All fish / Cyprinidae

Laichow garra

Vinagarra laichowensis

Also known as garra laichowensis, placocheilus laichowensis, vinagarra laichowensis, laichow stone-lapping fish, 莱州墨头鱼

No free-to-use photo of this fish yet. Took one yourself? Send it to us and we will credit you.

This is a slim, brownish stone-lapping fish from northern Vietnam. Like true Garra, it has a sucking mouth disc under the head that it uses to scrape biofilm off rocks. It turns up now and then in the trade, and specialists keep it in fast-flowing hillstream tanks where it also helps to keep algae down.

Care at a glance

Care level

Moderate

Temperament

Semi

Adult size

10 cm

Temperature

18 to 25 °C

pH

6.5 to 7.8

Smallest tank

120 litres

Keep as

Group of 5 or more

Diet

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

Swims

Bottom of the tank

Lifespan

5 to 8 years

Water

Freshwater

Wild range

Northern Vietnam (Red River basin, Lai Chau) and nearby southern China

Breeding

Captive breeding has not been well documented. It probably scatters its eggs over gravel in flowing water, as related species do, and you should expect it to be difficult to breed at home.

Good to know

It was moved from Garra to its own genus, Vinagarra, so you will often see it sold under the old name. Give it strong flow, plenty of oxygen and cooler water, and expect some squabbling over territory between members of the same species.