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Hi I was wondering what SAE's were and what is there name spelled out I've only seen it written as SAE. What typ of alge do they eat?

Siamese Algae Eater that is sold under many different names at fish stores. The best one to get but harder to find is the "True" SAE which eats all different types of algae and gets to be about 5".

however, i do hear that they will get aggressive...im not too sure about it.

I have found that their aggression tends to be confined only within their species, and even then it rarely gets worse than sporadic chasing. I have kept them alone and had no aggression problems.

If you see a SAE exhibiting interspecies aggression, there's a good chance it's not a SAE at all, but rather one of the many aggressive species it resembles.

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Thanks for the information I'm thinking of getting one for my 29g when I set it up.

Siamese Algae Eaters are a great fish.
I dont think they are really suited to a
29g tank. They grow to 6 inches and are really
a schooling fish that should be kept in groups
of at least three.
I have 3 of these fish and they are about 4 inches
each. Even at that size I couldnt imagine them in a
29g tank, they are incredibly active.
Heres a pic of one of mine:
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I had 2 in a 26, and they were fine. They'd not say no to more room though

Don't buy singles, get at least 2

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Ashes, the Siamese Algae Eater is a cyprinid (member of the Carp family) whose scientific name is Crossocheilus siamensis. It is an excellent algae eater, it will even devour thread algae (I bought some in 1999 for this express purpose and they NUKED every last trace of it!) and although it can be boisterous with members of its own species and fishes of a similar type (e.g., Red Tailed Black Sharks - I definitely would NOT mix the two in all but the largest aquaria as they'd scrap incesssantly) it tends to be peaceful with the majority of other medium sized community fishes.

However, be advised that they grow FAST. I bought mine as 1 inch babies, and in four weeks they were up to 4 inches or so. Mind you, they had a lot of algae to eat in the aquarium at the time, but boy, did those things pile on the body mass at a rate of knots! Given enough space they'll hit 6 inches without any trouble. Most people tend to keep them in a 55 gallon or larger aquarium, because of this (and the fact that they should be kept in a group of 3 minimum for best effect), and in a 55 or larger they really come into their own.

Watch out for similar looking fishes mistakenly sold under the same name. Make sure that the one you get is GENUINELY Crossocheilus siamensis and not an imitation sold under the wrong name!


Last edited by Calilasseia at 02-Nov-2005 14:19

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