Chinese Algae Eaters

[RandomWiktor]

Ok. I have a one year old Chinese Algae eater. I was told when I bought him that he was a friendly community fish that could be kept in a 10 gallon tank and would get 5 inches long. Obviously, he was not friendly and attacked his tank mate, a male betta, very severely. It was my fault for not researching him better; I now have a fish I don't really want. However, I fully intend on keeping him, but need to know some things so I can properly care for him.

- If he is being housed completely alone, what size tank should be have? He is currently in a 10 gallon tank and is about 4 inches long. He does not have real plants, as I seem to kill real plants left and right, but has several rocks, caves, and fake plants to hide in. He has lived in perfect health in this tank for a year, so if it is the wrong size, do not bite my head off; I have read and been told different things everywhere I go.
- How big do they REALLY get? The store said 5 inches, several webpages said 5-7 inches, and a few forum folk have said up to 13 inches. I want to get the proper sized tank, but can not do this unless I know how big he will be at maximum length.
- How long do these buggers live, for god's sake? As I said, I am prepared to keep him until he dies, but I need to know what approx. age they live to with adequate care so that I can evaluate future living conditions; if the apartment only allows ten gallons and he needs 30, I'm going to need to look elsewhere.
- Also, it'd be nice to know what he can be fed besides algae disks. I know they become omnivorous at adulthood, so I'm guessing the disks don't give him what he needs. He is currently getting algae disks from the bioblend, wardley, and omega one brands for variety.

Thanks so much for any help you can offer. Links to good ACCURATE information on the species would also be wonderful. I've looked at several sites, but they all say something different, so I don't know who to listen to.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

wow, that's a nice looking CAE! most of them start looking like ugly sticks as they get larger.

i can't help on most of your questions, but i can on the omnivorous aspect. hikari makes sinking protein discs for cories, loaches, etc. the discs are quite a bit smaller than most algae pellets, but they retain their shape much longer so throwing two in isn't a problem. incorporating those into your feeding cycle should help with add variety.

 

[Lateral Line]

CAE Info from our fish index. The Mod edit at the end was mine. You can certainly reckon on them living 7-8 years, I would not be suprised if people have kept them a lot longer.

 

[sylvia]

You can also feed the CAE pretty much any other sinking food including frozen or live bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia etc. If you soak some flake food a little so it sinks, it'll eat that too. When I did have a CAE it learned to eat from the surface and middle areas and I know they will all eat pretty much anything you give them that'll fit into their mouth. As for size, 10" is the maximum I've seen in an aquarium though few people actualy keep them until they reach this size. In the wild much larger individuals have been found so, no doubt, with adequate room, they could get bigger. Which brings me on to tank space; CAEs are quite active fish but they are also territorial and usualy stick to just one small area so should be ok in a relatively small space provided you provide them with plenty of interesting hiding places and good water quality. For the time being, I'd suggest a 20 gallon minnimum for yours but, if in time it grows quite large, you may need to upgrade. As for lifespan, I realy don't know. They are a hardy fish so it's unlikely to die from disease if water quality is kept up and I would think they could live at least 5 years considering similar species' lifespans but I wouldn't expect it to get much older than say 10 years. By the way, CAEs also appreciate a high flow of water, strong current and a sand substrate with a few large, smooth, rounded rocks. They are naturaly a river fish so would appreciate it if you could simulate that sort of environment. Plants aren't an issue as long as lighting isn't too strong and hiding places are still plentiful. If you don't have a tank large enough currently available to you, consider using some kind of large plastic (food-safe) storage tub temporarily instead as 10 gallons isn't realy enough for this fish any more. Oh and yours is lovely. I've always appreciated the CAE aestheticaly but am not a big fan of its character (when kept with other fish) .

 

[RandomWiktor]

Thank you so much! I have a 30gal long tank, and plenty of fine, fine gravel (he's gotten new, finer gravel since the picture was taken) - once I move back in with my parents for college, I'll move him to a bigger tank. They have to clean him while I am away (bless thier souls), so I don't think they'd be keen on the 30gal just yet. This will give me some time to cycle the new tank properly, too. The filter I have in there is very fast, so I'm glad he'd like it; I'm used to bettas so I never know what kind filter speed the others would appreciate.

7-8 years? Ok, that's not too bad, considering I have a parrot who could live to be 50+ . I'd love for the algae eater to live as long as he can even though I'm not fond of him, because it was my fault for buying him that he is here. Now he needs to be taken care of well.

I'm surprised to find they are allegedly shy; mine is always out and about, hanging off the glass, searching for food, and "climbing" his rocks with his face. I definately agree to active though - he's buzzing about night and day.

I'll definately try those Hikari disks and see if he likes them; he can be finicky. Thanks for the compliment on his charming good looks; Reebum is definately anything but twiggy. I think sometimes we overfeed him.

Edit: nevermind on the last question; I don't want to overstock.

 

[Bloo]

Well I've had a few in my lifetime.....
Only ever one at a time. One went into a pond when it outgrew the fishtank and over time I've rehomed others due to moving and not being able to move tank / fish with me. The one that went to the pont was probaly a good 6" and I had him for roughly 6 odd years.

I think it's quite individual and depends on each fish. (touch wood) I've never had any problems wtih any of mine. My current Golden CAE is approx 3 years old. He was only tiny when I got him but I don't think he's much over 3 " yet - and I've had him for almost 3 years now. He lives in a community tank with lots of other bottom dwellers and I watch him like a hawk - but (yet) no problems so far.
Mine hangs about a lot as well and he's always visible

This is a piccie of him