Chinese Algae Eaters and brown algae problems

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jiggerpolebill

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Aug 16, 2002
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Indy, IN, USA
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i know these fish arent the most popular and that they grow up to be a nuisance to other fish, but i have to tell you what these things are doing for me.

ive had a brown algae epidemic for about the last 3 months and after getting sick of taking out my ornaments and scrubbing them every week, i decided to buy some. i tried ottos, but they all died on me. i bought some Siamese Algae Eaters(some of my favorite fish), but they didnt do anything for me either as well as a bristlenose pleco.

the CAE's started eating it the week i put them in but then slacked off. i quit scrubbing ornaments altogether and the brown stuff built up pretty thick. then they started eating it more and more. this was in my 55g tank. its almost completely free of it now except in the really tight spots that the CAEs have trouble getting to. my son's tank(10G) was in the same shape as of last week. i had a magnetic tank scraper that i could get most of it off the walls with, but his ornament and plants were covered with it and it was getting all over his gravel(light blue) and in the seams with the sealant in the corners. his tank was really looking horrible, so i put 2 of the 5 from the 55g in his tank last sat.. as of today, his tank is spotless. the gravel looks brand new, the plants look new and so does his ornament. its even out of the seams in the corners. i sat in front of the tank the other morning and watched them plow through it on his ornament. im REALLY satisfied with what theyve done.

i expect that they will do what everybody elses will do...grow up and turn mean and not eat algae, but for everybody that has a brown algae problem, i would(IMHO) at least get some young ones and give them a try. i know alot of people advise against this and i may be the exception to the rule, but i figured id share my experience with them. mine are all appr. 2 - 2 1/4 inches in length.
 

kveeti

Easily amused
Jun 12, 2002
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Winnipeg, MB
Boy, I NEVER thought I'd hear anybody else publicly praise CAE's. It's something I've kinda learned to keep my mouth shut on, LOL.

My first experience is similar to yours but I had thick green algae on my tank walls. Sam (the First) did an incredible job cleaning up 2 smaller tanks, he then went to live in the big tank.

Whenever one of my CAE's died, I just went out and bought another because I never really had a bad experience. When I first came online I was absolutely shocked at the hatred for these fish.

I would be very interested in your long-term experience with your CAE's, especially since you have more than 1. I have always only had one.
 

jiggerpolebill

i have a key to the Twinsavr
Aug 16, 2002
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Indy, IN, USA
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up until recently, i thought they had started breeding on me. one turned pretty dark and got very fat over the course of a couple of days. but since then ive found out that captive breeding with them is rare, if ever.

the only fish they chase around is each other. im pretty amazed at the job theyve done. i thought the light blue gravel in my boys tank was ruined and now it looks like i just bought it. i really didnt want to get them, but im glad i did now.
 

Number2

AC Members
Oct 31, 2002
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Whistler, BC
I'm kinda surprised at all the hatred against CAE's too. I've had two that continually chased eachother around, and only got agressive when they thought someone was getting near their algae wafers.

They're quite attractive fish, and so far have done a decent job keeping the tank clean, even now that I only have one full grown one in there.

I think the main reason for the hostility against them is that people have tried to keep then with fish that are slower and larger than the CAE's, and being the lazy little buggers they are think that the slow fish is a nice slimy snack.

But all in all I love the fish (named Bush, got him during the 2000 US presidential election). He's got a lot of character and looks great.

Maybe we should start up a fan club <LOL>
 
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