Can you help me identify this fish?

Hello, I'm pretty new in this forum as you can see. I decided registering because I have this one fish I cannot identify.

I have a 30gal tank with some corys, a G. aymonieri and an unknown fish that I bought thinking it was a Silver Flying Fox, but it doesn't look like one actually . The man in the shop told me it was a SAE but, well, I don't think so (later I bought one real SAE and it disapeared, haven't seen him like in a month or so but that's another story).

But well, the main point is, can you please help me with this one?





He has a pair of little whisker-like barbs that cant be appreciated well in the photos and I have seen him scrap algae from the rocks and chew on the plants. He's not aggressive at all, he's very friendly and I have seen him school with the corys hahaha. He's one of the first fish I put in mytank a few months ago and he was very shy and he used to come only at night time at which he's very active actually.

Thank you all! Stay at home and stay safe!

@Colin_T can help you with this

not without my books

Thank you! I just want it to live happy in my tank and find out if its a school fish, you know, so I can get him a partner or a couple, or more, depending on how big they will grow, and to know that it's not going to be munching on my goldfish's fins and so.

Waiting for a response, thank you!

@Byron what do you think?

JuiceBox52 said:

@Byron what do you think?

Click to expand...

I do not think I have ever seen that fish, anywhere. Seems to be a cyprinid but beyond that... . It is not a SAE, that's a certainty.

As for its teemperament...the OP already has an issue, with the Gyrinocheilus aymonieri. This is commonly referred to as Chinese Algae Eater. As it matures this fish becomes aggressive, especially toward slow-swimming flat-bodied fish. Should not be kept with fish that remain close to the substrate such as cichlids or catfish or loaches. It has frequently been observed grazing mucus from the flanks of other fish. Best kept as a solitary specimen, or a group of 5-6 but only in very large tanks due to the conspecific aggression. Given its habits and eventual size, this is not a fish recommended for the community aquarium.

The above fish (CAE) may explain the disappearance of the SAE...none of these related fish should ever be in the same tank.

Noted, thanks, Byron, I also have a mistery snail so, it must've eaten the rests of the SAE because I didn't find anything in the filters.

The overall population at this time is 6 C. paleatus, 1 CAE, 1 mistery snail and the unidentified fish.

About my aquarium it's still in formation, I wanted a simple community tank, the principal population was going to be a bunch of corys, a black moor and a group of 3 SAEs but I had to pause the project because of the covid lockdown and I was having an issue with a strange green philament-like algae, so I bought all the suitable algae-eater fish that I could find before it turned into a big issue (i've had that weird green algae that turns purple later on), but now it's controlled. I had to start a new aquarium with its propper 1 month cycle, my tank has been running since January this year, so it's pretty young.



I'll definetely think about changing the G. aymonieri for something less aggressive, thank you.

Regarding the unknown fish I know it's a cyprinid, very beautiful, but what do you think? Should I get him a partner or two so they can school together once I remove the CAE, let him alone? I just want to know more about this fish before I do any move.

Thanks again for your quick replies!

Looks to be Labiobarbus lineatus, or some such species.

FOUND IT! Thank you very much!

With your comment and a quick google search finally found it:



Thank you all!

Labiobarbus leptocheilus, profile from SF:

I hope you can return it, as it will attain over 6 inches (18cm) and being gregarious a group is best, and that means a 240 X 60 cm (8 feet by 2 feet) tank.

And while I'm here, the SAE woould not be a good idea anyway, as it reaches the same length, also needs a group, though a smaller tank than this fish but still around 5-6 feet. And the SAE will not touch some problem algae, and none of these fish will for that matter. Fish that do eat algae are very specific in which species of algae.

Another issue...|Corydoras should never be combined with the cyprinid substrate species (loaches, or any of these here). The cyprinids are more aggressive feeders, not to mention many of the species have territorial strengths which the poor corys lack and they will always lose out.

Yeah, I read about it and seems not to be suitable at all for the type of tank I'd like to maintain, so I'll have to return both or donate them to the neighbourhood pond.

I didn't know saes would get that big, is there anything I can keep on my 30 gallon tank along with the corys and 1 black moor that helps me cotrol some algae?

One should also not mix goldfish(black moor) with tropical fish. Goldfish need much cooler water and are incredibly messy dirty fish.
As for algae buying fish to control algae is rarely a good idea. Chinese algae eater dont eat much algae and will attack other fish. SAE will stop eating most algae after they reach about 6 months to a year old and are shoaling fish that belong in groups. Plecos will eat some types of algae but eat more wood and veggie matter than algae. Ottocinclus will eat soft algae like brown algae but wont touch hair or beard brush algae or green spot algae and also belong in groups. Amano shrimp are renowned for eating lots of algae but wont clean glass and will be meals for larger fish. Nerite snails are voracious algae eaters that wont reproduce in your tank and would be the one inhabitant i would buy for the sole purpose of eating algae. Having said that any time ones tank has alot of problem algae like beard hair brush or cynobacteria the first reaction should be solving the light nutrient imbalance in ones tank as algae is the result of imbalance between light and nutrients. Get some nerites, decrease lenght light is on. Algae thrives on 8 continuous hours of light plants dont need 8 straight hours to grow. Decrease feeding, food leads to more waste which feeds algae and increase water changes either frequency amount or both as water changes remove excess nutrients that contribute to algae. Good luck!

omarmillan said:

I didn't know saes would get that big, is there anything I can keep on my 30 gallon tank along with the corys and 1 black moor that helps me cotrol some algae?

Click to expand...

Algae per say is normal and will not be problematic. This refers to the common green algae which we rarely see simply because it is so innocuous and so many fish graze it. This common algae is part of the natural biofilm that forms on every submersed surface. Otocinclus, Bristlenose plecos, Farlowella (Twig Catfish), and some other loricariids will graze it. Snails are good with this algae too; the common "pest" snails are really anything but pests, though they will not control problem algae. But their grazing of surfaces also helps. I have 5 tanks in my present fishroom, and none have any of the mentioned fish, but I do have pond snails. I always use a sponge scraper on the inside front glass (and sometimes the end glass) to prevent algae from settling in, as it were.

Problem algae is a very different thing. Black Brush Algae, Beard Algae, Hair Algae...there are few fish that will eat these, and those that do have specialized tastes. The Siamese Algae Eater (provided one gets the true species) will for example eat black brush algae, usually, but not touch the others. Problem algae is best dealt with by resolving the cause, and this is always the same no matter the type: an imbalance of light (intensity and duration factor in) and nutrients in planted tanks. In non-planted tanks, these forms of algae are beneficial because they provide a level of water quality that higher plants achieve by using nutrients and producing oxygen. But when these problem algae are present in planted tanks, the danger is always that they will slowly smother plant leaves and kill the higher plants. I have battled Black brush/beard algae a few times over the past 30 or so years of fishkeeping, and re-establishing the light/nutrient balance is always the only successful way to restrict it.

Edit. @utahfish posted while I was typing, and we are saying the same thing.

Cool, thank you very much for your answers. Seems like I'm going to shoot for the only 1 goldfish and the 6 corys tank, I'm keeping the mistery snail though. I've had planorbis a while ago but they're really hard to find nowadays in local pet shops or aquariums.

Regarding the algae problem, that happened a while ago, I had to re-start the aquarium, I guess I had that beginers bad luck (or lack of knowledge). That's why I started a new one, I'm getting there.

Thank you all!