missy - 2013-02-04 Mine is very aggressive in fact its almost 3yrs old and the only tank cleaner that is smart and fast enough to survive with my piranha
Anonymous - 2013-01-27 Now that i have read this i am scared. I have the golden version of this fish with my betta. Most of the time the get along well, but when my betta gets into one of his 'moods' he mostly chases the little guy. Sometimes the algae eater will seemingly fight back, he goes vertical and bats the betta with his tail.Does anyone think that the algae eater will ever make any super agressive moves or anything?
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Jeremy Roche - 2013-01-27 Could become an issue for the betta as the Algae Eater ages. The betta is too slow of a swimming fish to be with this fish.
sherri - 2013-01-02 I am new to this whole aquatic thing. I have a 29 gal. tank with a beta, an angelfish, 2 swordtails, 1 marble molly, a kissing fish, a suckerfish, and ol' mr.chinese algae eating. He swims around like a shark in my tank. I have gotten the veggie wafers and tried the raw zucchini thing. He is just super active/aggressive. I am thinking of taking him out if he doesn't mellow out. Any suggestions?
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Jeremy Roche - 2013-01-02 These fish can be very aggressive and sometimes needs to be seperated from the other fish.
John Ho - 2012-12-16 I had a 2 and a half inch CAE in my tank doing just fine! It does not act aggressive towards other fishes in my community tank unlike what u guys said. Well it does sometimes (max 2 times a month) chase fishes which i think it was playing with them because it does not really harm them. Anyway, i think it depends on your luck whether you chose the right and non aggressive CAE to put in your tank.
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Clarice Brough - 2012-12-16 Yeah, if they become testy its usually with age. Sometimes new tankmates upsetting their home can trigger some meanness too. Sometimes they will stay mellow, but I have known many people who had their Chinese Algae Eater end up being very aggressive and start taking out the other fish. Glad you have a nice fellow!
Fish Master - 2010-02-07 I would like to point out that Siamese Algae Eaters and Chinese Algae Eaters are two different breeds. Chinese Alage Eaters tend to become agressive while their Siamese cousins do not. Siamese Algae Eaters also tend to eat algae much better.
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Fishin\' for Worry - 2010-11-27 Fish Master, do CAEs eat goldfish?
jamieladie - 2012-04-25 I thought they were the same, that the two names were inter-exchangeable. If this is not true then how do you tell the difference? We are a novice couple. We have two, and I'm sure one is pregnant
jamieladie - 2012-04-26 And now I am so sad because I found the one I thought to be pregnant dead. I was so excited too :(
Pinky - 2012-04-05 I have two in my 30 gallon tank with my guppies. They are really good they don't even try to eat the babies. They chase each other. One has a strip on both sides going from head to tail and the other one doesn't.
Sharlene - 2012-02-27 I bought 2 of these over the last few yrs. One I kept in my 30 gal with a goldfish that was HUGE! So Tigger did great with this fish because the goldy would get mean and tigger just sucked on him a bit to tell him he wasn't afraid. Tigger now lives with my mom and here is the big shocker -- He is in a 20 gal with guppies and other peacefuls but NEVER attacks. He is the sweetest funniest fish ever who plays with moms cats. Now the 2nd one I bought as it got bigger attacked a cat fish and that was it... I found him a home. But Tigger is still the best I've seen and a rarety. He seems happy in his 20 gal. I had sent him to mom to protect him from the ever growing goldfish till it found a new home. Tigger was too big to catch after that and so will stay at moms till he dies or gets aggressive, but still at nearly 9 in he is sweet.
Dorian - 2012-02-09 I have one of these little guys (golden) in my tiger barb tank. he is pretty aggressive... but I don't mind it since the tigers seem to do a good job at pissing him off.
I had a dead Tiger barb the other day, but I dont think it was the golden algae eaters fault. I believed he was a bit sick and was getting picked on by the Tigers. I will have to keep my eyes on him. He seems to do good with my Talking Catfish and my Red Tail Shark. He only seem to chase the Tigers around but thats cuz Striker (one of my tiger barbs) likes to push his luck with him.
