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Lamta garra

Garra lamta

Also known as Lamta log sucker

FreshwaterFish

Lamta garra (Garra lamta)

Care at a glance

Temperature
64–77°F
18–25°C
pH
6.5–7.8
Adult size
4.7 in
12 cm
Minimum tank
29 gal
110 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cyprinidae
Origin
Himalayan foothills of Nepal and northern India

Overview

The Lamta garra is a cool-water bottom grazer from the Himalayan foothills. It fits a hillstream tank and is best with a little experience.

Did you know

The word lamta is not Latin or Greek. It is an old local hill name that Hamilton wrote down two centuries ago and carried straight into the scientific name. People along the same rivers still call the fish lamta today.

Caring for the Lamta garra

Give a Lamta garra at least 29 gal (110 L), with plenty of rock and cool, moving water. Lay a substrate of sand, gravel and cobbles, with smooth rocks for it to work. It patrols stone and wood all day, scraping algae.

Run strong flow and keep the water well oxygenated. It prefers cooler water than most tropicals, at 64 to 77°F (18 to 25°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.8. It takes all sinking foods, including algae wafers, pellets and frozen items.

A Lamta garra does fine alone, but a small group of three to five suits it best. It is mostly peaceful but can nudge and chase its own kind, so give it open floor and grazing surfaces to spread out. It fits a subtropical hillstream community with hardy danios and other cool-tolerant fish. Its breeding in aquariums is not documented.

Good to know

Garra lamta belongs to the carp family, Cyprinidae. It was among the many fishes Francis Hamilton described in his 1822 account of the Ganges fishes. It holds station against the current on the adhesive pad under its mouth.

In the wild

The Lamta garra grazes the clear foothill streams of the Himalayan drainages across northern India and eastern Nepal. It lives over stony beds in cool, brisk current.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The Lamta 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 Lamta garra need?

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

What temperature and pH does a Lamta garra need?

A Lamta garra is comfortable at 64–77°F (18–25°C) with a pH of 6.5–7.8.

What does a Lamta garra eat?

A Lamta garra takes all sinking foods, including algae wafers, pellets and frozen items. It also scrapes algae from stone and wood all day.

How big does a Lamta garra get?

An adult Lamta garra reaches about 4.7 in (12 cm).

Related species