All fish / Cyprinidae

Sooty Garra

Garra fuliginosa

Also known as garra fisheri, discolabeo fisheri, sooty stone sucker

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This is a dark, sooty brown, stream-dwelling cyprinid with a flattened belly and a sucker-like mouth disc that it uses to graze rocks. Keepers like it as a hardy algae and biofilm grazer for large, fast-flowing river-style tanks.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Peaceful

Adult size

15 cm

Temperature

20 to 26 °C

pH

6.5 to 7.5

Smallest tank

300 litres

Keep as

Group of 3 or more, or kept singly

Diet

Omnivore: algae, biofilm, sinking pellets and wafers, blanched vegetables, bloodworm

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 8 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Mekong and Chao Phraya basins: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia

Breeding

Nobody has reported breeding it in home aquariums. It is thought to scatter its eggs over gravel in flowing water.

Good to know

It grows to about 15 cm, so it needs a large tank with strong current and plenty of oxygen. It can get territorial with other bottom grazers and is easily confused with other dark Garra species.