Cae!

[CPQ]

Hi, I've been sent here from the catfish forum! lol.

Basically I recently found out that my 'golden loach' in in fact a CAE and now I'm not really sure what to do. Hes only about 2 1/2 inches at the min but I've seen him give other fish grief quite a bit (my shark is constantly in hiding and I think maybe the CAE could be the reason!?). Basically, I just don't know what to do! Is my only option getting a tank solely for him (my parents would kill me and I'm not sure I have the space!). I've seen an advert for a local woman who adopts unwanted fish but I'd be so gutted to get rid of him - he was one of my first fishies!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hi, I've been sent here from the catfish forum! lol.

Basically I recently found out that my 'golden loach' in in fact a CAE and now I'm not really sure what to do. Hes only about 2 1/2 inches at the min but I've seen him give other fish grief quite a bit (my shark is constantly in hiding and I think maybe the CAE could be the reason!?). Basically, I just don't know what to do! Is my only option getting a tank solely for him (my parents would kill me and I'm not sure I have the space!). I've seen an advert for a local woman who adopts unwanted fish but I'd be so gutted to get rid of him - he was one of my first fishies!

Yeah CAE's will get increasingly territorial and agressive as they mature. The best thing to do is to get the fish a tank of at least 3ft in length and 1ft in width and put the CAE in it. The only safe/low risk tankmates than can be kept with CAE's are fish which look indentical to each other and shoal together in large groups of at least 6, or peaceful critters shrimp and large ornemental snails.

These are very beautiful fish with lots of character, however there is an obvious major drawback in keeping them because they are can so agressive and territorial to so many kinds of fish, particularly their own kind (with which without a doubt they will kill as they mature).

 

[CPQ]

ok - thanks phoenix!

I think my only option really is to give him away then. I just don't have the space for another tank. My sister's boyfriend is getting a tank sometime soon but I doubt he'll want to take him on and limit what other fish he can get!

Thanks

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

ok - thanks phoenix!

I think my only option really is to give him away then. I just don't have the space for another tank. My sister's boyfriend is getting a tank sometime soon but I doubt he'll want to take him on and limit what other fish he can get!

Thanks

Good luck with rehoming him then if you decide to do this .

A tank with lots of small shoaling fish and a CAE and snails and shrimp though can look very beautiful none the less, on the plus side there are a wide variety of small tropical shoaling fish which people can choose from .

 

[CPQ]

oooooooooh - i realy really don't want to get rid of him and would love to set up a tank around him!!! I just have the distinct feeling my parents will go nutty if I even suggest a third tank! argh

I'll have a chat to the sister's boyfriend and see if we can figure anything out between us!

also - are there any larger fish that the CAE won't be aggressive to? or will he just take a pop at anything?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

oooooooooh - i realy really don't want to get rid of him and would love to set up a tank around him!!! I just have the distinct feeling my parents will go nutty if I even suggest a third tank! argh

I'll have a chat to the sister's boyfriend and see if we can figure anything out between us!

also - are there any larger fish that the CAE won't be aggressive to? or will he just take a pop at anything?

Larger fish are generally not that safe to keep with CAE's, bottom dwelling fish will be attacked as the CAE will see all of the bottom of the tank in particular as its territory, while large non-bottom dwelling fish can be risky as their larger size makes it easy for CAE's to latch onto the side of the fish and try and eat it etc.

I would advise seeing what you can do about getting another tank - so many people take these fish back to the petshop where they got it from when they find out that CAE's are not easy fish to keep safely in community tanks, they have to be one of the most commonly rehomed fish in the hobby.

 

[divisible by zero]

if you get a tank for him, i'll give you mine too. I bought a used 55g that came with fish, it didnt take me long to remove the CAE and Rainbow Shark to my 29g with some platties. Last night my RS had the CAE cornered in the root in the tank and wouldn't let him out. I'm quickly growing to hate both of these guys and don't know what to do with them.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

if you get a tank for him, i'll give you mine too. I bought a used 55g that came with fish, it didnt take me long to remove the CAE and Rainbow Shark to my 29g with some platties. Last night my RS had the CAE cornered in the root in the tank and wouldn't let him out. I'm quickly growing to hate both of these guys and don't know what to do with them.

If you read my posts, you will see that i mention in my first post that "These are very beautiful fish with lots of character, however there is an obvious major drawback in keeping them because they are can so agressive and territorial to so many kinds of fish, particularly their own kind (with which without a doubt they will kill as they mature)".

So it would not be a good idea to offer your CAE to anyone who has a CAE already in their tank. Same goes with the rainbow shark- they are also notoriously agressive and territorial towards their own kind too .

As i've said already, its best to only mix these fish with small indentical shoaling fish and critters like peaceful shrimp and large ornemental snails etc. Rainbow sharks are a bit easier to mix with other fish than CAE's though, for example its safe to mix many types of bottom dwelling fish with such sharks while its not safe at all to do the same with CAE's.

 

[divisible by zero]

i read it, sorry i forgot the <sacrasm> tag.
I do enjoy watching both my RS, and he's getting so much color back now that he's on a good diet. and the CAE is fun too, i'll just have to wait until i get more tanks going and move them on over.

 

[CPQ]

ok ... so say that I somehow managed to convince my family that yet another tank is a good idea - what kind of tank size minimum am i looking at??

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

ok ... so say that I somehow managed to convince my family that yet another tank is a good idea - what kind of tank size minimum am i looking at??

I would advise a tank that is at least 3ft in length and 1ft width and height absolute minimum (although ideally the bigger the better), this would be a 20gallon tank- CAE's have been known to grow to 10inches+, although this is uncommon in aquariums.

 

[CPQ]

oooooook ... I'm convinced!! lol
God I'm guna end up like some crazy old fish lady.

I told my mum we were going to have to get rid of him and she was a bit upset about it (he's her favourite) so it might be that I can convince her another tank is a good idea. but after this absolutely no more tanks!! lol

Well thanks for all your help phoenix! I'll start the search for a new tank! lol

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

oooooook ... I'm convinced!! lol
God I'm guna end up like some crazy old fish lady.

I told my mum we were going to have to get rid of him and she was a bit upset about it (he's her favourite) so it might be that I can convince her another tank is a good idea. but after this absolutely no more tanks!! lol

Well thanks for all your help phoenix! I'll start the search for a new tank! lol

Lol, i'm glad to help . Don't forget online auction sites like ebay too, they can be quite handy in finding affordable or second hand tanks .