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Alex Burleson - 2012-02-09 Chinese Algae Eaters, can be aggressive. However, I would really watch the fish in your aquarium, under these circumstances. If another fish dies, you may want to investigate if the Chinese Algae Eater is the culprit. In the meantime, enjoy your fish.
Lori Tedesco - 2011-06-01 My hubby bought each of our larger aquariums one of these lovely gems when they were small. His tank had tetras and danios and various fish; my 55 gallon had (and still has) fancy guppies that I have been breeding for a long time, and I mean FANCY. WELL... these stupid creatures are huge and both tanks would have entire fish disappear in hours, babies, adults, you name it. Horrible. He had just added some really cute new fish to his tank (thankfully they are peaceful community fish that now live in my tank), and only 2 hours later one was found with its innards consumed!!! I went to the pet store with my suspicions and was told exactly what I thought. When they are large -- and mine are a foot long each now -- they feast on fish and shun the algae wafers and algae, and suck on the slime of the fish and then attack, devouring the whole fish. I was told they can adopt these horrid creatures out for me, but honestly, I'd like to catch them and toss them out into the yard. In the meantime, I moved all of the peaceful community fish from the other tank into mine after catching the horrible beast in my tank, and that took 40 minutes, and put it in my husbands tank. They can contend with each other at this point. Horrid, horrid fish. I got a little 2 inch bottom feeder that doesn't grow any larger and doesn't attack fish and it's amazing how different the tank is behaving today.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-06-01 Is it OK to ask which tank your hubby is in? lol
Lori Tedesco - 2011-06-03 LOL He's still free and clear. He had no idea that he bought the CAE's. Petco sold him both, saying they were "great algae eaters" and until I spoke to the lady who now runs the aquarium section recently, I think the people there were clueless. The tanks are now clean, their fish are actually alive, and she new exactly what I had and had nothing nice to say about them herself. She advised getting them completely out of the tanks and offered to adopt them out at the store. When I showed her how different mine were than the Siamese ones she had there, she looked horrified.
Charlie Roche - 2011-06-03 Well, I am glad your hubby is well. I thought maybe you put him in one of the tanks. Thanks for the warning though cuz I bet a lot of people don't know this.
needabottomfeeder - 2011-08-30 Hi, may I ask the name of the new bottom feeder you have as I need one bad!
Thanks, KC.
Anonymous - 2011-11-29 So what your saying is that the 2 I have in my little 20 gal tank will one day stop being so nice and peaceful and start consuming the other fish in the tank... crap. They were doing such a great job of keeping the place clean.
The Chinese Algae Eater is a workhorse when it comes to its job... eating algae!
Mine is very aggressive in fact its almost 3yrs old and the only tank cleaner that is smart and fast enough to survive with my piranha
Now that i have read this i am scared. I have the golden version of this fish with my betta. Most of the time the get along well, but when my betta gets into one of his 'moods' he mostly chases the little guy. Sometimes the algae eater will seemingly fight back, he goes vertical and bats the betta with his tail.Does anyone think that the algae eater will ever make any super agressive moves or anything?
Could become an issue for the betta as the Algae Eater ages. The betta is too slow of a swimming fish to be with this fish.
I am new to this whole aquatic thing. I have a 29 gal. tank with a beta, an angelfish, 2 swordtails, 1 marble molly, a kissing fish, a suckerfish, and ol' mr.chinese algae eating. He swims around like a shark in my tank. I have gotten the veggie wafers and tried the raw zucchini thing. He is just super active/aggressive. I am thinking of taking him out if he doesn't mellow out. Any suggestions?
These fish can be very aggressive and sometimes needs to be seperated from the other fish.
I had a 2 and a half inch CAE in my tank doing just fine! It does not act aggressive towards other fishes in my community tank unlike what u guys said. Well it does sometimes (max 2 times a month) chase fishes which i think it was playing with them because it does not really harm them. Anyway, i think it depends on your luck whether you chose the right and non aggressive CAE to put in your tank.
Yeah, if they become testy its usually with age. Sometimes new tankmates upsetting their home can trigger some meanness too. Sometimes they will stay mellow, but I have known many people who had their Chinese Algae Eater end up being very aggressive and start taking out the other fish. Glad you have a nice fellow!
I was wondering if it would be safe to get one for my Oscar fish?
Oscar will see this fish as a meal.
