Looks like a big Gyrinocheilus aymonieri var. "gold"
Identify my fish?
Well picked him up after someone dropped him off at a mom and pop fish show. He is a little beat, pretty skittish, but I am sure he will come around. As far as I can tell he is a bottom dwelling fish as he has set up a cave under a large piece of driftwood in my tank.
Here is a photo.
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Here is a photo.
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
hello "hollingsheadj"
the fish in your picture is whats called a golden chinese algae eater.
they are a bottom dwelling fish but do sometimes swim in the upper layers of the water.
there not fussy eaters, flake foods, algae tablets, frozen, live foods will all be readily accepted by this fish.
they like to hide alot, so a planted tank is best for them with plenty of hiding places.
wont harm any plants.
bad side to this fish is that they can only be kept ideally on there own as they get very terrortorial when they reach there adult size, which yours almost or probably already is.
they will attack small fish but if kept with larger fish then it shouldn't be a problem, and will deffinatly feed on any dead fish or invert in the tank.
can become a very boistroise fish, but an all round fantastic algae cleaner!
there
the fish in your picture is whats called a golden chinese algae eater.
they are a bottom dwelling fish but do sometimes swim in the upper layers of the water.
there not fussy eaters, flake foods, algae tablets, frozen, live foods will all be readily accepted by this fish.
they like to hide alot, so a planted tank is best for them with plenty of hiding places.
wont harm any plants.
bad side to this fish is that they can only be kept ideally on there own as they get very terrortorial when they reach there adult size, which yours almost or probably already is.
they will attack small fish but if kept with larger fish then it shouldn't be a problem, and will deffinatly feed on any dead fish or invert in the tank.
can become a very boistroise fish, but an all round fantastic algae cleaner!
there
I saw you post this in another thread and people quickly corrected you. Please note that while you MIGHT be having success with one of these beasts of the tank, the predominant experience is usually negative. They eat algae while very young, then prefer to suck the slime coating/sides of their tank mates, often killing them. I wish stores would quit carrying them, myself but if you wish to keep them, it's your tank. :flick:hello "hollingsheadj"
the fish in your picture is whats called a golden chinese algae eater.
they are a bottom dwelling fish but do sometimes swim in the upper layers of the water.
there not fussy eaters, flake foods, algae tablets, frozen, live foods will all be readily accepted by this fish.
they like to hide alot, so a planted tank is best for them with plenty of hiding places.
wont harm any plants.
bad side to this fish is that they can only be kept ideally on there own as they get very terrortorial when they reach there adult size, which yours almost or probably already is.
they will attack small fish but if kept with larger fish then it shouldn't be a problem, and will deffinatly feed on any dead fish or invert in the tank.
can become a very boistroise fish, but an all round fantastic algae cleaner!
there
Also keep in mind that "large" = 12" or so. And they tend to make really ugly adult fish.
algae eaters, are not ugly fish.
there pretty fish and are great algae eaters in any tank
ive never seen an algae eater reach the size of 12 inches and ive seen and kept a fair few.
if their given algae in their adult stage then they wll happily eat it!
so its not just when there young.
fish shops should and will never stop selling these fish, they often play a vital role in both algae control and prevention.
they dont always attack other fish (you can never say what a fish will do in its life time)
when placed in the right tank, with the right fish these algae eaters are a saint!
but i will stick to my first post these fish are terrortorial and will attack other fish if they feel threatened. but then what fish would'nt...
all in all, algae eaters are wonderful fish.
there pretty fish and are great algae eaters in any tank
ive never seen an algae eater reach the size of 12 inches and ive seen and kept a fair few.
if their given algae in their adult stage then they wll happily eat it!
so its not just when there young.
fish shops should and will never stop selling these fish, they often play a vital role in both algae control and prevention.
they dont always attack other fish (you can never say what a fish will do in its life time)
when placed in the right tank, with the right fish these algae eaters are a saint!
but i will stick to my first post these fish are terrortorial and will attack other fish if they feel threatened. but then what fish would'nt...
all in all, algae eaters are wonderful fish.
It doesn't sound like you've ever seen an adult.
IME they'll start becoming aggressive- not just territorial, but aggressive- after they reach 4-5" in size. They'll stop eating algae earlier than that.
IME they'll start becoming aggressive- not just territorial, but aggressive- after they reach 4-5" in size. They'll stop eating algae earlier than that.
NO THEY DONT!
chinese algae eaters dont get there name for nothing!
there do get aggresive yes, but if placed in a large tank with plants and larger fish then they will not cause that much of a problem. and the chances of them being aggresive is greatly reduced.
i have kept many algae eaters, and they have reached ther full size, and they dont reach 12 inches...
my kissing gourami reaches 12 inches in size not a loach!
they reach around 6 inches, 7 at a push
and my algae eaters never stopped eating neusance algae. not ever, they cleared it all up without a problem, hence why if people choose to buy a clean up crew they usually get given snails, clown loaches, algae eaters and mayb shrimps.
any fish can be aggresive...and you cant prove that thats not true, because you can never judge any animal of any size.
the chinese algae eater is just as essential in a tropical tank with an algae problem as any other clean up fish.
if you kept algae eaters in a tank...and there was algae...and they was hungry what they going to eat? ALGAE no matter what their size!
how can you say, (correct me if im wrong) that a fish will stop eating a certain thing at a certain age or size? you dont kno what a fish eats every minute of the day do you!
