Garra rufa is the freshwater fish commonly called the doctor fish in Turkish spa treatments.
Garra rufa is a small cyprinid native to river systems in parts of the Middle East, including Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. It became internationally famous because groups of the fish may nibble softened or dead skin when people place their feet in warm water.
The fish has been used in some spa treatments marketed as fish pedicures. However, claims that it medically cures psoriasis or other skin conditions are not established simply by its feeding behavior, and health authorities have raised hygiene concerns about shared water.
Garra rufa is sometimes confused with unrelated fish sold for similar treatments. The genuine species is a small riverine cyprinid, not a piranha or a tropical aquarium sucker fish.