Aquatic Plant Forum banner

SAE’s good bye!

15K views 43 replies 22 participants last post by  jake37 
#1 ·
I finally couldn’t take it any more! My Siamese Algae Eaters were just not eating algae and devastating my plants! I went to my LFS and traded my three SAE’s for three Oto Cats. I know that this was not an equal trade on a cost basis but I hate SAE’s. They are nasty and aggressive. They attack other fish and devour certain plants.

Is my experience common?
 
#2 · (Edited)
Re: SAE's good bye!

I dont think you have (had) SAEs based on my experiences keeping them.
Sounds VERY uncharacteristic.
http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

Otos are great but fussy about water conditions and acclimation plus they really only eat green algae.

good luck.
 

Attachments

  • Like
Reactions: jake37
#4 ·
Re: SAE's good bye!

I've heard of SAE's eating plants, but if they are very territorial and aggressive it sounds like you had one of the "False" SAE's (flying fox/etc).
 
#7 ·
Adult SAE's definitely develop an appetite for a variety of 'greenery', and not just algae. :( You cannot keep moss, wallichii, and a variety of fine leaved plants can all be their own personal salad bars. BUT, I have found that if I don't have one in each of my 50's traces of bba start to show up. My CO2 levels are fine, and over time I have just attributed it to my water conditions (very hard). You learn to live with them if you have to.
 
#10 ·
Re: SAE's good bye!

So far, my SAE isn't eating any plants, but he is an aggressively territorial b*st*rd.

Unfortunately, his territory is wherever he happens to be at the moment, so it's more like a personal space bubble. Any other fish gets to close to him, and he chases them off. :axe: Doesn't seem to nip, just chases. Just a crotchety, grumpy fish who wants to be left alone, I guess.

I've seen him cleaning plants, but not actually eating them. So far, he's a great algae eater, always looking and sucking. The tank is algae-free at the moment, though, so he will eat flakes, also.

What I appreciate about my SAE is his tendency to clean vertical surfaces. He's often working his way up a plant stem, or the airline tube, or the siphon return tube.

I don't currently have any mosses or Riccia, though, so I can't say for sure he'd leave them alone.
 
#28 · (Edited)
Re: SAE's good bye!

So far, my SAE isn't eating any plants, but he is an aggressively territorial b*st*rd.

Unfortunately, his territory is wherever he happens to be at the moment, so it's more like a personal space bubble. Any other fish gets to close to him, and he chases them off. :axe: Doesn't seem to nip, just chases. Just a crotchety, grumpy fish who wants to be left alone, I guess.

I've seen him cleaning plants, but not actually eating them. So far, he's a great algae eater, always looking and sucking. The tank is algae-free at the moment, though, so he will eat flakes, also.

What I appreciate about my SAE is his tendency to clean vertical surfaces. He's often working his way up a plant stem, or the airline tube, or the siphon return tube.

I don't currently have any mosses or Riccia, though, so I can't say for sure he'd leave them alone.
Okay, I need to amend my original statement. After a bit of research, it turns out I do not have a real SAE, and despite what my lfs store me, I do have one of the Chinese Algae Eaters.:---)

I got suspicious after the above pics showed nice straight black stripes, when mine has a row of connected rough diamond shapes.

This explains the aggression with my poser of a SAE.

Mea culpa. Or rather Mea LFS culpa.
 
#12 ·
I have a 6" SAE in a plant tank and he leaves everything alone (crypts, red root floater, salvinia oblongifolia, pellia, mini pellia, subwassertang, sword plant, java fern, bolbitis...) and I have 4 in my other well planted tank (3" fish) and hey dont bother several hygro sp., downoi, tennelus, najas, pellia, or java fern. They do display at eachother a lot (side shimmy/tail whacking) but leave everything else alone. My rainbowfish pair keep them in line.

sorry to hear your bad luck. ive never had problems with mine. they will eat regular food, but you cant blame um. fish are opportunistic.
 
#15 ·
Folks, I have 3 SAEs in my 38-gallon tank. Based on what everyone's saying, I should remove them. I put them in there to take care of any algae in the tank. What algae eaters should I swap them for, should I find them cleaning out any plants?

Thank you.
 
#16 ·
I have 2 SAEs in my 72 gallon tank and do a great job cleaning up the hair algea and no not bother any other fish. Now the CAE is a different story...
 
#17 ·
Re: SAE's good bye!

I have two SAE, one is 5 years old and the other is almost 2.

I have these plants in the tank:
# Ludwigia arcuata
# Ludwigia glandulosa
# Cabomba furcata
# Echinodorus tenellus
# Echinodorus uruguayensis
# Eleocharis minima
# Rotala rotundifolia
# Sagittaria subulata
# Rotala macrandra
# Nymphoides sp Taiwan
# Limnophila aromatica
# Glossoestigma elationides
# Rotala wallichii
# Rotala sp "Vietnam"
# Myriophylum tuberculatum
# Echinodorus bleheri
# Echinodorus ozelot red
# Marsilea creanata
# Anubia brateri ver nana
# Cryptocoryne ponderifolia
# Cryptocoryne wendii "green"
# Heterantera zosterifolia
# Rotala rotundifolia var "colaratta"
# Blyxa japonica
# Java moss
# Microsorum pteropus
# Microsorum pteropus var. "Philipinas"
# Riccia
# Proserpinaca palustris
# Echinodorus scheleteri
# Aponogeton undulatus
# Aponogeton crispus

I have never seen them eating the plants.

