Botanicals/food for plecos, shrimp, etc! Dried garlic stems with leaves attached from garlic I harvested around August/September 2020, which is about the time I started using it in my own tanks. I don't use any pesticides/herbicides/chemical fertilizers in my garden. I haven't come across anyone else who uses garlic in this way, but I haven't seen any ill effects from it and the fish and shrimp seem to like it. I know that a lot of people are big believers in garlic as sort of a health supplement for fish, and it also seems to help stimulate appetite.