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Are Chinese Algae Eaters really such evil things??? I know people who swear by them and that they get their tanks free of algae in just a few days. Does anyone out there have them? If so, what has your experience been?

I have mainly bottom feeders and Angelfish.

THanks much

I have also heard that CAE are agressive especially with their own kind, However the one time I kept them (I had 2 because I didn't know any better ) neither ever showed any aggression towards the other. Although, maybe they just had enough room to live in peace. At the time I also had Emerald Green Corys and I never witnessed any kind of attack on them either. This is just IME. Good luck

I have had customers that loved them, and others that noticed lots of aggression from them. It would appear that they have widely varying temperaments, except for one little thing. The folks who had an easy time with them, and that they would eat algae for, had small, one to three inch CAEs. The people who had aggressive CAEs kept theirs until they grew larger. It would seem (and I've heard this on the Web, too) that they just turn nasty with age.

Last edited by sirbooks at 17-Apr-2005 18:54

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I had one that lived for 7-8 years. He got very large. He was agressive and territorial. I bought a barrel ornament. He then took over that as his territory and pretty much picked on anything that swam inside of his domain. I am not suggesting that this is the cure all with this species of fish but it worked for me. He was almost like an old bull dog you would see in a bugs bunny cartoon. If you got near the barrel out he would go standing up on his fins LOL. It would not matter about the invaders size either. This was 20 years ago. I still have the same barrel and my RTBS acts the same way ROFL. Maybe that barrel has a territorial karma..

FreeBlaze

Last edited by freeblaze at 17-Apr-2005 20:45

My Sister had one, at around 4 inches he started sucking onto her goldfish.
What I have heard about these guys is, mostly that people buy them for 10g tanks, and they grow much too large. Secondly, I have heard they try to eat other fish when they get larger, as my sisters kept trying to eat her oranda. Once they get a taste for fish, thats their end I guess, they will settle for nothing else.
Also, they stop eating algae once they reach around 4 inches, and prefer a much meatier diet, and if only offered algae, would probably starve to death.
If you are looking for something to eat algae, look elsewhere.
I can recommend for you Siamese Algae Eaters (like to school, grow slightly smaller than CAE's, ~5-6 inches)
Farlowella Catfish- also known as Twig Catfish, great algae eaters, grow about 10 inches long, but thin as a twig, will clean a 20g tank clear of green in a couple of days, need to be supplemented with veggies or algae wafers as usually a 55g tank full of algae will not suffice for these guys for long.
BN Pleco - I had a 10g set up with 4.5 watts per gallon of light. I had a hillstream loach and ottos, nothing removed much green. it was literally green, all 3 side and back walls, all decor, and the plants. 4 days later, everything was crystal clear and spotless. BN- best algae eater ever, next to farlowella catfish.
Ottos- Sensitive, but cute little guys. I lost 6, ended up with 2. Really need lots of algae to survive, again supplement with wafers after dark and fresh veggies.
I currently have all these fish in my 75g tank - 2 SAE's, 1 BN, 2 Ottos, 1 Farlowella cat. I have almost no algae. I supplement with a ton of algae wafers dispersed throughout the day and espescially at night. I also supplement with zuchinni, pear, and peas. I also offer bottom feeder tablets which are more meaty, and shrimp pellets. They dont appear to be thin or starving, but I am always worried if my shy eaters, like ottos and plecos get enough to eat.
Anyway I hope that helps some. Sorry for rambling on like that
its a bad habit


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i never met a baby CAE i didn't like. normal or golden, they are v, v cool. good at their job, cute. but the comments here seem to be on the mark - they get crabby and carnivorous as they age and grow. there are plenty of species out there which change diet as they mature (including our good selves, of course) and this just seems to be the way it goes with CAE's. i keep sturisoma panamense, the royal whiptail, for algae control. not for the beginner, but a great algae eater.

We just purchased a small CAE on the recommendation of our generally very helpful LFS employee.

We are newbies with a 29 g community tank (6 brilliant rasboras, 1 horse faced loach, 2 corys) and have been experiencing a ton of brown algae, and also super cloudy water from what I imagine was an algae bloom (which, incidentally, disappeared COMPLETELY in the course of this evening, the water is now crystal clear...which I thought was very weird)

Anyways, we opted for the CAE over a Bristle Nose Pleco at the time because it was cheaper and our tank was looking so crummy we were worried about investing more than a couple bucks on a new fish. Our LFS helper said it might get 6" but mentioned nothing about aggression...

Should we take it back and opt for the Bristlenose? Will the CAE even go after the brown algae? Would a BN go after non-brown algae were it to arise? Any suggestions/info appreciated...

p.s. Sorry to revive/hijack a thread...

The pond I set up (by all worksmanship-ical means, "my pond" ) contains koi, p. pardalis, and p. gibbiceps, as well as two large, 7"-8"ish CAEs. I have never firsthandedly seen any aggression on the part of the CAE. I guess it depends on what enviornment you place them in.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 16-May-2005 08:19

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 19-May-2005 02:17

wallawalla,
In a 29 I honestly wouldnt suggest it. The Golden CAE I had stopped with the brown algae after a few weeks, started going after slime coat after a few weeks more, and was back to the store first time I saw it happen. I'm not sure I'd even suggest one in a 55 gallon tank. Having one in a pond is an entirely different story

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Guess we'll have to keep a close eye on that one- I already caught him chasing a couple of the rasboras, although no harm seems done. So far he hasn't even touched any of the brown stuff, just hides behind the powerhead mostly, although he might still be acclimating.

We have 2 that we've had for 3 years and are about 20cms and they have attitude! They will not back down to anything if you get in the way of them and their food and will take on bigger fish for an area that they want.
They have loads of personality as they get older if you actually take the time to watch them.
We had one in a tank with 2 large oscars and it looked after itself, even slapping about showing it's dominance (just like the oscars) when we tried to introduce another fish to their tank

So for me, the larger they get, the more pushy they are.

What can I say about one of my favorite fish.
yes - grows big. Mine is over 8". Fed mostly blood worms/ pumpkin and zucchini.
yes - aggressive. My one is the ruler of his tank. Did not like a Krib that I had with it, and nearly killed it until I removed the Krib. Any thing he does not like, he will chase non stop, which stress out any fish. He will also whip the enemy with his giant tail. ouch. I have never seen him actually suck on any other fish. He chases the Bristlenose at times, if the Bristlenose is in the open.

He gets on with the corys, doesn't mind them jumping all over him. and also my guppys/mollys/platys/ and a gudgeon. Loves the Gudgeon.

Don't get on with my Krib/ Convict/ Bristlenose and my Swordtail.

I would not put one in a tank smaller than a 3 footer.
If I put in a log with heaps of algae from my 4 footer into his tank, it will be cleaned with 1 hour. If I put in some pumpkin, he will lay all over it and won't let any other fish near it, exspecially the Bristlenose.

You might say, how can you love such a fish? but you must see him and his personality and then you can understand how. Its just a shame I can not hand feed him. Cause when it come to the crunch, he is a big chicken.]

Picture of nearly actual size.

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I have a regular CAE and i have to say it the most effective algae eater single handledly i have its constantly grazing. its does a better job than my BN's do which is impressive IMO.I have not noticed any aggression what so ever from it and its with cories and some pencil fish. Here is mine



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wowza, such a variety of experiences. Little matter to us though, as ours just went belly up after three days....sigh. This is the first fish we've lost, wonder if we'll be refunded our $1.22