i am most intrested in what sort of fish will be okay with them cuz i have herd they will attack other fish so im worryed theres no lack of room i have a realy big tank but i have a few difrent typs of fish and i dont want them hurt i have been meaning to give them away but now i want to keep them if i can cuz i have had them about 3 munths now and well u start to like fish more the longer you keep them i find any way i have 3 Chinese algae eaters and the other typs of fish i have are some gouramis 1 Siamese algae eater 1 guppy 1 sword tail 1 molly 1 albino bristlenose pleco 1 pictus catfish and some corys are there any problems and if so with what???oh i will be geting a second tank soon so i can put some in anuther tank i was going to put the pictus catfish in the second and a few others from the first tank any Suggestions?
Chinese Algae Eaters In A Community Tank.
- Thread starter Fizban
- Start date
CAE's become more of a nuisance as they get older. When young, they eat a bit of algae and generally ignore other fish.
The fish in your tank I'd be most worried about first are Corys. CAE's tend to dislike Corys, and start to harrass them, if left unchecked, they tend to take the Corys eyes out, leading to death.
Later, they have a habit of grazing slime coats from the sides of flat sided slow moving fish, gouramies being a typical example.
Ultimately, they become very large and will chase just about anything about. It is a shame that CAE's are sold to so many people.
As the P. pictus grows, it will eat small fish, guppies for example.
The fish in your tank I'd be most worried about first are Corys. CAE's tend to dislike Corys, and start to harrass them, if left unchecked, they tend to take the Corys eyes out, leading to death.
Later, they have a habit of grazing slime coats from the sides of flat sided slow moving fish, gouramies being a typical example.
Ultimately, they become very large and will chase just about anything about. It is a shame that CAE's are sold to so many people.
As the P. pictus grows, it will eat small fish, guppies for example.
thanks i agree about what u said about It being a shame that CAE's are sold to so many people i was not told any thing about them when i got them not evan the typ of algae eater they were i found out only by info on the net
yeh some guy at my lfs told me that it'd be safe to have those with my african dwarf frogs! can u believe that? haha lucky i read about CAEs in the pinned topic found in the beginner's forum
RandomWiktor
Rabid Betta Activist
I should like to add that mature CAEs generally dislike others of their species, as they are highly territorial, so unless the tank is simply massive, they'll probably fight. Keeping them would probably mean getting them each their own tank when they mature - a good 20-30g, depending on which site you want to trust, since they can get rather large. Heck, if you lived in the US, I'd offer a home for one, but most of the people on the forum seem to be from overseas.
Might I ask why there is only 1 guppy, 1 sword tail, and 1 molly? I believe these are all social species who would fair much better in groups. It sounds like one of your catfish might eventually make food out of the guppy, so maybe you could start a cute little livebearer tank with a few more of each so that no one is at risk. Unless you planned on adding more, but just haven't yet due to cycling.
Might I ask why there is only 1 guppy, 1 sword tail, and 1 molly? I believe these are all social species who would fair much better in groups. It sounds like one of your catfish might eventually make food out of the guppy, so maybe you could start a cute little livebearer tank with a few more of each so that no one is at risk. Unless you planned on adding more, but just haven't yet due to cycling.
as for the 1 guppy, 1 sword tail, and 1 molly i had 3 guppys and 3 swords and 2 mollys to start with but due to a few geting sick and some bad water one time i lost a few i am going to get probly 2 more of each when i get the new tank cuz my friend whos a fish supplyer for the pet stores and makes tanks will probly let me have them for free cuz im going to give them the Chinese Algae Eaters and a few of the gouramis i have (i like haveing not to many of one typ of fish) the gouramis had babys a bit back so its time to give them away cuz they are geting bigger i am lucky cuz i can get a few free fish now and then and get a custem made tank ruther cheap its nice haveing friends in the trade oh and just so u no i live in west austraila ..................................oh and if fish do bad things like attack other fish they have a big osca i thinks thats what its called any way they feed any bad fish to it 
madcaow
Fish Fanatic
i recently got rid of my 3 CAE's. Took me and my housemate about 1 1/2 hours to catch them! hahah!
had to completely strip the tank of all the plants and wood to catch them in the end.
they were only very young still and were doing great at cleaning the tank, however as i had read they will be nasty and eventually stop eating algae as they mature, so i thought it would be best to return them asap.
they were also starting to terrorise my harlequin rasboras.
so yer, unless you have a really big tank i wouldnt reccommend them.
had to completely strip the tank of all the plants and wood to catch them in the end.
they were only very young still and were doing great at cleaning the tank, however as i had read they will be nasty and eventually stop eating algae as they mature, so i thought it would be best to return them asap.
they were also starting to terrorise my harlequin rasboras.
so yer, unless you have a really big tank i wouldnt reccommend them.
Kal-el
New Member
Wow, I didn't know that. I have a couple cory'sin my tank along with a cae. No problems as of yet, and they've been together for a few years.
I agree with this statement. My cae picked on and chased my RTB for over 3 years! Whenever my RTB would come out from his little cave to investigate, my cae would chase him. Now, it's the other way around. B)
I had one once, was recommended by the LFS as a algae eater (which it was good at), it was also a total nutter as it got older so it had to go!
The easiest way to catch a CAE (or any other fast, elusive fish that like hiding) in a fully planted tank I've found is:
1. To get a section of plastic pipe the CAE could fit into (make sure to file off any sharp edges).
2. Put the pipe in the back of the tank (so it makes a tempting hiding place), the CAE should discover the new hiding place quickly (can take a day or so with a dense CAE).
3. Once the CAE is used to the pipe go after the CAE with a net like you are trying to catch it.
4. The CAE will bolt to its nearest hide out, flush it out of hiding, with the aim of getting it to hid in the pipe, repeat until its in the pipe (you may need to remove or block some hiding places).
5. Once its in the pipe you've got him, just put a net over each end and lift it out.
Took me several goes to figure out the above but it seems to work most of the time, the only annoyance is waiting for the CAE to get used to the pipe and use it as a hiding place.
The easiest way to catch a CAE (or any other fast, elusive fish that like hiding) in a fully planted tank I've found is:
1. To get a section of plastic pipe the CAE could fit into (make sure to file off any sharp edges).
2. Put the pipe in the back of the tank (so it makes a tempting hiding place), the CAE should discover the new hiding place quickly (can take a day or so with a dense CAE).
3. Once the CAE is used to the pipe go after the CAE with a net like you are trying to catch it.
4. The CAE will bolt to its nearest hide out, flush it out of hiding, with the aim of getting it to hid in the pipe, repeat until its in the pipe (you may need to remove or block some hiding places).
5. Once its in the pipe you've got him, just put a net over each end and lift it out.
Took me several goes to figure out the above but it seems to work most of the time, the only annoyance is waiting for the CAE to get used to the pipe and use it as a hiding place.
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