Need help identifying fish

[Ferret_Friend]

Ok, so the pet store is selling "algae eaters" and I had $6 store credit, so I got three of them. I'm not entirely certain of what they are though. They are currently about an inch long, and I can tell they are some breed of catfish. They seem to like sucking on the glass, much like a pleco. I wouldn't even be surprised if they were some relative. They were $1.99 each or 3 for $5.19, and they have a maximum length of 4.5-5.5 inches. They seem to want to stay near the bottom most of the time, but when I do see them moving around, they want to school. I'm pretty sure they're not Corys since these are rather slim streamlined fish, and they have a thin black streak on them from end to end.

Any idea what these guys might be? Wish I had a picture.

 

[Mosaic]

Chinese algae eater?

 

[Ferret_Friend]

Perfect! That's it!

So Algae Eater is actually 2/3 of their common name?

I always wonder, because that particular pet store seems to have the common names all mixed up. Those are definitely them though. Thanks a bunch! It's always nice to know what fish you have, even if you don't plan on doing much with them.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Their max length is actually more around 8-10 inches. They get more carnivorous with age, meaning they won't eat algae. And they get more aggressive. Nasty fish IMO.

 

[hsherman1986]

I have two in my 55, and regret getting them. I liked them at first, they were great at eating algea, but as they have gotten bigger (they are 4-5 inches) they have gotten meaner. They chase around my new dojo's all the time. They are still good at eating algea for now, but I think I may take them back and trade them in for a handful of ottos instead.

 

[Guest]

Now i have just the opesit reaction with them, Mine are 2yrs old and are 5 to 7 inches in sie and are some of the clumest fish I have. They never go around any of the other fish and chase each other around. They are great algee eater still and I have never seen them bother another fish. Now i thank the main thing is that they are a type of schooling fish. when I had two always something with them, then I added two more and things changed alot. I have 6 now and there always togeather and stay to there self on the botom and ply chase all the time. My alge has never been better controled.

 

[hulkamaniac]

What I've heard about them is that once they realize they can get free food from you for doing nothing, they'll never touch algae again. Also, they tend to suck on the slime of other fish once they get bigger.

 

[CaysE]

How big is your tank? If it can't comfortably house 3 potentially 8+" fish, I'd trade them in for 3+ Otos.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Also, they tend to suck on the slime of other fish once they get bigger.

Yes they do. I had one do that to 2 danios and it killed them. That's why I call them nasty fish...

I think they are better kept with cichlids that will keep them in their place.

 

[hsherman1986]

CaysE, if you are asking me, the tank they are in is a 55g long. They have plenty of room, they are just mean, imo. I have been talking to my fiancee about it, and he wants to trade them in too.

Just a little background, we needed more algea eaters after our ottos died off (ich breakout a few months ago), and the CAE's were on sale for $1 each. So we bought some. We have more than just those two, we have one in each of our other tanks and planned to move them as soon as they started getting bigger. But I just don't think I want to keep any of them after seeing how these bigger ones are.

I have also seen the two larger ones in the 55 suck on my platies.

JustOneMore20, how did they get the danios to stay still long enough? You would think they would outswim the CAE's?

 

[JustOneMore20]

ustOneMore20, how did they get the danios to stay still long enough? You would think they would outswim the CAE's?

Well, it was when I was a newbie and they were in a 10g, so that probably had something to do with it. You would think that it would be hard for the CAEs to catch them, but the danios that died both had circular wounds and the CAEs were the only ones that could have done it.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Ill never get one. I tried housing a betta with some matured CAE's and they tore the betta to death (literally too).

 

[hsherman1986]

ahh, ok that makes more sense. Such a small space, not as much room to hide.

And I defintly wouldn't put it past these fish to do that to another fish. I am surprised they haven't gone after my slow moving angel yet.

 

[Mosaic]

I guess I kinda like the bullies, because I had a CAE for a long time and he was one of my favorites. You gotta appreciate them for who they are, otherwise they're pretty worthless, lol

 

[Ferret_Friend]

I think they are better kept with cichlids that will keep them in their place.

Well, as my Oscar grows and they grow, perhaps I'll move the cichlids from the Oscar tank to this one. I didn't realize they were aggressive, and I didnt' realize they'd get that big.

Stupid pet store. They have little red, yellow, and green light indicators on the tanks as a sign of aggression, and they have what's SUPPOSED to be the maximum size on the tanks as well. I know better than to trust those signs.

Oh well... if they start getting aggressive, then I'll remove them from that tank. I was hoping to get small non-aggressive fish for this tank, but who knows. If I can't spend the money on more fish, I'll just move my cichlids in there to keep them in line... or maybe my rainbow shark. He chases fish around and is territorial, but I've never once seen him nip a fish.

We'll see how things go. I'm kinda playing this one by ear now.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

[Speakerman]

Is that what you call an Otocycus Catfish? I've got 3 lol...didn't realize they would get so dang big...

 

[joannde]

No - otos are different. They stay small.

 

[Speakerman]

My Otocyncus Catfish that I bought from PetCo look EXACTLY like the picture that says Ottos next to it...

Could this mean the LFS got the tag wrong, thus I really got 3 catfish that get big and mean?

 

[joannde]

Speakerman, Ottos is an abbr for Otocyncus, those are the ones that stay small. You're ok.

This thread is about Chinese Algae Eaters - those are the ones that get big and sometimes mean.

 

[odessadude]

I have never had a better algae eater then the Chinese. And yes, they were aggressive little buggers. I wound up taking them back to the fish store a year later and let someone else deal with them.