I recommend you avoid garlic, I stopped using it....

OK I'm a no garlic for marine fish person.
Why?
Well firstly let me give you a little background on where I’m coming from, I’m a fish disease research scientist and I specialize in fish vaccination and ectoparasite infections in fish. I don't work for, sell or am I in anyway assciated with commerical fish food production. My research laboratory has carried out many trials for fish feed manufactures on garlic, both...

While the marine biology literature has many instances of using Chloroquine phosphate for treating marine velvet, at this point the treatment of marine ich is better served with other means, specifically tank transfer.

The problems/issues I have with chloroquine phosphate (or related) are for marine ich:
1. Dosage is anecdotal and is unclear with varying instructions from different vendors
2. Half life of the drug is not defined
3. No way of testing current...

The LFS Paradox
I see a fair number of people that watch perspective fish purchases at the LFS to determine if they are healthy. However, there are some problems with this strategy, what I call "The LFS Paradox".

1. Many LFS run a non-therapeutic dose of copper in their fish system. Sounds good, right? Actually, no. A low level of Copper will mask Velvet (which I have seen happen multiple times) and according to some, also ich (because I use Tank transfer, I have...

Anemones which host clownfish
I get a lot of questions about anemones hosting clownfish. A list of those I know of follows.

Anemone - Compatible Clownfish Species

Bubble Tip Anemone (Rose Anemone)
Entacmaea quadricolor will host:


Amphiprion akindynos - Barrier Reef Clownfish
A. clarkii - Clark's Clownfish
A. frenatus - Tomato Clownfish
A. melanopus - Red and Black Clownfish
A. ocellaris - Ocellaris Clownfish...

My suggested protocol is to use tank transfer for all new specimens to insure against cryptocaryon irritans. 12 days and two 20 gallon tanks is all it takes.

The initial receiving tank is temp and SG adjusted to the bag water( SG a few points couple of points lower than the bagwater is ok but not higher) This obviates the need for drip acclimation and prolonged stays in bag water where pH can rise and ammonia toxicity can increase once the bag is opened. This is particularly important...