Siamese Algae Eater! Crossocheilus Siamensis

[Shovelman]

Just picked up a Crossocheilus siamensis an hour ago! Currently acclimating, and will soon release into my tank. Awesome fish even if its a little bit plain in coloration, still cool markings with the dark bold black line! So soon he will be released into my algae ridden 65 gallon tank where he can graze at all the algae he wants, and also i have some algae wafers for him as well. Just had a question though, how fast do they grow? Right now id say he's at about 2-2 1/2 inches maybe 3" idk i cant tell... Oh! And also do they really get aggressive with one another? or are they better off alone or in pairs/groups?

 

[three-fingers]

They grow very fast IME and should be 6" and chunky within the year!

They are very gregarious however, I would advise adding at least 2 more, preferably 5 more to get a shoal of 6 .

A shoaling fish they are much more active and display a wide range of behaviours with each other when kept in groups .

 

[IainMac85]

do these have a similar temperament to the chinese algae eaters (Gyrinocheilus)?

 

[Shovelman]

do these have a similar temperament to the chinese algae eaters (Gyrinocheilus)?

No, at least as far as i researched...What i kept finding though, is that they tend to be aggressive towards one another or fish with similar boy type/colors....which is why i only got one. But hey! Im up for a small school of them! Its funny because i was looking for a school of something that would be good with my 5 Toxotes microlepis and my African knife fish!

 

[three-fingers]

They shouldn't be "aggressive" towards each other, just playful really, are you sure you have the right species? There are many that look very similar and LFS usually have them labelled wrong .

A bit of chasing of others is to be expected when a fish is kept in insufficient numbers however, just look at other cyprinids, like tiger barbs!

They are great fish, I had 3 in a 190L corner tank (which was too small for these ridiculously active fish IMO) and their antics were always amusing .

 

[Shovelman]

They shouldn't be "aggressive" towards each other, just playful really, are you sure you have the right species? There are many that look very similar and LFS usually have them labelled wrong .

A bit of chasing of others is to be expected when a fish is kept in insufficient numbers however, just look at other cyprinids, like tiger barbs!

They are great fish, I had 3 in a 190L corner tank (which was too small for these ridiculously active fish IMO) and their antics were always amusing .

What better way than with a picture!?

....and the pictures aren't working...?

 

[three-fingers]

I see it, thats a true SAE, pick up a few more while they are still in stock!

With Flickr you have to click on "Actions" on the top and select "View all sizes" from the drop-down, then you right click the image and select "Copy image location" - you now have a direct link to the image on it's own page.

To paste it in the forums you just put in-between the image tags like you did there .

 

[Shovelman]

I see it, thats a true SAE, pick up a few more while they are still in stock!

With Flickr you have to click on "Actions" on the top and select "View all sizes" from the drop-down, then you right click the image and select "Copy image location" - you now have a direct link to the image on it's own page.

To paste it in the forums you just put in-between the image tags like you did there .

Alright! Now were in business! With regards to now being dedicated to getting more of these cool guys, im a tad worried about my future stocking plan.
Right now i have a 5" African knife fish in my tank, and will soon be acquiring 5 Toxotes microlepis (a freshwater archerfish that gets about 6" or so.)

In terms of stocking that seems like quite a load with 10 (5 archers and 5 SAE's) chunky fish...and the african knifefish....I dont know if this is too much or what because im not really used to stocking larger tanks.... (this is a 65 gallon tank with a Eheim professional 2 external canister filter) its my first large tank, as i started off with a 10 and 20 gallon...so i was used to really limited stocking....lol

Also, im sure there will be room to swim as my AKF doesnt show itself during the day so the waters open for the SAE's and archers to swim..

 

[three-fingers]

Yes good point, that would be a very busy tank when those fish are fully grown . Ideally I would return the SAE (which is really an active open-water swimmer like large barbs and rasoboras) and go for a couple of Ancistrus spp. plecs or similar. If you can find a flying fox/false SAE (Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus) then you could keep just one of them .

You could just go for it and have a busy tank lol, but you'd probably need to add another external, or at least a powerhead/wavemaker for them...and not slack on waterchanges!

To help reduce algae cleaning, presuming your tank has a pH above 7, a couple of ruby/zebra nerite snails would be good - but just make sure you have enough algae to last them as they wont eat algae wafers off the substrate or scavenge anything other than algae, so if your tanks spotless they will slowly starve.

 

[Shovelman]

Yes good point, that would be a very busy tank when those fish are fully grown . Ideally I would return the SAE (which is really an active open-water swimmer like large barbs and rasoboras) and go for a couple of Ancistrus spp. plecs or similar. If you can find a flying fox/false SAE (Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus) then you could keep just one of them .

You could just go for it and have a busy tank lol, but you'd probably need to add another external, or at least a powerhead/wavemaker for them...and not slack on waterchanges!

To help reduce algae cleaning, presuming your tank has a pH above 7, a couple of ruby/zebra nerite snails would be good - but just make sure you have enough algae to last them as they wont eat algae wafers off the substrate or scavenge anything other than algae, so if your tanks spotless they will slowly starve.

Mine was just poking at an algae waffer, and chewed on it a bit...... So you think the 2 schools of the archers and the SAE's + AKF is too much? I really am just trying to get an idea of what im dealing with..im too used to small schooling fish haha not so familier with deeper chunkier fish....adding more current isnt a problem and a new filter wont be either since my B-day will be here i a few months...

How do the flying fox (false SAE) compare to the actual SAE...this is where the mix up was when i was researching.... Luckily my LFS is awesome and knows the difference between both of them AND carries both of them...lol and yes my ph strikes at about 8.0, a bit high yes, but the lfs has no problems with most of any fish including discus in our generally hard water. (same water source)

 

[TwoTankAmin]

This illustrated article should be a great help in understanding the differences between Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis), "False siamensis" (Epalzeorhynchus sp. or Garra taeniata), Flying Fox, (Epalzeorhynchus kalopterus), Crossocheilus oblongus, and Chinese algae eater (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri).

Algae Eating Cyprinids from Thailand and Neighboring Areas

 

[tribalbrit]

I'd love some SAE's.. never see them localy though, unless someone can tell me different... Notts Area.

 

[Shovelman]

Ah allright thanks guys! Looks like ill take th little guy back and see if they have a false SAE/flying fox..

 

[roddy]

I'd hang on to him, they are much better bet than the others you're talking about, not nearly as aggressive when older. Sure he will be fine on his own but agree they are fun to watch interact together. Will always give you an excuse to get a bigger tank in future if need be. To be honest, don't see a few of them being a problem in a tank of your size if you're on top of things

 

[Supersalmon]

I agree, Siamese Algae Eaters are excellent fish. They are the best at eating algae among any fish that I have kept before (and thats a lot), and they are fun to watch.