TankBud

Doctor fish

Garra rufa

Also known as Nibble fish

FreshwaterFish

Doctor fish (Garra rufa)
Dances · CC BY-SA 3.0

Care at a glance

Temperature
57–68°F
14–20°C
pH
6.5–8.0
Adult size
4.7 in
12 cm
Minimum tank
29 gal
110 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cyprinidae
Origin
Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran

Overview

Doctor fish are peaceful, sociable grazers that are happiest in a group of five or more, where they forage together over the tank floor and hard surfaces. They are busy, active bottom dwellers that rasp algae and biofilm from rocks with a sucker like mouth and rarely bother tankmates. They suit a community of other calm, current loving fish and do not need heated tropical conditions. Feed them well with algae wafers, spirulina, blanched vegetables, and sinking pellets, plus some frozen foods, since a tank alone will not grow enough algae to sustain a group. A tank around 110 liters or larger gives them room to forage.

In the wild

Garra rufa comes from the rivers, streams, and spring fed pools of the Middle East, across Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran, including warm and fast flowing habitats. In the aquarium it does well in cooler, well oxygenated water of about 14–20 C and a neutral to slightly hard pH of 6.5–8.0. Give it strong flow, a bed of sand and rounded gravel, and plenty of smooth stone and driftwood to graze over and hide among. This is a hardy fish that values clean, oxygen rich water and steady current more than decorative planting.

Good to know

Garra rufa is a small, hardy member of the family Cyprinidae that reaches around 12 cm. It has the flattened underside and fleshy, sucker like lower lip typical of the genus, which lets it cling to rock in current and rasp at algae and detritus. It is remarkably tolerant of temperature, surviving in water that would stress most cyprinids. There is no well documented record of it being bred in home aquaria, and the fish supplied to spas and shops are produced on commercial farms.

Did you know

Garra rufa is the famous spa or pedicure fish, used in the Middle East and beyond to nibble away dead, flaky skin from people with conditions such as psoriasis. The behavior is really just opportunistic grazing, since in the wild the fish turns to skin and scraps only when its usual diet of algae and tiny animals is scarce.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

Doctor fish is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

What size tank does a Doctor fish need?

A Doctor fish needs at least 29 gal (110 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a Doctor fish need?

A Doctor fish is comfortable at 57–68°F (14–20°C) with a pH of 6.5–8.0.

How big does a Doctor fish get?

An adult Doctor fish reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).

Related species