Golden-Algae eater - What should I do??

[Patwa]

Need some serious advice on a Golden Algae Eater (ie. aggression)

here's the deal....i've got a pretty nice planted aquarium i've modeled after a river bank.....i've got a waterfall that flows over some rocks and into the tank....the water that flows is from my Rena Filstar's return ....it's not pumped in from any other source.

i've got a bunch of fish in the tank, ranging from tetras to a banjo cat to a whiptail cat to glass cats, and two gouramis and plecos, among others (not many more, but suffice it to say, i've got a wide variety of community fish).

the Problem:

i've got a golden algae eater that is sort of aggressive ...i woudln't say he's overly aggressive to others, since I only see him bothering the plecos and the male paradise gourami ONCE in a while.

BUT....as he grows older, he will become MUCH more aggressive, right?? at that point will he be a major problem for the rest of my fish???

Should I take him out NOW??

I have some pretty expensive fish in there and I don't want this runt messing things up....i'd much rather deal with this now, than wait to find bite marks on my fish.

the other thing is that my tank is FULL of rocks and other items that would make catching him a SERIOUS problem.....is there a way i can trap him??

oh man....i'm worried...

Zach

[ferret]

I'm preparing to get rid of one of these. He's too busy bothering the goldfish and trying to eat their slime coats instead of, well, eating algea. The tank is starting to get quite a bit of growth, so he's gonna get replaced by a rubber nose pleco.

[Terry]

Your goldern algae eater is being aggressive because they are territorial, he doesn't like the other fish entering his turf.
I would get shot of him, you don't need him you have the pleco.

Trying to catch him will be fun, no suggestions just good luck.

[PrettyFishies]

How big is your tank? Can you posts Pic PLEASE? I'd love to see this one...

Should I take him out NOW??

I have some pretty expensive fish in there and I don't want this runt messing things up....i'd much rather deal with this now, than wait to find bite marks on my fish.

the other thing is that my tank is FULL of rocks and other items that would make catching him a SERIOUS problem.....is there a way i can trap him??

Yes, get him out [acronym:65e83b66d3="As soon as possible"]asap[/acronym:65e83b66d3], it will prolly get worse.

don't know of any way to trap him, but I try to get fish out during water changes, when the water is lowest. I either use 2 nets, or 1 net and a stick. use 1 net or a stick to chase him into the other net. Still not easy, but its the best I've come up with. Sometimes there is no alternative to removing most of the rocks and stuff to get a fish out.

[Scottw68TN]

sounds like you know what needs to be done. Trapping is always creative business.
I use the 2 net method they run from one and hit the other. Rocks....hard to catch behind those. Maybe its time for a good cleaning remove the rocks vac under them and catch the squirrely mother. Less water helps to if your wanting to do a 50% change while your at it. Good luck and if all else fails throw in a m-80 and see what floats to the top. Joking!

[Patwa]

Originally Posted by PrettyFishies

How big is your tank? Can you posts Pic PLEASE? I'd love to see this one...

haha no worries....i just bought myself a Canon Elph SD100 digital camera yesterday....i'll get the pictures soon...but i'd much rather deal with this first...

my tank is a 45g...but it is only filled up to about 6" shy of the top...so i'm guessing i have a total of about 35g total ...

[Scottw68TN]

Quadruple post> is that a record?

[madasafish]

Best bet for getting him out is... hate to say it... take your rocks and other decorations out.

I spent the better part of 1.5 hours trying to get three CAEs (in many ways the same fish) out of my 55 gallon, and I was soaked at the end. It wasn't until I finally decided to take every item--plants, driftwood, 3 large rocks--out of the tank that I finally caught them. They are FAST, fast, fast.

Oh, and Zach. I totally agree with PrettyFishies (and Allivymar always asks the same thing) that you should start taking lotsa pix of the tank (perhaps before you dismantle it to get the GAE out)! We all LOVE to see how ppl decorate their tanks here, and what their fish look like. I've finally gotten around to putting up pix of all of my tanks in my gallery.

Good luck fishing (hey, that's one way to get a fish out of your tank)! j/[acronym:d16d5ad145="Kelvin or Potassium, depending on context"]k[/acronym:d16d5ad145]

[Kerrinne]

I have a golden chinese algae eater, I'm not sure if this is the same as the one you have. He is quite the swimmer though, and very difficult to catch. I usually have to psyche him out or trick him into thinking I'm going one way, then go another.

As for aggression, mine is very territorial. He doesn't like the fish getting in 'his area' when he finds a nice spot to nestle down in and eat. He doesn't appear to nip at them or hurt them, but he will give chase for a little while. Maybe I'm slightly neurotic, but I don't see anything wrong with a little game of chase among friends. hehe Besides, my two remaining tetra like to chase each other through the plants once in a while as well, so I'm not incredibly worried.

I suppose it depends on what your algae eater is doing specifically as far as acting aggressive and how it is effecting the fish you have in the tank. If he's physically injuring them or tiring them out or stressing them, then I would imagine he should go. If mine gets to that phase, he will likely go too.