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I want - no NEEEED to get one to take care of my BHA (UURRGH) problem - however i bin hearing that these fish (or fish like it) are not very friendly fish - i have a very peaceful community at the mo, and don't wanna disturb that..

so is it the siamese algae eater, or the chinese algae eater (are these the same?) or the false SAE or flying fox that is the aggressive fish?!?!

any experiences!??! thanks

oh, and how many should i get for a 40gal tank?

http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

THe third post here : http://www.plantgeek.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=74 has nice closeup of SAE.

CHINESE algae eaters not only don't eat algae as they get bigger, they enjoy sucking the slime coating off of other fish. They have a sucker mouth so it's hard to confuse them with SIAMESE algae eaters, which do not have a sucker mouth. I have never seen my SAE's become agressive in any way. Normally, Siamese algae eaters and flying foxes, along with false siamensis are the most commonly mislabeled fish at the pet store. I've seen fish labeled " Flying Siamese algae eaters" , " Siamese Foxes Algae eaters" , " Siamese flying foxes", and just about every other combination at fish stores, including just plain " Algae eaters" . I go by scientific name when purchasing SAE's. Usually when they are young, they all sort of look similar except the Chinese algae eater with the sucker mouth and all, so I take a picture with me, along with a printout of the first page I linked and the nice SAE picture on the second link, and if the lfs doesn't have them, I have them order them for me by scientific name, and ensure when they come in that the shipping list has the correct scientific name ( they will check this for you if they're a good lfs), and that they match up to the pictures. After having them in your tank for awhile, you'll be able to spot true Siamese Algae eaters much easier.

The true SAE is the best choice. They are peaceful, active, and will eat algae (and flakes, too) for you. They do best in schools in larger tanks, though my 2 are in a 30g and are doing just fine. If your algae problem is serious or you're overstocked at the moment, you can also help the situation by stepping up gravel vacs and water changes (assuming that your tap doesn't have nitrates or phosphates), and adding hornwort to eat up the nitrates as well. BTW, the SAE has a line all the way through its tail, and the top edge of the line is a wee bit jagged (an effect from the way the scales line up).

[span class="edited"][Edited by joe fishy 2004-06-30 12:00][/span]

3 fish that are usually confused SAE,CAE and Flying Fox.

One handy way to tell them apart:
SAE = 1 pair of barbels
CAE = no barbels and as posted above a sucker mouth
FF = 2 pairs of barbels.
Only one problem the barbels are quite small and buggers keep moving so have to be patient. I was lucky enough to see all 3 in a tank together at the weekend and when you see them together the differences are quite obvious, but if you are going looking for the first time can be very difficult.

CAE has more of a golden color around the black horizontal stripe.

Don't trust the label in the LFS as Jake mentioned commonly mislabeled or given a weird name, quite possible to find a label say False Chinese Siamese Flying Algae Eating Fox (try saying that 3 times fast !)

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Genuine Siamese Algae Eaters (Crossocheilus siamensis) are Cyprinids. Related to Red Tail Sharks and other Labeo species, and more distantly to goldfish. CAEs on the other hand belong to a completely different Family, have a large sucking mouth similar (but not identical) to a Plec's, grow to twice the size of an SAE at least and are likely to be bad tempered when adult.

SAEs can be boisterous with their own species, but generally get on well with others.

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Ooh! How 'bout, "Foxes from the Chinese sector of Siam that eat algae and fly."

I have a CAE that I had to remove and give him his own 30 gallon tank. He is two years old, about 7" long and very territorial. He started to kill my Corys in my 120 gallon tank. I now have 7 SAE's in the 120 gallon and they are great. No algae left and their behavior is great for a peacefull community. I also have 4 SAE's in a 40 gallon tank with Neons, Dwarf Guaramis, female Betta, Rainbows and two Weather Loaches. Again, their behavior is great. They never stop eating. I highly recommend them for peacefull communities only. They won't survive any type of aggression.

Dojo, did you make that up or get it from a fortune cookie?

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

hi - i got one from a very good lfs who had them correctly labelled and segregated from the other CAE, and flying foxes

the other distinction is that SAE have no colour in their fins, whereas CAE and FF do (goldy colour)

well, i read that the SAE and flag fish are the best for eating BBA- i would def recommend the SAE - hes been in the tank for 2 days and already hes cleared a lot of the plants - YAYAYYA for the SAE - and hes only little!

thanks!

just remeber, SAE do get to a decent size (6", and being a schooling fish, they take up quite a bit of your bio-load if you have a smaller tank. I think 55g would be a minimum for these fish, considering their size and schooling behavior

Remember, Kafifa, these things grow FAST. Mine went from 1 inch long to 4 inches in around 3 weeks after demolishing green algal carpets from all over the aquarium

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002