Not sure what it is

Not sure what kind of cleaner it is. It doesn't look like a pleco to me. Anyone have any knowledge of this fish?

That is a chinese algae eater

Goggy said:

That is a chinese algae eater

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Thank you. Anything I should know about this fish? My fiancee got it a while back and we haven't had any troubles with it. It cleans my 36 gallon bow front pretty good. I drop an algae wafer in ever so often. Other than that he eats left overs and some of the brine I feed the frog. He is about 6 inches so far. I've read the can get up to 10 though.

Yes, they can grow up to 10 inches and as they grow they lose their taste for algae and develop a taste for the slime coat of other fish.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/gyrinocheilus-aymonieri/

essjay said:

Yes, they can grow up to 10 inches and as they grow they lose their taste for algae and develop a taste for the slime coat of other fish.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/gyrinocheilus-aymonieri/

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Thanks for that link. I don't have any large fish in the tank with him so hopefully him attaching to the fish won't be a problem. Thanks again for all the help.

I wish these and the common pleco were bannished from the hobby!!! (no offense to the OP or any members is intended)

LarsB said:

I wish these and the common pleco were bannished from the hobby!!! (no offense to the OP or any members is intended)

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Why so?

The Chinese Algae Eater is nothing but trouble. It grows to 6 inches and almost always turns very nasty. It does not eat algae as it matures. It is documenteed to eat the slime coat off various fish.

The common pleco attains anywhere between 12 and 20 inches (30 to 50 cm) and requires at minimum a 4-foot tank. It has a very high impact on the bioload (so does the CAE for its size). Most people buy these intending them for small tanks, and the fish suffers as it grows (if it survives).

This hobby has a serious problem, and that is lack of knowledge by most who work in stores, coupled with a reluctance by some to do proper research before acquiring a fish. Knowledgeable staff could at least help the latter, but many of them know little more than fish live in water.

JuiceBox52 said:

Why so?

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The "algae" eater only eats SOME algae as a juvenile , but not as it matures. IT just become older, bigger and a larger threat to other fish.

The Common Pleco (Hypostomus plecostomus.) grows quite quickly, reaching 24" or more early in life, quickly outgrowing the often small aquarium that it is supposed to "keep clean" ... plecos put out a great deal of waste! There are far better plecos for the hobby, but these are cheap and easy to breed, so they will continue to plague us
Look it up on YouTube, HOARDS of these chocking a river in Florida!