The Amazing Garra Rufa Fish
The Garra Rufa fish is a freshwater fish with some amazing claims attached to it. The fish is native to areas in Turkey, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, and Syria. It lives in rivers and muddy ponds is a bottom feeder and is a member of the carp family. This fish is also called the Doctor Fish, the Little Dermatologist, or the Nibble Fish.
There are a couple of competing legends that describe how the amazing abilities of the Garra Rufa fish were discovered in the early 1800s. One legend describes two brothers swimming in a hot spring who were suddenly surprised to feel a large group of small fish start nibbling on their legs and feet. The brothers returned to the spring often because they enjoyed the tickling sensation. After several visits in the spring, one of the brothers who had suffered from a skin disease, such as psoriasis, had recovered. They attributed the recovery to the nibbling fish they had been soaking with.
The fish prefer warm water temperatures from 59-82 Fahrenheit, but they can survive in water as warm as 98 Fahrenheit. They like to hide around rocks and vegetation on the bottom of streams and ponds, and they use their suction cup mouth to feed on algae and other proteins found on the bottom. Garra Rufa fish have no teeth. The fish rarely grows longer than an inch, is the size of a minnow, and has a silvery orange color.
For centuries, people have soaked in waters where Garra Rufa live and let the fish nibble at their calluses and other dead skin. The sensation, after getting over the initial surprise and ticklishness, was pleasant. People’s skin and feet felt smooth and refreshed afterward. Although there is no scientific evidence, some people strongly believe that an enzyme in Garra Rufa’s saliva cures psoriasis.
Garra Rufa fish have more recently been used in Japan, Croatia, China, South Korea, and northern Europe. First, they were introduced to natural hot springs and, like in Turkey, people would come to soak in the nibbling fish. Then fish foot therapy began to be offered in spas and shopping malls. Turkey has instituted legal protections for fish due to commercial exploitation. There are concerns that harvests of the fish for export may deplete the numbers of Garra Rufa left in its natural environment.
Some of the commercial fish spas had the fish in a large tank where customers could come and put their feet in. The fish would dart from foot to foot, nibbling the dead skin. This sounds very unsanitary, however, at some of these spas, feet were washed in an antiseptic bath before the treatment. Other spas used individual tubs for each customer and the tubs were sanitized between uses. In the United States, as well as elsewhere, there are still concerns about the risk of using Garra Rufa for skin treatments. One major open question is whether the fish can transmit bacteria or fungus from one person to another even if the tubs are cleaned between treatments. In 2008, the states of Washington and Texas banned the use of Garra Rufa fish as a spa treatment.
Another risk of fish foot therapy is that you may be setting your feet in a tub with imposters. If the nibbling feels more like poking than tickling, the fish is likely not a Garra Rufa since Garra Rufa has no teeth. Because of the Turkish protection of the fish, there are many cheap fakes that are being used in spas throughout the world. Most imposters are another species of carp that has tiny teeth and is imported from China, called chin. Other fakes are members of the Tilapia family and are generally larger than a Garra Rufa.
See more: Japanese Fighting Fish