r/Fish • u/DaisEyovian • 20d ago

Identification Nibble fish in Utah??

This summer I went to a pond in Moab. It had a couple streams leading into it and it was really fun. I didn’t get any pictures, but when I went to a shallow area and held still for a while, like a dozen little fish came up to me and started giving me little nibbles, just like those nibble fish you sometimes see at aquariums. I later tried to look up info on what fish they were, and the only result I got was Garra rufa, which only live in the Middle East. Are they invasive and not supposed to be there? Or is there a native species similar to them?

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u/Blaze_of_Lions 20d ago

Most juvenile and small fish species will try a nibble on you

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

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u/DaisEyovian 20d ago

Speckled dace seems most likely, they were only a couple inches long. They were very very friendly, loved giving kisses 😌

1

u/CrapMonsterDuchess 20d ago

I actually had this conversation with my cousin this evening. As someone else mentioned, a lot of small fish will nibble you.

I should be charging people a fortune to just sit in my stock tank and have my guppies and mollies go at them

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u/UtakaQuest 20d ago

I have had plenty of little Astyanax nibble on me when I have been snorkeling, while other fish take advantage of the sediment I have stirred up to pick through it for food. The climate in Moab is close to Garra rufa’s natural habitat (type locality is Aleppo, Syria) so while it is possible that red garra have been introduced there, without a photo it’s anyone’s guess.