True SAE from Nippon LFS in SF
 

From Nippon Goldfish store (on gearry).
At $1.99 ea. I couldn't resist but bringing six home today.

Yes they are a great deal! I picked up a pair :proud:

Hey Marc,
How are they doing so far?

Mine doesn't seem to pick on the algae... they eat flake food & frozen brine shrimp! :O
I'm beginning to doubt that they're not true SAE :(

Try not feeding them for a few days, and see what happens. A lot of algae-eaters prefer flake/frozen food over algae any day, but when they have no choice, they'll start picking on the algae. If I don't feed my swordtails, they will graze on the hair algae.

Do SAEs eat hair algae? If they do, I'll pick up a few this weekend (if they're still there)!

Yeah... I had the same idea.
It's just that they were skinny when I brought them home. I didn't have the heart to starve them.
Now that they're all survived & plumped up, I'm gonna slowly reduce the feeding frequency & quantity.

Mine are doing fine- ive had mine for close to 2 months now. Honestly they eat anything. They eat algae, flake food, live food, you name it. I wouldnt doubt what you bought- i but stuff at nippon and i know they know their stuff. They wouldnt mislabel the fish or try to say its real.

How do you feed some fish in the tank and not the others?


Scott

Well, that is close to impossible, so I guess the other fish will have to starve for a while, but that shouldn't be a problem unless you have fry. I doubt fish in the wild get very much to eat.

Woo hoo! :icon_bigg I got my first true SAE's today at Nippon! You guys were right, $1.99 ea. is a great deal! The little guys are cute, and they don't bother anyone. I want to buy two more to make a school of six. Is 40 gallons big enough for six? Do they eat staghorn algae?

I have 6 SAE, 2 Oto & 6 shrimps in a 10 gallon ;)

6 SAEs in a 40? Be careful. They grow up to 5-6" in six months or so and love to swim fast and play tag. Might hit the glass hard, mine do and I have a 75 long. They are known to accidentally jump out but mine haven't (my mollies do though). I have occasionally seen them with bruised noses. I have/had 4 until my DO2 dropped after a water change and I forgot to plug back in the airstone. They are first fish to die in low DO2 conditions. My discus, cories and loaches all made it.

How about one more? Three of them stay together, but one likes to follow the otos, LOL. They are very similar in coloration. Maybe if I add one more, they might all school.

Uh oh ... 8)

LOL bigpow... better get a bigger tank!

I think my SAE's need some help... what's the best price for cherry red shrimp and otos in the Bay Area? Does anyone have the address of Aqua Traders (formerly 99 Pets)?

Hi,
6th Ave. on Clement sells otos for 0.99 cents, but they don't have them very often. Petsmart in Daly City stocks otos all the time, I believe $1.59 a head.
Don't know about cherry shrimps though.