loaches and catfishes

[braders]

hey. (new member yay)
do chinese algae-eaters/indian suckers get along with cories (catfish)
because my loach (chinese........) isn't doin anything and catfishes i think are better than them... would they get along if i put a corie in?

 

[Lateral Line]

The Chinese Algae Eater, (CAE), when young, is an okay fish. As they get older, and bigger, they eat less and less algae, become more territorial, and bad tempered. Once they reach that point, they'll often attack small fish for no reason other then they felt like it. With fish like cory's, the commonest injury is to lose an eye, or both - in which case the end is near.

It is sad that CAE's are sold to so many unsuspecting people. They really are not suitable community fish for most.

 

[pendragon]

I'll second that. You really should just avoid the Chinese Alage Eater altogether, if possible. But if you already have one, that's not an option. Personally, I'd take it back, if there was a reasonable way to do so. In time, it will likely cause you problems and antagonize, maim, and/or kill other fish. Not a nice tankmate when it gets a little older. It's not wise to put them with corys.

For the sake of being thorough, I'd like to point out that the Chinese Algae Eater is not a loach at all, although occaisionally some pet stores will label them as 'Golden loaches' or 'Chinese loaches'. This is particularly confusing because one species of the dojo loach is sometimes also sold as a "Golden loach", but it is a very uncommon fish, in my experience.

I tend not to have high opinions of pet stores who can't - or are too lazy to - tell the difference between a loach and a CAE. It doesn't speak highly of their fish knowledge. They are generally the same stores who give bad advice and sell unwise selections of fish to uneducated customers without blinking.

pendragon!

Edit: Also, you said:

because my loach (chinese........) isn't doin anything and catfishes i think are better than them...

I'm not sure what you mean by "corys are better". If you mean for you to enjoy, okay. But if you mean in terms of eating algae, then no, because corys don't eat algae (and the CAE does - but there are other, more tankmate-friendly algae-eaters out there). Corys will scavenge food from the bottom. You need to feed them like you do your other fish.

 

[Nina7777]

I had two CAE's that reached 7 inches one and 5 inches for the other one. I never had a problem with them terrorizing tankmates, BUT this was only because I had them in with Bigger fish that could hold their own. One time though I did see the Biggest one try to pin my convict cichlid. Thankfully though the convy was able to fight back and hold her own.

I wouldn't by any means put cories in with them. And as suggested I would trade yours in to the pet store ASAP. Perhaps you could get a bristlenosed pleco to replace it, or a few ottos.

 

[sushi]

hey, i've got 3 of these, that's if they're the gold algae eaters ( that's what I read on the net - diff name) anyway, they're really lovely, with all the fish. I didn't believe what I read about their aggressiveness but one of them is reaching 3" and is starting to chase the other fish a little. most of the time it does mind it's own business though, amongst the plants etc. HTH