The Garra Panda or garra flavatra, is a relatively new option for your aquarium. This freshwater fish from Asia is said to eat much more algae than a plecostomus. Here's a closer look at this interesting and beautiful little fish.
They are adorable and have funny little personalities. They are the type of fish that notices when you are observing the tank and will look right back atcha.
I have kept about 20 different varieties of fish over the years and this is without question, my favourite fish. Colourful, energetic, fun to watch, relatively easy to keep and it helps keep algae off my glass. Can't say enough good things about this fish.
By far one of my favorite fish with personality, and a very proficient tank worker. I have also personally found that the Garra cambodgiensis (Cambodian log sucker, Stone lapping minnow) is an even more so voracious algae eater.
Great fish. I've got 5 of them in a 210 gallon barb community tank. Glass is spotless and they keep the plants algae free. They have a unique personality and are far more active than any pleco and can handle a wider temperature range than most algae eaters. Might be expensive but you won't be disappointed with their results.
I just witnessed my little panda scarfing down some baby guppies! He really seems to like them which is great because I have too many. He will dart around so quickly, faster than you can say "look out baby!" you don't even see the attack it happens so fast lol. All u see is him zooming by and one less baby in his trail.
The price has gone way down to the point where you can find Panda Garra online for $4 each. I recommend from experience to get several, like at least 5 or 6 minimum. They like to wrestle with each other so with a good sized group there isn't just one fish that is the focus of their play.
Well I just wanted to chime in with my 2 cents on this. Firstly it's a Panda Garra, not a Garra Panda. Calling it a Garra Panda, is like saying Barb Tiger, or Pleco Bristlenose! It's just wrong!! It Belongs to a genus of fish called Garras, not a genus called Pandas! But secondly thank you for posting. This was one of the videos that helped me to decide on this fish. I note comments below about it NOT being an obligate algae eater, but an omnivore requiring some meat in it's diet. Many websites I have looked at whilst researching this fish concur with this. However, I decided to buy 3 of these plus one Bulldog Pleco for my tank, when I had been originally planning on 2 Bulldog Plecos and maybe 2 Bristlenose Plecos. I was attracted to the Panda Garra because it's a really cute looking fish, with interesting colouring and markings, and it's active during the daytime, also they stay much smaller than any Pleco I could find locally that eats algae rather than wood or something meaty. I have to say I concur with the makers of this video, these guys are constantly on the move ALL day and ALL evening until lights out at least, swimming around the tank looking for more algae to graze. If they are not swimming, they are eating, and they spend more time eating than swimming by far! They rarely seem to sit and chill for a while, but sometimes do. They eat all the algae off the glass, and off the plants and ornaments. I specifically left the 2 narrow ends of my tank as a place for algae to grow before buying them, and as they were tiny when I bought them, I thought that would keep them going for a while. They cleaned them both entirely in 3 days before my very eyes. Now it can't grow back as fast as they eat it. They cleaned the largest ornament in my tank which was covered in a lawn of grassy looking algae in 2 days flat. they each eat WELL more algae than the Bulldog Pleco which rarely ever comes out before lights out and I've only seen about 4 times apart from when I'm doing a water change. I worry that the Pleco doesn't get enough to eat because these guys are so insatiable. I do give them all an algae wafer each night, and the Panda Garras do sometimes chew on a bloodworm when I put them in the tank, but I've never seen them eat Daphnia or Brine Shrimp which are the other live foods I sometimes feed my fish. They do also sometimes graze on the bottom feeder pellets I feed my catfish, so hopefully they are getting a balanced diet. But I can definitely say, in summary, if you are considering this fish, it is a very active daytime fish that eats TONS of algae, but as recommended by many websites, and people who commented below, you should supplement their diet with bloodworms at the very least.
+Tim Jones Hi Tim and thanks for the correction along with the helpful post. This video is several years old, and at the time I had not heard of this fish. It has become more common and the price has come down. So hopefully more people will be able to enjoy the results you have seen. Thanks again - jc
These are notorious escape artist they call them Houdini Garra in Florida , they will climb right out the back or your tank up the airline and will go in you hob filter very sneaky fish ,a tight lid is a absolute must!
So I've heard that Panda Garras can be just like Siamese Algae Eaters in that they stick themselves to fish and suck on the slime coat... is this true or only when malnourished?
I have had 6 Panda Garra for over 3 years now and I have never witnessed this in my tank. They seem to be much more interested in wrestling with each other than bothering other fish. I think that it does help to keep 5-6 or even more depending on your situation. You can find these guys for $4 each now.
really interested in getting some of these..does your store sell online if so do you have a website..i live in southern california any advice you can give me on how i can get a hold of some of these..maybe any websites or stores..please and thank you.
Agreed -- When I first did this video the fish was rare and ply wild specimens were available. My understanding is that they can now be aquacultured and are no longer an "expensive" fish.
