Doctor Fish aka Pedicure Fish (Garra rufa)
- Low stock - 10 items left
- Backordered, shipping soon
* For the safety of our animals, we now ship live fish exclusively via UPS Next Day Air. If your order contains this item, you will only see UPS Next Day Air as a shipping option during checkout *
The Doctor Fish (Garra rufa), also known as the Pedicure Fish, is popular in more than just the aquarium hobby. It is famous for its ability to graze on dead skin cells on humans, so it is used in many clinics that treat psoriasis and other human skin problems. In these clinics, patients dip their limbs into the water and the Doctor Fish swarm to graze on the patient’s dead skin. In the aquarium, this fish is an interesting scavenger and grazer that is compatible with a variety of tankmates.
A member of the Cyprinidae family, the Doctor Fish inhabits most of the cooler freshwater areas of the Mediterranean and Middle East regions. It prefers very oxygen-rich, fast-flowing water and will often swim directly against the current of a filter output or powerhead. Very fast water flow is a key to success in keeping this fish. Another key to success is a secure lid or canopy on the aquarium, as this fish is a skilled jumper and climber.
The Doctor Fish will graze on biofilm that grows on driftwood, rocks, and plants, so it is an excellent inhabitant for well-lit planted aquariums. It will also eat many fresh fruits and vegetables and should also be supplemented with meaty foods, both dry and frozen. Biofilm seems to be essential to its diet, so the Doctor Fish should not be added to new or biologically immature aquariums.
- Interesting personality
- Generally peaceful
- Grazes biofilm from surfaces
- Excellent for the cold water aquarium
- Temperature: 57° - 68° F (14° - 20° C)
- pH: 6.0 - 8.0
- KH: 6 - 10 dKH
- Minimum tank size: 30 gallons for a small group
- Diet: Omnivorous. Accepts high quality dry and frozen foods and needs a balance of both plant-based and meaty foods.
- Social behavior: Generally peaceful. Lives in loose groups but may fight with its own kind and similar fish in smaller tanks.
- Origin: Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions
- Average adult size: 3.9 - 4.7 inches (10 - 12 cm)
- Average purchase size: 1 inch (2.5 cm)
For the safety of our animals, we only ship live fish, crabs, and select other inverts exclusively via UPS 1 Day Air. If your order contains this item, you will only see UPS 1 Day Air as a shipping option during checkout. If other items are in your cart that can ship with 2 day or standard shipping options the only shipping method you can still select is UPS 1 Day Air.
UPS 1 Day is a description of the duration of time a shipment will spend in transit once it has been shipped. This does not guarantee the package will be shipped the same or next day from which the order was placed.
Shipping Schedule for this service
Current Handling Time:
1-9 business days
Here at Aquatic Arts, we consider the welfare of the live animals we are shipping to be of the foremost importance. This process is much more involved than simply creating a shipping label and affixing it to a box. Depending on the order, it takes from 4 to 7 people to complete this process properly. We check the weather conditions here where they fly out of the Indianapolis UPS facility and the destination for each shipment. We start early each morning and go through a multi-step process to have the day's shipments prepared in time for the UPS pickup. The volume of orders in our system also affects the processing time. Therefore our stated handling time is 1-9 business days.
Shipping Rate
Pricing is by size of package needed to fill entire order and distance it must travel. It will be calculated at checkout.