Taxonomy & naming
Gray described the species in 1830 as Cyprinus gotyla, from a mountain stream in northern India. The Catalog of Fishes restricts the locality to the Teesta (Tista) River at Rangpo, Sikkim. Garra is a large genus of sucker-mouthed labeonine cyprinids, ranging from West Africa and the Middle East across South and Southeast Asia to China. The epithet gotyla is a local vernacular name.
Morphology
A typical Garra: elongate, with a ventral mouth and an adhesive mental disc on the lower lip. FishBase gives a maximum of 8.5 in TL; colour has not been described in the sources the atlas uses.
Habitat
It lives in streams and lakes of the Himalayan foothills in the Ganges and Brahmaputra drainages. FishBase gives the range as Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and upper Myanmar, with reports from Afghanistan, Bhutan and Nepal. Torrent streams with rock and gravel are typical. Water parameters have not been published.
Feeding
Garra species are grazers. FishBase lists algae, plants and detritus as food for this species. The lower lip forms an adhesive mental disc, and the fish rasp algae, diatoms and biofilm from stone with the hardened jaw edge, taking small invertebrates along with it.
Mating
Mating has not been described for this species. Related Garra are seasonal egg-scatterers with no parental care, with ripe males carrying snout tubercles.
Breeding
Spawning has not been documented. Related Garra scatter eggs over stone and gravel and give them no care.
In the aquarium
Treat it as a hillstream fish: a long tank, strong flow, high oxygen, rounded stones and wood with algae and biofilm to graze, and a tight lid, since Garra climb and jump. Keep a group rather than a single fish, and give mixed algae wafers, sinking pellets and small live or frozen foods. Himalayan foothill streams are cool to moderate and well oxygenated, so avoid heat. Care notes come from the genus.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List category is Least Concern, assessed in 2009. Threats have not been described.