TankBud

Kwai garra

Garra fluviatilis

Also known as River garra, Sparkling garra

FreshwaterFish

Kwai garra (Garra fluviatilis)

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–81°F
22–27°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
3.9 in
10 cm
Minimum tank
29 gal
110 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cyprinidae
Origin
Kwai Noi River, Mae Khlong basin, Thailand

Overview

The Kwai garra is a gregarious, mostly peaceful bottom grazer for a tank with strong current. It is a step up from the easiest fish.

Did you know

The Kwai garra swims in the Kwai Noi, the valley the wartime Death Railway followed and the source of the River Kwai name. Science did not name the fish until 2016, more than seventy years after the railway was built.

Caring for the Kwai garra

Give Kwai garras a tank of at least 29 gal (110 L), with rock, wood and brisk flow. Use a substrate of sand, gravel and cobbles, plus smooth stones and driftwood to graze. They work over stone and wood through the day with the steady, bulldozing confidence of their genus.

Keep the water at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C) with a pH of 6.5 to 7.5. High oxygen levels and clean water matter to a fish adapted to tumbling upland streams, so run strong current. Offer algae wafers and sinking pellets, with frozen foods such as bloodworm to round out the diet.

A Kwai garra is fine on its own, but it is gregarious and does well in a small group of three or more. It is mostly peaceful but can shove its own kind around, so give it space and grazing surfaces to reduce friction. It pairs well with sturdy, current-loving midwater fish and pays little attention to what swims above it. Its breeding in the aquarium has not been recorded.

Good to know

Garra fluviatilis is a hillstream cyprinid in the carp family, Cyprinidae, and its species name means of the river. It clings to rock with a fleshy, modified lower lip and a disc beneath its head. Its papilla-fringed mouth is one of the features used to tell it from similar garras.

In the wild

The Kwai garra lives in the hillstream reaches of the Kwai Noi River, in the Mae Klong basin of western Thailand. Its home water is clear, fast and well oxygenated.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Kwai garra is a mostly 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 Kwai garra need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Kwai garra need?

A Kwai garra is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.5.

What does a Kwai garra eat?

A Kwai garra eats algae wafers and sinking pellets, with frozen foods such as bloodworm to round out its diet.

How big does a Kwai garra get?

An adult Kwai garra reaches about 3.9 in (10 cm).

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