Fish that you can play with

These fishes are not afraid of you. Seeing you from afar, they are rushing to bite you. Literally. But don’t worry, they are cute and not dangerous.

In Indonesia, people are using them for reflexology massage therapy. That’s why I am filling my pond with them. They are so fun to play with and so ticklish when they bite. They are very strong with water condition compared to other fresh water fishes. I almost did not find any of them died since perhaps couple of years ago.

First type: Garra Rufa

This one is very small, long, has mustache like a cat fish and like to stay at bottom of pond a lot. They also like to eat moss. Because of their small size, sometimes I have doubt if they will survive, but apparently they do just well. Their small lip does not feel anything for us when they bite unfortunately.

Second type: Osteochilus vittatus (Bonylip Barb)

In Indonesia we call them Nilem fish. They can grow big as long as 18cm in size. They are very active and seem not afraid of anything. There is reason why they are called bony lip 😆 When they bite us it feels between ticklish and a bit painful.

Third type: Albino Bonylip Barb

This one is basically same Nilem fish, it’s just the skin is albino which makes it looks beautiful. You can also opt to have them in aquarium instead. But be careful when mixing them with other fishes. They are not picky when using their mouth to bite.

So if you are bored to own a fish that you can only look at, try getting these fishes. You can touch them, play with them — aaaand of course, be ready to be bitten 😄

Thanks for reading! Cheers 🍺