False Sae

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Kay Sturg

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Mar 9, 2017
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Kennita
I believe I have a false Sae the pet store told me it was a true one. My question is My Sae is getting very fat and long? (About 2 to 3 inches long and the fatness of a pinky finger
I am a newbie to this hobby but I have asked questions and did a little research. In my 20g tank I have 2 male platy, catfish, pleco, and 5 go fish with my false Sae. What may be the cause of him to get big and being so aggressive. With the glofish and platy. He don't bother the catfish nor the pleco. It seem like he is scared of my pleco.

Is this normal or do I need to get a bigger tank for them all?20170325_180216.jpg
 

Frank Castle

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Feb 9, 2017
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I believe I have a false Sae the pet store told me it was a true one. My question is My Sae is getting very fat and long? (About 2 to 3 inches long and the fatness of a pinky finger
I am a newbie to this hobby but I have asked questions and did a little research. In my 20g tank I have 2 male platy, catfish, pleco, and 5 go fish with my false Sae. What may be the cause of him to get big and being so aggressive. With the glofish and platy. He don't bother the catfish nor the pleco. It seem like he is scared of my pleco.

Is this normal or do I need to get a bigger tank for them all?View attachment 221179
It could be a Siamese or Chinese - they are in fact different species with very different behaviors. Either way, I believe they can grow to 11" and become very territorial however they have no teeth to cause real damage but they can suck the slime coat off of larger fish, so make sure you use Stress Coat and non-iodized tablesalt with your weekly water changes just in case.

It takes many MANY years for them to grow to adult size, but just out of curiousity, do you have a 20g High or 20g Long?

Another important thing about Algae-eaters and Plecos people overlook is that they need a sustainable food source besides algae. I have several tanks with various bottom-feeders (and cichlids and cyprinids love it too) and they love their fruits and vegetables. Romaine, Zucchini, Cucumber, Celery, blanched Asparagus, Summmer Squash, and various other fruits and veggies can be rubberbanded to a rock and sunk to the bottom.

Then, just sit back and watch them go nuts :D With an ample supply of fresh veggies, he should have no reason to bother your other fish

I also can assure that is not a true Siamese Algae Eater - it is probably Gyrinocheilus aymonieri
 
Last edited:

Kay Sturg

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Mar 9, 2017
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Thank you Mr Frank I have a 20g long. I also give algae thins to even I feed them. I know u his might sound crazy,but I sit and watch them everyday for abut an hour. Lol. I also check my water ever 3 days since I'm a beginner. If I'm missing some steps please let me know. Thank you again.
IMG_4203.jpg
 

Frank Castle

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Feb 9, 2017
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Thank you Mr Frank I have a 20g long. I also give algae thins to even I feed them. I know u his might sound crazy,but I sit and watch them everyday for abut an hour. Lol. I also check my water ever 3 days since I'm a beginner. If I'm missing some steps please let me know. Thank you again.
View attachment 221186
that looks more like a 20H IMO.....is it 30" long or 24" long?
 

fishorama

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Either an false SAE or a Chinese algae eater, I agree with Frank, probably CAE. Both will outgrow your tank...very soon. Rehome it now! Both will be "aggressive" in such a small tank, it's mostly due to tank size requirements for SAE, just their nature for CAEs.

Can you get a good pic of it's mouth?
 

FreshyFresh

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It's tough to tell from the pic. The outlines of the black stripe do look a bit saw-toothy like they do on SAEs. I have a pair of 4yr/old SAEs in a 55g and they could actually use more room than that. They are about 6" long a fat buggers.
 

Kay Sturg

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Mar 9, 2017
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Kennita
Either an false SAE or a Chinese algae eater, I agree with Frank, probably CAE. Both will outgrow your tank...very soon. Rehome it now! Both will be "aggressive" in such a small tank, it's mostly due to tank size requirements for SAE, just their nature for CAEs.

Can you get a good pic of it's mouth?
20170330_063132.jpg
 
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