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
63 gal
240 L
Temperament
Peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cyprinidae
Origin
Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran

Overview

The doctor fish is a busy, peaceful grazer for the bottom of a cool tank with current. It takes a little more care than a beginner fish.

Did you know

The doctor fish is the famous spa or pedicure fish of the Middle East and beyond. It nibbles away dead, flaky skin from people with conditions such as psoriasis, but the habit is really opportunistic grazing. Wild fish turn to skin and scraps only when their usual diet of algae and tiny animals is scarce.

Caring for the doctor fish

Give doctor fish a tank of 63 gal (240 L) or larger, so a group has room to forage. Add strong flow, a bed of sand and rounded gravel, and plenty of smooth stone and driftwood to graze over and hide among. Clean, oxygen-rich water and steady current matter more to them than decorative planting.

Keep them in cooler, well-oxygenated water at 57 to 68°F (14 to 20°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 8.0. They do not need heated tropical conditions.

Doctor fish graze algae and biofilm from rocks, but a tank alone will not grow enough algae to sustain a group. Feed them well with algae wafers, spirulina, blanched vegetables and sinking pellets, plus some frozen foods.

Doctor fish are peaceful and sociable, and they are happiest in a group of five or more. They are busy, active bottom dwellers that forage together over the tank floor and hard surfaces, and rarely bother tank mates. Keep them with other calm fish that like current. There is no well-documented record of them breeding in home aquariums, and the fish supplied to spas and shops come from commercial farms.

Good to know

The doctor fish, Garra rufa, is a small, hardy member of the family Cyprinidae, also called the nibble fish. It has the flattened underside and fleshy, sucker-like lower lip typical of the genus. That lip lets it cling to rock in current and rasp at algae and detritus. It is remarkably tolerant of temperature, surviving water that would stress most cyprinids.

In the wild

The doctor fish comes from rivers, streams and spring-fed pools of the Middle East, across Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. Its range includes warm and fast-flowing habitats.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The 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 63 gal (240 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.

What does a doctor fish eat?

A doctor fish grazes algae and biofilm, but a tank will not grow enough to feed a group. Give it algae wafers, spirulina, blanched vegetables and sinking pellets, plus some frozen foods.

How big does a doctor fish get?

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

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