What are my siamese algae eaters doing?? (Video attached)

[Ellie Potts]

In my 55 gallon aquarium I have 2 siamese algae eaters (I now know I need more, but the store I bought them from said it'd be fine to start with 2; I'm currently stuck searching for a few more in the middle of winter with no local fish store or aquarium club). The 2 I do have, however, have been great except they've started doing a dance-like fight. They're always with each other and never seem to hurt the other but they will rub up against each other and occasionally chase each other around. When they do this their one racer stripe tends to fade quite a bit. They're incredibly hard to breed in captivity which makes me assume this is aggression; any idea how worried I should be? It doesn't seem to be territorial nor over food, one doesn't appear to dominate the other, and I've had them for long enough that casual "pecking-order" fights should be over. I suppose I could separate them or try to be speedier in getting a few more to dissipate aggression. I attached a video of them going at it and a picture of them when they're fighting versus when they're not so you can see the stripe.

Here's a link that shows them at their worst

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I can't get your vid to play back, so I don't know. I kept an SAE for several years by himself and he seemed healthy and happy; I always assumed they were not particularly dependent on conspecifics. It's possible you have some pre-breeding behavior going on. It's also possible, in a 55, that they are just annoyed with each other. If their behavior seems stressful to them or to the other fish, I would get rid of one.

Interesting thing about SAEs: It seems almost certain that this "species" is actually an aggregation of closely-related, visually identical species. This would explain variations in behavior like you're seeing, as well as the ongoing debate about whether they voraciously attack black brush algae (which many aquarists enthusiastically claim) or ignore it entirely (which was more my experience).

Sorry I can't be more help. Keep us posted.

 

[Ellie Potts]

I can't get your vid to play back, so I don't know. I kept an SAE for several years by himself and he seemed healthy and happy; I always assumed they were not particularly dependent on conspecifics. It's possible you have some pre-breeding behavior going on. It's also possible, in a 55, that they are just annoyed with each other. If their behavior seems stressful to them or to the other fish, I would get rid of one.

Interesting thing about SAEs: It seems almost certain that this "species" is actually an aggregation of closely-related, visually identical species. This would explain variations in behavior like you're seeing, as well as the ongoing debate about whether they voraciously attack black brush algae (which many aquarists enthusiastically claim) or ignore it entirely (which was more my experience).

Sorry I can't be more help. Keep us posted.

Will do! I've been struggling since I got them to find information. Apparently there isn't much we know definitively. Some have told me they absolutely need to be in groups of 6, others have said they're best off alone and (like the store I bought from) some say they 2-3 is a perfect number. They do seem to shoal together.

Here's a Youtube Link to the video if that helps: Youtube

 

[Callisto405]

Looks like you have a pair

 

[itiwhetu]

I like the alone option with these guys.

 

[Fish4dawin]

The issue with the SAE's is that sometimes LFS mistake them for the flying fox. The flying fox or epalzeorhynchos kallopterus is a more aggressive type of algae eater which surprisingly doesn't actually eat that much algae. Now what could've happened here is that you have two hybrids of the flying fox and the SAE. However, I highly doubt this but I have heard of it happening. It is more likely you have a pair and it could be breeding behaviour.

 

[Ellie Potts]

The issue with the SAE's is that sometimes LFS mistake them for the flying fox. The flying fox or epalzeorhynchos kallopterus is a more aggressive type of algae eater which surprisingly doesn't actually eat that much algae. Now what could've happened here is that you have two hybrids of the flying fox and the SAE. However, I highly doubt this but I have heard of it happening. It is more likely you have a pair and it could be breeding behaviour.

I am aware of the algae eater issues, but I'm almost 100% positive I have true (or at least almost true) siamese algae eaters. If I don't, I wasted a couple hours of driving to get them ?

It would be pretty cool if it was breeding behavior, I wish I knew for sure.

 

[Ellie Potts]

Looks like you have a pair

The issue with the SAE's is that sometimes LFS mistake them for the flying fox. The flying fox or epalzeorhynchos kallopterus is a more aggressive type of algae eater which surprisingly doesn't actually eat that much algae. Now what could've happened here is that you have two hybrids of the flying fox and the SAE. However, I highly doubt this but I have heard of it happening. It is more likely you have a pair and it could be breeding behaviour.

Do they pair off to mate? I was under the impression they only mated in groups in absolutely perfect conditions or in the wild.