaller mouths, works really well with my sail fin/sword fry.

[Melody]

I really need one of those. My fingers smell bad for a week after I chop :laugh: .

You only use it in recipes or do you feed it directly or soak?

[Katalyst]

I really need one of those. My fingers smell bad for a week after I chop :laugh: .

You only use it in recipes or do you feed it directly or soak?

My goldfish will eat it off my fingers which is gross but good for them. I tried it with the mollies and they got the heck out of dodge!

[Melody]

Its pretty strong stuff, I have much better luck with soaks or mixed in food. Granted, I haven't tried it straight very much. The Goldies probably take it because its down the hatch before they have a chance to taste it. :laugh:

[Katalyst]

Its pretty strong stuff, I have much better luck with soaks or mixed in food. Granted, I haven't tried it straight very much. The Goldies probably take it because its down the hatch before they have a chance to taste it. :laugh:
To date its helping my sbd fish tremendously, not solely but I've seen a marked improvement.

[CACAdmin]

I'm still feeding garlic soaked food occasionally. The fish are still as enthused as ever about it... mind you it could be because I feed it more as a treat than on a regular basis, I don't know. However, if I have a fish with an injury, along with adding a little extra salt to the tank, I'll feed some garlic-soaked food.

My goldfish will eat it off my fingers which is gross but good for them. I tried it with the mollies and they got the heck out of dodge!


I don't soak the food as long as I used to or in quite as much garlic. I have accidentally dropped a small piece of garlic in the tank when feeding the soaked pellets and the mollies will dash to get it & the moment they taste it, they drop it like a hot potato... and yet they love the taste of the garlic soaked pellets. I think on it's own it's way too strong for them.

[Melody]

I think it might burn a tad, since it can irritate mucus membranes. If their mouth is tough enough they probably don't notice it, like humans. All guesswork of course.

Thanks for the info/updates. The powers of garlic is something that I find interesting, especially in a world of superbugs and immune deficient fish. Like most things in this hobby though, there's still a lot to learn so we have to keep talking. :chatterbox:

[ChrissyFishy]

I use the bottles of garlic from the fish store. Are they as good as crushing?:Dunno:

[Katalyst]

I just picked up frozen cubes of garlic. I cook with it constantly and this will be a help when I've forgotten to add it. I'm going to try it in my next batch of gel food.

[Melody]

I use the bottles of garlic from the fish store. Are they as good as crushing?:Dunno:

I don't know the allicin content in them - that's the key.

[Melody]

I just picked up frozen cubes of garlic. I cook with it constantly and this will be a help when I've forgotten to add it. I'm going to try it in my next batch of gel food.

I didn't even know that there was such a thing.:rolleyes: Sounds handy!

[Katalyst]

I didn't even know that there was such a thing.:rolleyes: Sounds handy!

Just happened to walk past it in the veggie aisle. Hopefully the ingredients don't include hydrochloric acid or some ridiculous preservative. If it does, I'll just put it in the husbo's dinner and save the fish. lol

[Melody]

ROFL Priorities!

[Katalyst]

ROFL Priorities!

You've seen my fish, they're cuter! lol

[Melody]

Certainly stiff competition at any rate...lol

[Melody]

Just happened to walk past it in the veggie aisle. Hopefully the ingredients don't include hydrochloric acid or some ridiculous preservative. If it does, I'll just put it in the husbo's dinner and save the fish. lol

So what did you find out? Have you tried it on the fish?

I suppose we could crush up a zillion cloves and freeze them ourselves too.

[Katalyst]

So what did you find out? Have you tried it on the fish?

I suppose we could crush up a zillion cloves and freeze them ourselves too.

I cut the cubes in half put it in a cup and mashed it into some pellets. They went bonkers over it and so far none of my floaty fish are tipping. :)

[Melody]

Sounds like a hit! Thanks for the update.:smile:

[Katalyst]

http://www.toppits.com/cubes_products.html

Here are the cubes that I use. I picked them up in the veggie section of Canadian Superstore.

I leave it out for 20 minutes to thaw usually but microwave it in a small bowl for 10 seconds in a pinch add about a teaspoon of water or less to create a slurry and then mix in flakes, pellets etc.

Its easier then crushing fresh cloves from paste so I take the path of least resistance. :laugh:

[ameekplec]

I crush garlic in a similar garlic press (purchased at Ikea for under 5 bucks). , best one so far, as all the other ones we've bought have broken...I love garlic, so we cook with a lot of it). First I slice up the garlic so that the extruded bits are small and not a big string of garlic. then I use two wafers to pick up a few pieces of crushed garlic, and press them together so that the juices of the garlic spill out and soak into the wafers. I leave to dry over night, and presto! You have garlic infused tablets with the added bit of dried garlic on it. The drying I think helps to reduce the intensity of the garlic.

[CACAdmin]

Fish are probably thinking: "A garlic sandwich... yum!"

[Melody]

Thanks for sharing your methods! Great ideas :yes: .

I hadn't thought of the drying making the taste less intense, but it makes sense to me. You'd lose less to the water column too I'm guessing.

[CACAdmin]

I crush garlic in a similar garlic press (purchased at Ikea for under 5 bucks). , best one so far, as all the other ones we've bought have broken...I love garlic, so we cook with a lot of it). First I slice up the garlic so that the extruded bits are small and not a big string of garlic. then I use two wafers to pick up a few pieces of crushed garlic, and press them together so that the juices of the garlic spill out and soak into the wafers. I leave to dry over night, and presto! You have garlic infused tablets with the added bit of dried garlic on it. The drying I think helps to reduce the intensity of the garlic.

I just tried a variation of this as I don't have a garlic press (use lots of garlic in cooking but always either dice it or add whole cloves). So I diced it very small and crushed it with a fork... as I didn't get much juice, I added just a couple of drops of water, let it sit for a few minutes and then proceeded to make the 'garlic wafer sandwiches' and then let the wafers dry. It worked well. My fish loved them. Thanks for the idea, ameekplec.

[Melody]

:thumbup:Awesome! It's such good stuff, that garlic... unless you're trying to find a date :laugh: . I haven't tried it this way yet but another experience is encouraging.

I guess it won't be today though.... anybody know where the day went? It was just here a minute ago. :Think:

[CACAdmin]

I have no idea where the day went. That's the funny thing about weekends, the days just disappear.