Who Said Chinese Algae Eaters Are Aggressive?

[Thirdfloor]

I think it depends on what diet they're on. If they're well fed then they might not attack.

But I think it's bologna. My CAE doesn't own any territory. All it does is chill. 8)

I think you are missing the part about the agressiveness not coming out til the fish is more mature. I have had a CAE for a while now and it is starting to show a bit of agressiveness when my panda cories get near its stump that it has claimed. Ill probably be taking my CAE back to the LFS soon, since he said he would gladly take it. As much as I like my CAE, I cant be having her eating my cories

 

[*Fishkies*]

I'm thinking of getting two Siamese algae eaters to replace the two.

just found this it says that SAE is just another name for the CAE

Above is a Chinese Algae Eater...^^^^^^^


Below VVVVV is a Siamese Algae Eater...

there is quite a difference in color.

 

[nurglespuss]

To Illya:

Hi there, just to add my tuppence worth....

CAE were one of my first fish, many many years ago when the availability of different species was quite different.

I peresevered with him until he was 10 inches long, where he, thankfully, broke the heater in the tank and ended his own existance.

He killed (once he grew past 6 inches):

2 dwarf guoramis
all my cories
red tail black shark
plecostomus
humbug catfish

I had to keep him on his own after the last two kills, I didn't realise it as him doing it, until I turned on the lights oneday and he had the male guorami pinned against the fron glass....

No one is scare mongering, just speaking from experience. You have been lucky so far, I personally (as many others have said) would not push your luck.

 

[chibi]

To those who had theirs kill other fish... are you sure they were "killing" a perfectly healthy fish? I caught mine munching on a dead platy, but it doesn't mean he killed him. Healthy fish I doubt can be killed by these things. They're scavengers, not carnivores.

 

[TribeOfShroom]

I have a chinese algae eater that I've had for over 2 years. 6 inches long. Doesn't hurt any of my fish, and never has. He even chills under the little bogwood cave I made with my 20 other cories; 6 panda, 7 pygmy and 7 habrosus, the two latter one of if the not smallest cories in the entire species list. Maybe I just got lucky. I personally think it's a generalization... one person hears they're aggressive, says so, others feel the same way, and it continues. I've had one more with my 6 incher right now and they didn't fight (he got parasites after my tank conditions went haywire), and I had 3 in a ten gallon for over a year and no aggression. They died out when my younger brother poured food coloring in the tank on April Fools Day...

To those of you who say they are aggressive, please only say that if you've actually kept them for a long period of time. Otherwise, I think it would be better to say "I've heard they're aggressive." It's best not to make a broad generalization simply on the fact that others say so.

I've had my CAE for 2 and a bit years almost 3. Yes he does tend to be in his own little world, but he does get territorial and will chase any fish that offends him. Not to say that there are not peaceful individuals. There may very well be peaceful CAE's, like peaceful bettas in community tanks. But if you want to keep these fish, you need space and a lot of cover otherwise they do have a tendency to cause problems.

To those who had theirs kill other fish... are you sure they were "killing" a perfectly healthy fish? I caught mine munching on a dead platy, but it doesn't mean he killed him. Healthy fish I doubt can be killed by these things. They're scavengers, not carnivores.

Sorry I don't want to seem like I'm being picky. But just because a fish kills another fish, does not make it a carnivore. There are other animals that kill others for invasion of territory. So if it's killed other fish, it has done so out of territorial rights, rather than want for food.

 

[The-Wolf]

personally I've found that CAEs are only aggressive if they are the largest fish ion the tank.
also they become problematic when kept with deep bodies fish, such as discus, discus tetra, severums etc

if kept in a tank that is inductive to their natural habitat (IE a fast flowing river) they are great fish to keep.

 

[raptorrex]

personally I've found that CAEs are only aggressive if they are the largest fish ion the tank.
also they become problematic when kept with deep bodies fish, such as discus, discus tetra, severums etc

if kept in a tank that is inductive to their natural habitat (IE a fast flowing river) they are great fish to keep.

i must agree here, though i have vastly less experience than you. my CAE is two years old and 5 inches, it is an cranky fish, but is unable to assert its authority because it is too small. still i need to have it for much more time to be sure. but i think environment is as much responsible for problems with CAE as the disposition of the fish.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hm i have kept CAE's in the past but they have always turned agressive sooner or later, and i am positive that they often do turn agressive, i once kept a golden CAE and one day i caught it in the act of manically chasing every other fish around in the tank, all of the fish were panicking and trying to get as far away from the CAE as posible (i mostly had guppys, platys, mollys, corys and neon tetras in the tank- the CAE was particularly going for the guppys, platys and mollys). Of course though the CAE was an angel when it was only 2inches long, it was when it grew to 4-5inches long that it started becomming really bad.

I separated the fish after witnessing it being so agressive and territorial towards the other fish, i even bought it a tank of its own, but unfortunately it died during a long powercut. It had grown to 6inches by then, growing at roughly about 1inch per month, i had even grown quite actached to it despite its nasty ways with the other fish and it was a very beautiful fish, so i was quite gutted when it died during the powercut after me buying it its own separate tank set up and everything.

 

[Ilya]

I got 2 more Zebra Danios with a total of 6.

And 1 more "green cory". And they're happy I guess. :3

The one on the bottom is the new guy. Got him from Petsmart.

 

[eschaton]

I should make a note about Siamese Algae Eaters: Though totally non-aggressive, and not as big as Chinese Algae Eaters, they can and do get pretty big. Mine is probably around 5 inches long, and certainly the biggest thing in the tank now, but my LFS has some over 7 inches long that are thicker than a broom handle. They will get stunted in a smaller tank, as they are Cyprinids, but I wouldn't keep them in anything less than a 40-gallon tank.

 

[redSG]

Our CAE, Charlie, was the first fish we bought (along with some neons) over a year ago, and he's been one of my fave fish. We got him at about 1.5 inches, and he shot up rather quickly to the 4in range. That was in a 125L live bearer/community tank. We put a castle ornament in, and he claimed it, always poking his head out. He would have temper tantrums if we repositioned the castle, and dig up one specific plant, but otherwise was just a cantankerous fish. He would chase the cories out if he was home, but I never saw any real aggression. He would let our AD frogs almost snuggle up to him. He and our red-finned shark, Rum, would get into chases, but they came to an arrangement where Charlie would live in the bottom of the castle and Rum would bob up and down in the top half (red tail sticking out the top of the tower!). After a tank disaster, Charlie was moved to a 190L home (sans castle), and he shares it peacefully with some large gouramies, angels, silver dollars, a parrot cichlid, an earth eater--and his old buddy Rum. Other bottom dwellers include 2 talking cats and a sailfin pleco. I can't say I've seen any aggression from him in the big tank (dare I say he's seemed to mellow with age), and his growing has slowed (he's up to about 6in).
I know they can get aggressive, but for now, he's a blast. He's interesting to watch change physically--he hardly resembles the little guy we started out with. And he's a brilliant character, always giving me a wee chuckle when he appears out of nowhere, like he knows he's being talked about. As things stand now, I'm looking forward to having him for a good while.

 

[cheesy feet]

My CAE's killed:
14' sailfin plec
12' plec
1 adult praecox rainbowfish
Also injured:
Parrot cichlids
Bichir
Pearsei
And had a go at anyone else.This is when they were the smallest fish in the tank.The truth is they're nasty little fish and you guys who havn't had a massacre yet are lucky.

 

[drewry]

i had a CAE
i had to get rid because it started attacking my corydoras