Occurrence
Garra rufa occurs in the river basins of the Northern and
Central Middle East, mainly in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran. It is
legally protected from commercial exploitation in Turkey due to concerns
of overharvesting for export. Garra rufa can be kept in an aquarium
at home; while not strictly a "beginner's fish", it is quite hardy. For
treatment of skin diseases, aquarium specimens are not well suited as
the skin-feeding behavior fully manifests only under conditions where
the food supply is somewhat scarce and unpredictable.
