Siamese Algae Eater, Are They Aggressive?

[stiddy]

I bought siamese algae eaters about a year ago. They where really tiny properly less than an inch long and you could always see them cleaning/eating algae. But now they have got alot bigger properly 4-5 inches and don't appear to clean/eat algae, also they don't eat the flakes or any live food I put in. However since they have been about 4 inch both my angel fish where killed and eaten, and Three spotted gourami that where recently introduced didn't last long. Also Ive had a few rainbows that have died and been eaten over night. Im wondering if their is a case of these fish being aggressive particularity during the night. In the day they just lye on the rocks n stuff n swim around only a little.
I currently have 5 Neon Rainbow fish, one Red Rainbow fish, and two Zebra Loaches.

Many thanks

 

[mattlee]

they shouldnt get aggressive with any other species of fish but they can be with each other. they are best kept singular or in groups 4/5+. i had 3 and they went mad at each other once they reached a decent size so i rehomed 2 and now just keep the 1, the tank is much more peacefull and it doesnt bother anything.

how long has the tank been set up and was it cycled before adding any fish?

do you have any test results for ammonia, nitrite, pH?

 

[stiddy]

The Tanks been going a year and half now. It was all cycled before anything was put in.
The test showed.
Ammonia = 0.25ppm
nitrite = 0ppm
nitrate = 0ppm

So nothing out of the norm, that was the day after a water change. The one of the three Spotted Gourami had shown physical damage to the top of its body, a couple weeks before it died.

 

[mattlee]

your ammonia should be at 0 otherwise the fish will be poisoned. if this is the norm for your tank then i would put the losses down to this.... neon rainbow fish are very sensitive so i would say they didnt like the ammonia in the water and died due to it, they wont have died because a fish ate them the other fish will have nibbled at the dead fish making it look worse. the same goes for the gourami and angel.

if the tank has been set up for a year and a half as you said then it should be full of the bacteria needed to convert ammonia into nitrite and nitrite into nitrate. did you add lots of new fish in at once? how much do you feed them? as both these can cause spikes of ammonia in the water

 

[stiddy]

How to I drop it down to 0. As its not much higher than it anyway. It a planted 100L tank. with an internal filter as well as an external one. Only ever added fish two or three at a time and waited a good week or two before adding anything else. The feeding might be the problem, I have a little sister who's 9 and she likes to feed them, although doesn't always let anyone know.

 

[mattlee]

How to I drop it down to 0. As its not much higher than it anyway. It a planted 100L tank. with an internal filter as well as an external one. Only ever added fish two or three at a time and waited a good week or two before adding anything else. The feeding might be the problem, I have a little sister who's 9 and she likes to feed them, although doesn't always let anyone know.

the quickest way is by doing water changes, so if your getting test results of 0.25 a 50% water change should get it back to 0. what do you use to test the water with strips or liquid based tests? the reason i ask is that test strips are very inaccurate and can give false readings....
hide the food and help your sister feed them from now on

 

[stiddy]

Used a liquid test, think it a little old though. But I don't think they go off. Next time im at my LFS I will get some new test sets. I was thinking of changing the gravel to sand. So when I do that I will do the 50% water change. Will be in a week or so need to chose the right sand that I want etc. Cheers for the help

 

[mattlee]

Used a liquid test, think it a little old though. But I don't think they go off. Next time im at my LFS I will get some new test sets. I was thinking of changing the gravel to sand. So when I do that I will do the 50% water change. Will be in a week or so need to chose the right sand that I want etc. Cheers for the help

the water change needs to be done now...today! as in another weeks time the levels will have risen. even at 0.25 the level is poisonous to your fish and will be damaging them internally or worse as you already ahve discovered. to help the rest of the fish i would do it tonight otherwise you may well have more dead fish soon.

how often do you do water changes on your tank? ideally with an average stocking for tank size then about 20-25% needs to be replaced weekly to keep your fish in good health and happy...

 

[stiddy]

I try to do it weekly, depending on the colour of the water thats been taken out. If its dark then will try and do a small amount half way through the week as well. Although there are times when its left for over a week because im not around etc.

 

[mattlee]

I try to do it weekly, depending on the colour of the water thats been taken out. If its dark then will try and do a small amount half way through the week as well. Although there are times when its left for over a week because im not around etc.

what is the dark colour in the water? do you have bogwood or something leaching tannins into the water?

 

[stiddy]

Yeah there bog wood in there, cant remember when it went in. But it seems to leach inconsistently now and is much lighter.

 

[Sanj]

Are you sure they are true SAEs i.e. Croscheilus siamensis?

These fish arent aggressive generally, but other Algae eater like the Chinese Algae Eater can become very territorial and aggressive to other fish. Also tank size can have an influence and smaller tanks will exacerbate the situation.

 

[nurglespuss]

Yeah, thats just what i was going to say, considering the growth rate.

(young specimens of both)

(More adult)

 

[stiddy]

They are deff SAE, For some reason they seem to be fine at the moment, I changed the lay out of the tank and also introduced sinking pellets for them to eat. I have no problems at all for a good couple of weeks now. Also they seem to be a little happier and will come out from hiding and sit in the middle of the tank on display. I have however removed a full mature Red Rainbow fish (New Guinea Rainbow) who had become a little feisty and all is well in the tank now. It currently have 9 Neon Dwarf Rainbows, 2 SAE, and 2 (soon to be 5 as I have recently found out they prefer larger groups) Zebra loachs,

O yeh and I have increase the water changes, now do about about 15-25% water change every 3 days. plus increased the amount of live plants

 

[Lschinaia]

I know this is an old topic, but can you post a picture of your fish?
It sounds like you were sold Flying Foxes. Foxes, Chinese, and Siamese Algae eaters get mislabeled, and confused with each other.

A True SAE will have 2 barbs on it's face,
Clear fins, all of them.
Silverish color above the Black line and white below it.
A jagged black line that goes from nose through the tail.
And they are not aggressive.

Foxes have Black marks on their fins, and a gold line above their
black line.
It's hard to find a True SAE but they are the social species, and would not be killing anyone.

Foxes are highly territorial, with their own kind and other fish.
Chinese AE also.

Flying Fox

True SAE

Just look for clear fins, not yellowish, clear.
Sometimes even the most convincing store owner cannot tell the diff, and sells and labels the wrong ones.