Where to get CAE's

[Yeaulman]

Does anyone know where to get Chinese algae eaters in Canada?

 

[yhbae]

Out of curiosity, why do you want to get those? From what I hear, they are nothing but headaques when they grow up...

 

[Yeaulman]

I have hair algae and heard that they can get rid of it instead of me getting rid of my infested plants. If you know of a better way... Please help me out... I am getting frustrated

 

[panboy]

i had hair algae before and i got a SAE, not CAE,

its a saimese algae eater, and it did awesome.
i only got one for my 46g and its all gone.

in only 6 months or so, it has almost tripled its size, it was the size of an oto, and now its probalby 3.5-4 inches long. amazing cool fish, i love it

 

[yhbae]

Yes, SAE works great, and Bristlenose will also eat them when they are hungry (from my experience). CAE is not what you want... When they mature, they grow big and will start to attach to other large fishes and suck their outer membranes, not to mention being aggressive.... I personally would never have one of those in my tank...

 

[Lateral Line]

SAE's are one of the few fish that will eat hair/beard algae. They are a shoaling fish however, you should aim to keep at least 3 if you have the space.

CAE's can be a real problem as they get older. They stop eating algae, start getting territorial and can be really rather aggressive. They also have a habit of sticking onto the sides of flat sided fish and eating their slime coats, frequently causing serious damage in the process. That said, it tends to be very variable. Some CAE's never bother anything. On balance, they are not really suitable community fish, but are sadly sold to hundreds of unsuspecting people every day.