They treat the wounds on the feet of vacationers who enter the sea by attacking the dead skins.
While the fish that started to be seen on the seashore in Antalya caused the citizens to be alarmed, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Gökoğlu pointed out that the fish seen on the shore are sargoz fish and that they heal the wounds by doing the duty of Garra Ruffa genus fish called doctor fish. Gökoğlu said, “It cleans the dead tissue in the wound and allows the wound to heal faster. It cleans the dead tissue and infection, and when you get out of the sea, the wound dries and heals immediately,” he said.
While the summer period, which started early in Antalya, brings an influx of tourists to the city, the fish that started to be seen on the shore scares vacationers and residents of the region. Akdeniz University Faculty of Fisheries Lecturer Prof. Dr. Mehmet Gökoğlu said that the fish species found in large numbers on the seashore is sargoz fish and stated that citizens should not be afraid.
Half an inch tall
Prof. Dr. Gökoğlu noted that sargoz fish will be encountered from mid-July to mid-September and made the following statements:
“From mid-July to mid-September, there are fish that attack the wounds and dead skins on the feet of citizens who enter the sea on the coasts. These fish, which we call sargoz, sometimes hit the feet of our citizens so strongly that they are afraid to say that something has bitten me, they jump on land and come out. Sargoz fish are fish about half an inch in size, they hit the tissues of the open wounds on the feet. So it tries to feed on them, doing the same job as the doctor fish. It cleans the dead tissue in the wound and makes the wound heal faster. It cleans the dead tissue and infection, and when you get out of the sea, the wound dries and heals immediately. Our citizens should not be afraid, they are very small fish. Sometimes they pull the hair on your feet while feeding, which causes you to feel pain.”
