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Today I brought home 3 of the albino algae eaters. I dont have much luck with plecos so I thought I would give these lil guys a try.
The dude at the store told me 3 albinos would be sufficent for my 55 gallon tank. I have alot of algea so no problems with them having plenty to eat.
Is 3 enough though? They are so small and the tank is big.
Thought maybe I should have gotten 6 but the dude said 3.
Also, are these pretty hardy fish?
So far I like them and they are quite fast and sure like to stick to anything they come in contact with.
Thanks

If were talking chinese algae eaters here one would be perfectly sufficient for algae duties, , they are however at maturity a large persistantly aggressive fish, e to chewing lumps off other fish, and they can be terriorial and aggressive with each other too.

They are fairly hardy though, but they are often a sort of fish that can ruin a community of small or moderate fish and are better placed in aquaria with large brusque fish who will not tolerate their gnawing activities.

If I wanted algae eaten Id turn to almost any other species first, plecs, ottos, SAE's, shrimp, etc.

Chinese algae eaters are about as friendly as a bulldog chewing a wasp when they get older.
They are only really suitable in moderately aggressive communities. They can be a ticking timebomb. You may come to regret buying one , never mind half a dozen or so.

I think you got caught on an old sales pitch (these will do the job fantastically) I personally would take them back and replace them with small SAEs they would be one of the best algae eaters around also they are a tough little fish. As they get older they can get lazy and prefer being fed rather than hunting for algae.
Ottos are more suitable for a smaller tank but for tank that size you would require a lot of ottos.

I would also be concerned why you have all the algae in the tank. Is it the lighting, feeding, or the water conditions or all these combined?
Please reply with a full water peramiters of the tank and all about the tank, fish, plants, lighting etc.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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Ok, so it looks like I goofed with getting these fish and will take them back.
Anyone have a trick on catching these lil suckers?
They are wicked fast and I dont want to dismantle the entire tank to catch them.
ANy ideas
Thanks

It really depends on what other fish you keep in your tank. My CAE used to be a pain in the ... when I kept him with some peaceful fish like Keyholes and mollys. I had to keep him alone for a while, until I got a pair of nicaraguense cichlids. They would not tolerate the CAE even getting close to their territory. My CAE has learned to become a good citizen and working hard on the algae again.

What I have done with difficult to catch fish is place 1 or 2 nets in the tank in the general area of feeding and leave them for a few days and feed as usual. Miss a day feeding it will not hurt them, then the next day try to catch them at feeding time using both nets. My SAE was getting a bit big for the Betta tank and those things are fast at feeding time he just swam into the net to get some food.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW