Please help ID this algae eater

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Duckie

Duckie

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On the left of the picture are both my chinese algae eaters, which I am pretty sure are what they are supposed to be. On the top right is an algae eater that according to the store is supposed to be also a chinese algae eater. It has very different markings, almost black and white and has not been growing as it should. It is still almost the same size as when we got it - maybe about 1 1/2 inches long. The other two are about 5 inches. So I highly doubt that it is a chinese algae eater. I am not even sure if he is a catfish at all or not.

Any idea what the little guy might be?

algae eater.JPG

algae eater.JPG
 
Duckie

Duckie

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DavidZ said:
Looks like a fox, tough to tell from this pic
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A flying fox algae eater? Virtually all pictures I have seen of those have this one black stripe in the middle. Due to his small size and the tank he is in, it is hard to get a good picture, sorry about that. He is also relatively shy and likes to hide a lot.
 
Oiler3535

Oiler3535

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Dwarf Siam Botia...I'm just starting my first aquarium and those are the one thing out of the hundreds of species at my store I really want. Get about 2-2.5 inches max, and are supposed to be in schools of at least 5. Swim really interestingly, and look sharp.

image.jpg
 
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Oiler3535

Oiler3535

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Oh, and from what I read, this type of loach doesn't eat algae at all.
 
Duckie

Duckie

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Oiler3535 said:
Dwarf Siam Botia...I'm just starting my first aquarium and those are the one thing out of the hundreds of species at my store I really want. Get about 2-2.5 inches max, and are supposed to be in schools of at least 5. Swim really interestingly, and look sharp.
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Thank you, I think that is it. You are absolutely right about the funny swimming. Next time I am shopping for fish, I will keep an eye out for more of them so they can group up. Will do more research if those loaches can coexist with my clowns.
 
Duckie

Duckie

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Oiler3535 said:
Oh, and from what I read, this type of loach doesn't eat algae at all.
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That is okay, they look interesting enough. Not every fish has to do a certain job. They can just be fish. Maybe in a group I can see them more often. :)
 
Oiler3535

Oiler3535

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Apparently they're endangered in the wild, but have been captive bred for awhile so are available. My store has them for 20 apiece, but said he'll give them to me 10 each bc people don't seem to buy them.
 
Duckie

Duckie

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Oiler3535 said:
Apparently they're endangered in the wild, but have been captive bred for awhile so are available. My store has them for 20 apiece, but said he'll give them to me 10 each bc people don't seem to buy them.
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They are not only endangered, but were considered extinct in the wild for a while from what I just found out.

From http://www.aquariumlife.net/articles/tropical-fish/dwarf-loach/218.asp (bold mine)
The dwarf loach is one of the most recently discovered loaches. The dwarf loach was actually introduced into the aquarium trade in 1959. At that time, the collection sites for the dwarf loaches were turbid, clayey small bodies of water. These bodies of water occasionally dried out to trickling creeks. These bodies of water began to disappear in the 1980s with the construction of dams and the establishment of rice paddies. At that time, the dwarf loach was considered to be extinct in the wild. However, they would make a big comeback, but just barely!

After the dwarf loaches were considered to be extinct, the London Zoo had a sale because of a threatened closing. Breeders from Thailand acquired the London Zoo's entire stock of dwarf loaches. These dwarf loaches became the start-up brood stock for pond culture in Malaysia and Thailand. This led to the dwarf loach becoming available to hobbyists again, but at much greater prices! These days, the price of dwarf loaches has gone down somewhat. Most pet stores sell their dwarf loaches anywhere from $5.00 to $10.00 apiece.
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And also very nice that they appear to be compatible with everyting else in my tank. From same page as above (bold the fish that I also have):
The dwarf loach is a peaceful loach that should only be kept with other peaceful fish. Ideal tank mates for the dwarf loach can include dojo loaches, clown loaches, yoyo loaches, kuhli loaches, hillstream loaches, horseface loaches, certain eels, barbs, danios, rasboras, tetras, gouramis, hatchetfish, blind cavefish, corys, plecos, iridescent sharks, red finned cigar sharks, red tail sharks, rainbowfish and kribs. Dwarf loaches should never be kept with larger, aggressive fish, or fish that are likely to make a meal out of the tiny loach.
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And I am looking at rasboras for a different schooling/shoaling fish to add to the tank, and the red tail sharks to eventually replace the iridescent sharks. Edit: Dang, cannot get the red tail sharks as they don't shoal and like to be alone :( - not a suitable replacement for the ID sharks. All seems to be going to be just fine. Except the iridescent sharks which will not be easy to give away to a new home, but I cannot keep them unfortunately (only a 180 gallon tank).

Now I just have to see if my LFS can special order them. I am pretty sure the other petstore we got the loach from did not know what it was as we only paid like a couple bucks for it thinking we got an algae eater of some kind.
 
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