Chinese Alge Eaters

[GuppyDude]

I bought 3 chinese alge eaters a few weeks back thinking they were otos, i soon learned that they only eat alge when they are young, can get very aggressive, and grow to roughly 10" long But anyway, iv probably had these guys for about a month now and 2 have died and 1 has trippled in size. all 3 were in differant tanks (once i learned that they didn't get along) and all the tanks had pretty much the same water conditions. the first one to kick the bucket never ate a thing, he grew very thin and fair looking and died after 2 weeks. the second one to die ate very little (but still ate some), but he didn't move around much, he always seemed kind of ill. one day i walked in and he was dead too. the last one is a monster, eat eats every thing in sight and there isn't a time of day when he sn't moveing, he's befriended my cory cats and doen't bother the other fish but his increaseing size kind of bothers me When i bought these fish, they were in bad shape to begin with but i wanna make sure its not something i did. can anyone breifly explain to me how to properly care for these fish?

im not sure if Cyprinids, Characins and Atherinids is the right forum for these fish, i just thoght they resembled sharks so posted my topic here.

 

[Erised]

CAE like fast flowing, cooler waters (or so I was told). They do however do well in the range from 23 to 28C and require quite a strong current to be happy.

The tank should be heavily planted and have a fairly strong currant. This will closely mimic its natural habitat. An easy fish to care for, they are vegetarian in nature but will accept flake food supplemented with algae wafers. Some say they are a fantastic algae eater and will make short work of any found in your tank. Younger specimens are suitable for a community set up. As they get older then tend to become more and more aggressive among themselves and even other tank inhabitants. One interesting adaptation of this fish is in its respiration. When it is attached to a rock or other object with its sucking disk the water for respiration enters through a small hole in the upper corner of its gill slit. This way the fish can stay attached in strong currents. Not the best choice in algae removal or community set ups this fish should be purchased with caution.

source: Badmans tropical fish

 

[Hels]

Hi

I have what was sold as a golden sucking loach which i think is the same thing (apart from colour variation), i've had him about five months.... so far he seems fine in my community tank, sometimes chases away the other fish but nothing too bad... tank well planted, fairly fast flowing filter, lots of hiding places, since buying it i heard too that they can grow fairly large and can get quite aggressive.... im not sure how bad it gets.... i think that they arent too good with flat bodied fish and might attach themselves to them and cause a fair bit of harm... other then that i dont have much info .....oh .. he (or maybe she) loves cucumber!!

 

[sylvia]

CAEs are, IME, extremely hardy and highly adaptable. They eat everything as far as I am concerned and do so with much enthusiasm. I suspect the fish you had which died were already sick with some kind of internal infection (assuming all else was perfect).

You may be interested to know, BTW, that the scientific name for the CAE/sucking loach is gyrinocheilus aymonieri so it isn't realy a shark though I believe it is a cyprinid.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> I believe it is a cyprinid

It is a cyprinid.

When young, they do eat algae and anything that comes their way. As they grow, they loose interest and take easier food sources. Well fed, they will continue in a territorial regime, but will attack intruders, and regard other fishes slime coats, or eyes as easy food.

They are easy to keep and very durable, but are not really suitable for average communities.