# Siamese Algae Eater - Ate all my algae and is now going after my plants!



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

I have heard they like finer leaved and softer leaved plants. I would add more food for it to eat.


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## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Add a variety of food to its diet including plant based foods and blood worms and such.

How big is the perp?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

He/she is full grown, over 4" I believe. A good looking fish but a pig. I do vary the diet, but I don't like to overfeed to the point there is food flying around. This fish literally gorges itself on food.


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## Loachutus (Aug 27, 2010)

SAE's will get 6+ inches. Would you be will to add some veggies to your food regime? This may help the munching of the Blyxa Japonica. Mine love Zucchini, spinach, and have left my b. japonica alone. However they have always munched any mosses i put in there. Do you have any veggie based flake food?


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I feed zucchini usually once a week, and the foods I have are a blend of both protein and algae. I'll try adding some more veggies like spinach and see if that helps. Thanks.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

I have one that's 6 and a half years old that you can have, he only eats flakes and wafers.


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## Cardinal Tetra (Feb 26, 2006)

150EH said:


> I have one that's 6 and a half years old that you can have, he only eats flakes and wafers.


Had to LOL! Most get like that


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

You have a pond, sewingalot! Once mine stopped eating algae, he never started again!


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

mordalphus said:


> You have a pond, sewingalot! Once mine stopped eating algae, he never started again!


feed them hair algae.

I don't have moss in my tank, destroyed by the school of adult SAEs.
The adults in my tank now only focus on cleaning the low(foreground) plants, but they do go crazy if I put a handful of the hair algae(from the backyard tanks) in their tank. 

4 adults can finish the half fist size hair algae in 4 days, they are pulling the "hairs" from lights on until lights off, and pooping green.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Haha, Liam. You mean a tub that is only 20 gallons and isn't staying up past next month because of the weather. But good idea. How do you cultivate hair algae? I don't have any to deal with *knocks on wood* but I do have some clado in a low tech tank. Will that help?

I have a feeling I'm going to be without a SAE soon.


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## zachary908 (Feb 12, 2011)

My SAE only eats fish food ( Flake, Pellet, Blackworms, Beef heart, and fish row)... I never see him eating algae anymore. He is probably 4-5 inches long. I'm thinking about replacing him with 1 or 2 smaller ones.


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## petroica (Feb 23, 2011)

I have a 4" true SAE in a 29g and it's been nothing but trouble lately. Constantly hungry (despite flakes, mosquito larvae, algae wafers, and cucumber slices) and what's left of my java moss looks worse than yours. It chases my rams as well, even though some people believe only flying foxes and other false species will become aggressive. Gorgeous fish, but I just can't deal with it anymore. It's going into my friend's mostly empty 40g.


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## astrosag (Sep 3, 2010)

I have two in my tank. I was told that they are passive but one of the SAE's is psychotic...he's all over the place all the time, constantly hungry and constantly chasing the other SAE around my tank. It'll chase anything that gets close although my bubble rams don't tolerate it and charge back. But this guy is so chaotic and fast that I'm afraid he's going to knock out some of my schooling fish someday. 

I was told by a reputable LFS that they were passive and timid....I'm now wondering if fish can be bipolar lol.

I love my tank and all of my fish - except this one SAE...but the GF won't let me dump it (kidding I wouldn't do that unless he was damaging the others).

I won't be getting more though...not the best for a small community tank.

Oh, and my SAE's do not eat any of the Green Spotted Algae - I don't think they eat any algae at all, just flakes and blood worms. The golden otto's do though...those I very much like


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## peyton (Apr 17, 2007)

They are timid when smaller but the older they get the more territorial they are. They are a good solution to BBA and hair algae. I've had them mow down mosses and fine leaf plants like rotala wallichi/nanjenshan/vietnam. Never seen them go after blyxa though. 

I've been keeping SAE's since I got into planted tanks. I can't imagine not owning at least one anymore.


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## garfieldnfish (Sep 25, 2010)

I have 5 of them and they are all over 6 inches and I love every inch of them. They will not hurt each other or other fish. I keep fish and not plants so if they eat a couple of plants when I forget to feed them veggy flakes or zucchini or cucumber or peas or spinach then it's my fault not theirs. They will eat what they need to survive and we need to give it to them.
BTW these fish are social fish and you need more than 2 to keep them happy. So if they behave strange when you only have one again it is your fault for not reading up on them and not the fishes fault.


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