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Redtail garra

Garra panitvongi

Also known as Red garra, Garra sp. Redtail, Red tail garra

FreshwaterFish

Redtail garra (Garra panitvongi)
The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–81°F
22–27°C
pH
6.5–7.5
Adult size
5.1 in
13 cm
Minimum tank
42 gal
160 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Social
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
No record
Rarity
Rare
Family
Cyprinidae
Origin
Ataran drainage, Thailand and Myanmar border

Overview

The redtail garra is the most colorful of the aquarium garras, a bottom grazer for a bright, fast-flowing tank. It is best kept by someone with a little experience.

Did you know

The redtail garra was a familiar aquarium import for years before scientists described it as new to science in 2023. They named it Garra panitvongi, after Nonn Panitvong, the Thai naturalist who had long championed the region's fishes.

Caring for the redtail garra

Keep redtail garras as a small group, in a tank of at least 42 gal (160 L) with strong flow. In a group, mild squabbling over grazing spots spreads out among several fish rather than falling on one. Give them a river tank with smooth rocks and cobbles for grazing.

Use bright light to grow the biofilm they feed on. Keep the water at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C) and a pH of 6.5 to 7.5, with strong current and high oxygen.

Redtail garras work the bottom and lower water, gripping rock and wood to rasp algae and biofilm. Supplement that grazing with algae wafers, sinking pellets and frozen foods such as bloodworm.

The redtail garra is mostly peaceful, though it is a busy, pushy grazer. Give it robust tank mates, such as hillstream loaches and current-loving barbs, that ignore its fussing. Aquarium breeding is not documented.

Good to know

Garra panitvongi is a carp-family fish in the Cyprinidae, also called the red garra. It is slate-blue over the body and lights up with a flame-orange tail. It also has a raised snout pad bordered by a blue V.

In the wild

The redtail garra comes from the isolated Ataran drainage on the Thailand and Myanmar border, part of the wider Salween basin. It lives in clear, oxygen-rich hill streams running over stone.

Weekly picks

Tank mates

The redtail 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 redtail garra need?

A redtail garra needs at least 42 gal (160 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a redtail garra need?

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

What does a redtail garra eat?

A redtail garra grazes algae and biofilm from rock and wood. Supplement that with algae wafers, sinking pellets and frozen foods such as bloodworm.

How big does a redtail garra get?

An adult redtail garra reaches about 5.1 in (13 cm).

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