I would like to point out that Siamese Algae Eaters and Chinese Algae Eaters are two different breeds. Chinese Alage Eaters tend to become agressive while their Siamese cousins do not. Siamese Algae Eaters also tend to eat algae much better.
Fish Master, do CAEs eat goldfish?
I thought they were the same, that the two names were inter-exchangeable. If this is not true then how do you tell the difference? We are a novice couple. We have two, and I'm sure one is pregnant
And now I am so sad because I found the one I thought to be pregnant dead. I was so excited too :(
I have two in my 30 gallon tank with my guppies. They are really good they don't even try to eat the babies. They chase each other. One has a strip on both sides going from head to tail and the other one doesn't.
I bought 2 of these over the last few yrs. One I kept in my 30 gal with a goldfish that was HUGE! So Tigger did great with this fish because the goldy would get mean and tigger just sucked on him a bit to tell him he wasn't afraid. Tigger now lives with my mom and here is the big shocker -- He is in a 20 gal with guppies and other peacefuls but NEVER attacks. He is the sweetest funniest fish ever who plays with moms cats. Now the 2nd one I bought as it got bigger attacked a cat fish and that was it... I found him a home. But Tigger is still the best I've seen and a rarety. He seems happy in his 20 gal. I had sent him to mom to protect him from the ever growing goldfish till it found a new home. Tigger was too big to catch after that and so will stay at moms till he dies or gets aggressive, but still at nearly 9 in he is sweet.
I have one of these little guys (golden) in my tiger barb tank. he is pretty aggressive... but I don't mind it since the tigers seem to do a good job at pissing him off.
I had a dead Tiger barb the other day, but I dont think it was the golden algae eaters fault. I believed he was a bit sick and was getting picked on by the Tigers. I will have to keep my eyes on him. He seems to do good with my Talking Catfish and my Red Tail Shark. He only seem to chase the Tigers around but thats cuz Striker (one of my tiger barbs) likes to push his luck with him.
Chinese Algae Eaters, can be aggressive. However, I would really watch the fish in your aquarium, under these circumstances. If another fish dies, you may want to investigate if the Chinese Algae Eater is the culprit. In the meantime, enjoy your fish.
My hubby bought each of our larger aquariums one of these lovely gems when they were small. His tank had tetras and danios and various fish; my 55 gallon had (and still has) fancy guppies that I have been breeding for a long time, and I mean FANCY. WELL... these stupid creatures are huge and both tanks would have entire fish disappear in hours, babies, adults, you name it. Horrible. He had just added some really cute new fish to his tank (thankfully they are peaceful community fish that now live in my tank), and only 2 hours later one was found with its innards consumed!!! I went to the pet store with my suspicions and was told exactly what I thought. When they are large -- and mine are a foot long each now -- they feast on fish and shun the algae wafers and algae, and suck on the slime of the fish and then attack, devouring the whole fish. I was told they can adopt these horrid creatures out for me, but honestly, I'd like to catch them and toss them out into the yard. In the meantime, I moved all of the peaceful community fish from the other tank into mine after catching the horrible beast in my tank, and that took 40 minutes, and put it in my husbands tank. They can contend with each other at this point. Horrid, horrid fish. I got a little 2 inch bottom feeder that doesn't grow any larger and doesn't attack fish and it's amazing how different the tank is behaving today.
Is it OK to ask which tank your hubby is in? lol
LOL He's still free and clear. He had no idea that he bought the CAE's. Petco sold him both, saying they were "great algae eaters" and until I spoke to the lady who now runs the aquarium section recently, I think the people there were clueless. The tanks are now clean, their fish are actually alive, and she new exactly what I had and had nothing nice to say about them herself. She advised getting them completely out of the tanks and offered to adopt them out at the store. When I showed her how different mine were than the Siamese ones she had there, she looked horrified.
Well, I am glad your hubby is well. I thought maybe you put him in one of the tanks. Thanks for the warning though cuz I bet a lot of people don't know this.
Hi, may I ask the name of the new bottom feeder you have as I need one bad!
Thanks, KC.
So what your saying is that the 2 I have in my little 20 gal tank will one day stop being so nice and peaceful and start consuming the other fish in the tank... crap. They were doing such a great job of keeping the place clean.