What I have seen is the SAEs cleaning plants with a lot of long filamentous algae, that no other fish eat.

Bye,

Juan
 
#20 ·
This is interesting? Some people seem to have no trouble with their SAE and others do.

In my case, I am certain that I have True SAE's because I researched them before I bought them and went to a place that advertised them as True SAE's and they physically fit the description of True SAE’s.

At first the three I had in my 50 gal tank seemed tame enough and acted as I expected. They chased each other and did some displays. As they grew they became more aggressive toward other fish, especially at feeding time. They were very aggressive when I fed them algae tablets and aggressively chased other fish way. I believe they were in a mating mode but I could never verify any eggs because they typically went into the dense plants (They are actually rather shy towards humans).

They gradually started eating more and more plants. They particularly liked tender new growth and ate the central rosettes from my sward plants. At first I thought that this was some type of rot but I figured it out after many of the plants developed peculiar U shaped hole in the leaves about the size of a SAE sucker.

I think I’ll stick with Oto’s from here on.
 
#21 ·
Re: SAE's good bye!

This is interesting? Some people seem to have no trouble with their SAE and others do.

In my case, I am certain that I have True SAE's because I researched them before I bought them and went to a place that advertised them as True SAE's and they physically fit the description of True SAE's.

At first the three I had in my 50 gal tank seemed tame enough and acted as I expected. They chased each other and did some displays. As they grew they became more aggressive toward other fish, especially at feeding time. They were very aggressive when I fed them algae tablets and aggressively chased other fish way. I believe they were in a mating mode but I could never verify any eggs because they typically went into the dense plants (They are actually rather shy towards humans).

They gradually started eating more and more plants. They particularly liked tender new growth and ate the central rosettes from my sward plants. At first I thought that this was some type of rot but I figured it out after many of the plants developed peculiar U shaped hole in the leaves about the size of a SAE sucker.

I think I'll stick with Oto's from here on.
Now I am really confused. I had the hope that maybe you were confusing with the other algae eaters.
Here in Argentina is normal that false SAEs are sold as SAEs.
But if you are positive about the identification, so it is a behavior I have never seen.

Bye,

Juan
 
#23 · (Edited)
Re: SAE's good bye!

this is my sae.in the first 6 months they doing great,and my javamoss grow nicely,now the moss are dying.i am going to get all these 3 sae out tonight.
Yes, you are absolutely right. That is a true SAE.

Questions:
How old was the SAE when it began eating the plants?
What food are you giving to the SAEs?

This is my young SAE:


Bye,

Juan
 
#26 ·
he jsut started eating my all moss now.afte i bought them for 6 months.i feed my fish bloodworm ,planton.brime shrimp.he is not aggrassive at all.but really killing my java moss.flame moss.string moss now.so i am going to trade something in LFS,i will get a young 1 when there is more algea.
 
#27 ·
Re: SAE's good bye!

He might just not be getting enough plant matter if he's already eaten all the algae, you could try giving him some vegetables.

I've also found that neither ottos nor shrimp eat hair/string algae or cladifora, the only animals I've heard of that eat it are SAEs and American flag fish.
 
#31 ·
SAE's good bye! wait a minute, hello?!?!!

Okay, I need to amend my original statement. After a bit of research, it turns out I do not have a real SAE, and despite what my lfs store me, I do have one of the Chinese Algae Eaters.

I got suspicious after the above pics showed nice straight black stripes, when mine has a row of connected rough diamond shapes.

This explains the aggression with my poser of a SAE.

Mea culpa. Or rather Mea LFS culpa.
The majority of the posts on this thread are missing the point. The issue is not whether SAE's do this or that to your plants, etc. The issue is whether or not you have a genuine Siamese Algae Eater! As long as we are not tieing down what we are talking about we will be going around in circles like this thread.

There is an excellent article on this subject, written by a nice young lady who has the website "fishalicous". Please go here: http://fishaliciousfish.blogspot.com/

Once you have read her article I think that you will find out why there is all this inconsistency of behaviours. The true Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis) is seldom found in the trade; which is OK as there is an algae eater (Crossocheilus langei) which does do what it is supposed to. But the differences visually between the "good algae eater", and the so-so ones, and the absolutely WRONG ones is subtle and requires some self-education.

Read the article and I believe you will see why this thread has been so long and so inconclusive. It is a simple matter of misidentification, made that way by sloppy nomenclature on the part of fish sellers who don't know 'what is what'.

g
 
#32 ·
Re: SAE's good bye!

After reading the articles I have to admitted that I was also wrong.

According to the article I have two beautiful Crossocheilus langei.

Their eyes are honey-colored above, white below and black stripe in the middle. And also both have a white belly with an elongate blackish blotch around the vent.

That is probably why I have not seen the negatives behaviors described in the tread.

Bye,

Juan
 
#33 ·
I've observed about the same as what others have mentioned here. I kept 3 in my 180g tank. No BBA. They ate R. wallachi and flame moss to bare nubs but left R. 'Vietnam' and everything else alone. After more than a year two jumped out in the same week. BBA started showing up. I'm now debating about adding two more.

Still debating.

Still debating.

We'll see. It's a rare thing to prefer a small quantity of BBA to a fish.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top