kiwi Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Here is an interesting site with pictures relating to the different types of algae that can plague freshwater aquariums and how to go about eliminating the problem. http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted October 18, 2004 Report Share Posted October 18, 2004 Good Stuff Kiwi, thanx for posting that site here. I was wondering, how good are Siamese Algae Eaters as community fish? Ive got: 4 x Angels 1 x Neon Tetra 1 x Bronze Cory 1 x Blue Dwarf Gourami 2 x Red Phantom Tetras Ive got a real algae problem, and I was wondering if I could put a couple into my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 19, 2004 Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 SAEs are fine as community fish but make sure they are true SAEs you are buying as there is a very similar fish commonly available and also sold with the same name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gila_fish Posted October 19, 2004 Report Share Posted October 19, 2004 That is a great site!! Thank you for posting it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 FYI SAE's are good when they are young but get lazy (i.e. stop controlling algae) when they get to full size. Also some have been know to damage (suck on to) larger slow flat fish like your angels. I could be wrong here and it might be the other fish commonly sold as SAE that does this. Telling the difference is a little tricky I haven't done it for a few years but from memory the stripe down the body goes into the tail in one and not the other, check the web for details thats how I found out. Have you considered a bristlenose plec instead? Good algae eaters, none of the problems as with the above and as a plus are very (almost too eazy!) to sex and breed. Watch you don't get over run! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spooky Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 The fish with the reputation for sucking onto the side of large flat fish is the Oto, not the SAE. They're quite good except that, as the original article noted, a small percentage of them become "attack otos". I'm with you, suphew, on the bristlenoses. Not an elegant fish, but plenty of personality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 I think the SAE do it more because of agresion than food, I know they do this because I had one that left marks all over my discus, I might have just been very unlucky and had a bad one. I guess just some thing to watch out for. Interestingly I had Otos after I got rid of the SAE and never had any problems, I just couldn't keep them alive! Think my water was too soft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susi Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 That article was very informative! Has anyone tried the bleaching method? It sounds quite drastic, but I imagine it would help. But how high is the risk in getting bleach into the tank afterwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 23, 2004 Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 The bleach method works well but note he suggested dipping new plants in it - not putting bleach into the tank. He says to dip the plant in the bleach solution, rinse it well then wash it in water using chlorine remover. If you do this there won't be any bleach in your tank. As an aside, I believe it also gets rid of any snails eggs on the plants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted October 24, 2004 Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 I think that you have the nationality of your sucking cats mixed up. It is the Chinese sucker not the Siamese sucker that is the aggressive, non-algae eating culprit. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGilchrist Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Spot on Alan used to have some sae's, lovely little school of algae eaters used to also have a chinese one, great bully of a fish :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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