Red garra

Red garra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Division: Teleostei
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Labeoninae
Genus: Garra
Species:
G. rufa
Binomial name
Garra rufa
(Heckel, 1843)
Synonyms

The red garra (Garra rufa), also known as the doctor fish or nibble fish, is a species of cyprinid native to a wide range of freshwater habitats in subtropical parts of Western Asia. This small fish typically is up to about 14 cm (5.5 in) in total length, but some individuals can reach as much as 24 cm (9.5 in).

In the wild, G. rufa feeds on detritus, algae, and tiny animals (arthropods and other zooplankton).

Distribution, habitat, and taxonomy

As traditionally defined, G. rufa is native to Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel-Palestine, Iraq and Iran. Some of the main systems where it is found are the Kızıl, Seyhan, Ceyhan, Orontes, Queiq, Jordan, Tigris–Euphrates, Kor, and Mond River Basins, but the species also inhabits other coastal river basins in the Levant and Iran, as well as the endorheic Lake Maharlu system. It lives in rivers, streams, canals, reservoirs, ponds, and lakes, although it tends to avoid stagnant waters. It often is common or abundant, even in areas that are heavily influenced by humans, such as polluted canals.

The taxonomy of this species has been labelled with uncertainty. As traditionally defined (sensu lato), some morphological variations exist over its relatively large range and it has been recognized for several years that it likely was a species complex. Several subspecies have been described, but their validity is questionable, and in the last few decades, authorities have generally not recognized them. Nevertheless, reviews published since 2014 have provided genetic and morphologic evidence for recognizing some of them as separate species, while other new species have been described from the species complex. This includes G. turcica (formerly a subspecies) from its Turkish range, except the Tigris–Euphrates system, G. jordanica (new species) from the northern Dead Sea basin, including the Jordan River, in Israel, Jordan and Syria, G. gymnothorax (formerly a subspecies) from the Karun, Balarud and Bashar systems in Iran, G. mondica (new species) of the Mond River basin in Iran, and G. amirhosseini (new species) from the Sartang-e-Bijar Spring in the Tigris River system in Iran. G. jordanica and G. turcica have entirely separate ranges from true G. rufa (thus limiting its range to the Tigris–Euphrates system and river systems in Iran), but the others do overlap in range with true G. rufa or at least occur in the same river basins.

Other members of the G. rufa complex are G. barreimiae, G. elegans, G. ghorensis, G. longipinnis, G. nana, G. persica, G. rossica, and G. sahilia, but these were generally recognized as valid species many years ago. Finally the complex includes four cavefish: G. lorestanensis, G. tashanensis, G. typhlops and G. widdowsoni.

Fish pedicure

Using doctor fish as a pedicure treatment remains a controversial subject due to sanitation and animal ethics issues. The practice is banned in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces as cosmetology regulators believe the practice is unsanitary. Reporting done through the Wall Street Journal found that "cosmetology regulations generally mandate that tools need to be discarded or sanitized after each use. But epidermis-eating fish are too expensive to throw away". Not everyone supports this consensus, as at least one report conducted by the UK Health Protection Agency in 2011 assigned a "very low" risk of transferring infection from the procedure. Animal-rights organizations such as PETA denounces the practice, citing callous methods of international transportation and suggesting that the fish are deliberately starved between treatments to force them to eat an abnormal amount of food.

Garra rufa fish seen in the spa and aquarium trade mostly originate from commercial facilities in Israel and to a lesser degree Turkey. Since Israeli and many (but not all) Turkish populations of "G. rufa" now are recognized as G. jordanica and G. turcica instead, this leads to questions over the true identity of most of the fish seen in the trade. It is legally protected from capture from the wild in Turkey due to concerns of overharvesting. Despite its ability to survive in polluted waters, the species requires clean, well-oxygenated, and moving waters to thrive in an aquarium.

When used as a prelude intended to enhance the effects of ultraviolet light exposure in psoriasis treatment, fish pedicure is known as ichthyotherapy.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Freyhof, J. (2014). "Garra rufa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014 e.T19086922A19223063.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Zicha, Ondřej (2009). "Garra rufa". BioLib. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Search Results for: Garra rufa". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Garra rufa". FishBase. August 2016 version.
  5. ↑ Jarvis, Peter L. (2011). "Biological Synopsis of Garra rufa" (PDF). Government of Canada Publications. Canadian Manuscript Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 2946. Burington, Ontario: Science Branch, Centre of Expertise for Aquatic Risk Assessment, Central and Arctic Region, Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Coad, B.W. (14 November 2016). "Cyprinidae: Garra to Vimba". Freshwater Fishes of Iran. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  7. 1 2 3 "Garra rufa (HECKEL, 1843)". SeriouslyFish. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 Hamidan, N.H.; M.F. Geiger; J. Freyhof (2014). "Garra jordanica, a new species from the Dead Sea basin with remarks on the relationship of G. ghorensis, G. tibanica and G. rufa (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)". Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters. 25 (3): 223–236.
  9. 1 2 3 Esmaeli, H.R.; G. Sayyadzadeh; B.W. Coad; S. Eagderi (2016). "Review of the genus Garra Hamilton, 1822 in Iran with description of a new species: a morpho-molecular approach (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)". Iranian Journal of Ichthyology. 3 (2): 82–121.
  10. 1 2 3 BayÇelebİ, E.; C. Kaya; D. Turan; S.A. ErgÜden; J. Freyhof (2018). "Redescription of Garra turcica from southern Anatolia (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)". Zootaxa. 4524 (2): 227–236. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4524.2.6. PMID 30486123. S2CID 54159379.
  11. 1 2 Philip Shishkin. "Ban on Feet-Nibbling Fish Leaves Nail Salons on the Hook". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 3 December 2025.
  12. 1 2 Christopher Kim, Kosta Mumcuoglu, Martin Grassberger, Olga S. Gileva, Ronald A. Sherman (2013). Biotherapy - History, Principles and Practice: A Practical Guide to the Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease Using Living Organisms. Springer Netherlands. p. 163. ISBN 9789400765856.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  13. ↑ Galipeau, Silvia (8 July 2010). "Piscipédicurie: inusitée, controversée et non réglementée". La Presse. Canada. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  14. ↑ "Fish pedicure risk 'very low'". NHS England. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "What No One Told You about Those Disgusting Fish Pedicures". PETA. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Gophen, M. (2018). "Fishery Management in Lake Kinneret: A Review". Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development. 2018 (1): 1–10. doi:10.29011/2577-1493.100040 (inactive 1 July 2025). S2CID 51811751.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)
  17. ↑ "The word: Doctor fish". New Scientist. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 1 September 2024.