to a fish food is food...simple as that, if its ther and they can eat it and there hungry then of course they are going to eat it!
chinese algae eaters dont get there name for nothing!
there do get aggresive yes, but if placed in a large tank with plants and larger fish then they will not cause that much of a problem. and the chances of them being aggresive is greatly reduced.
i have kept many algae eaters, and they have reached ther full size, and they dont reach 12 inches...
my kissing gourami reaches 12 inches in size not a loach!
they reach around 6 inches, 7 at a push
and my algae eaters never stopped eating neusance algae. not ever, they cleared it all up without a problem, hence why if people choose to buy a clean up crew they usually get given snails, clown loaches, algae eaters and mayb shrimps.
any fish can be aggresive...and you cant prove that thats not true, because you can never judge any animal of any size.
the chinese algae eater is just as essential in a tropical tank with an algae problem as any other clean up fish.
if you kept algae eaters in a tank...and there was algae...and they was hungry what they going to eat? ALGAE no matter what their size!
how can you say, (correct me if im wrong) that a fish will stop eating a certain thing at a certain age or size? you dont kno what a fish eats every minute of the day do you!
to a fish food is food...simple as that, if its ther and they can eat it and there hungry then of course they are going to eat it!
Holy moly, you really like CAEs. I've seen em' around 9"-10", and they really are pretty useless @ that size though. Keep in mind tadpole, this is a planted tank forum, and this type of fish would trash most peoples setups that you see on here....
everything i've read about CAEs (aside from tadpole's posts) says they are one of the WORST fish to keep and should be avoided.
i will never own one again had a full grown one and i killed 2 of my full grown mated pairs of electric yellow cichlids... i would rather keep a 16" pleco
Well so far it is causing very little problems. It made a little cave under a large piece of drift wood that is stays in most of the time. When it comes out it just goes along the wood/tank cleaning up algae then back into its hole. As far as aggression goes I haven't seen any yet. This fish is a fast swimmer and scares my other fish away, but that's about it.
you might be thinking of a siamese algae eater. which are different from the chinese but im not a hundred percent positive. please excuse the spelling i failed that in grade school
I would seriously google golden chinese algae eater and read the info out there. While a few people have had success, most experiences seem negative. I am not saying that yours will, because every fish is different.
I personally have had a bad experience with them. And like you said, they are fast swimmers. It was a pain to even remove mine from my tank without destroying the plants. Good luck!
I personally have had a bad experience with them. And like you said, they are fast swimmers. It was a pain to even remove mine from my tank without destroying the plants. Good luck!
A friend of mine got some for a cichlid tank. They killed all of his cichlids. IME the fish desnt really eat algae at all. Its a sucker fish.
This is directly from wiki:
"It has a reputation for becoming increasingly jealous of its territory as it matures, and also can be aggressive to fish, especially slow, flat-bodied fish. In the home aquarium, the algae eater makes a poor tank mate. It is very aggressive and boisterous; they often attack other fish and rip off scales, causing infection."
I'm sure this fish has its proper place in certain aquarium setups, but as most have said here, its not the fish for a planted tank, or common planted tank inhabitants.
That being said it is kinda a cool looking fish. My guess is it probably better kept in a larger, species tank. Or possible with fish that are much faster then the CAE.
This is directly from wiki:
"It has a reputation for becoming increasingly jealous of its territory as it matures, and also can be aggressive to fish, especially slow, flat-bodied fish. In the home aquarium, the algae eater makes a poor tank mate. It is very aggressive and boisterous; they often attack other fish and rip off scales, causing infection."
I'm sure this fish has its proper place in certain aquarium setups, but as most have said here, its not the fish for a planted tank, or common planted tank inhabitants.
That being said it is kinda a cool looking fish. My guess is it probably better kept in a larger, species tank. Or possible with fish that are much faster then the CAE.
If you never had one reach 12" then it died before reaching its full potential. I personally HAVE seen them in the 10" range. They loose most of their color and pattern and are a plain grey-brown fish.NO THEY DONT!
chinese algae eaters dont get there name for nothing!
there do get aggresive yes, but if placed in a large tank with plants and larger fish then they will not cause that much of a problem. and the chances of them being aggresive is greatly reduced.
i have kept many algae eaters, and they have reached ther full size, and they dont reach 12 inches...
my kissing gourami reaches 12 inches in size not a loach!
they reach around 6 inches, 7 at a push
and my algae eaters never stopped eating neusance algae. not ever, they cleared it all up without a problem, hence why if people choose to buy a clean up crew they usually get given snails, clown loaches, algae eaters and mayb shrimps.
any fish can be aggresive...and you cant prove that thats not true, because you can never judge any animal of any size.
the chinese algae eater is just as essential in a tropical tank with an algae problem as any other clean up fish.
if you kept algae eaters in a tank...and there was algae...and they was hungry what they going to eat? ALGAE no matter what their size!
how can you say, (correct me if im wrong) that a fish will stop eating a certain thing at a certain age or size? you dont kno what a fish eats every minute of the day do you!
to a fish food is food...simple as that, if its ther and they can eat it and there hungry then of course they are going to eat it!
I can most certainly say that fish have dietary preferences based on species. Both from research and from personal experience. Many species are obligate feeders, for example- you can't keep them alive in captivity unless you provide the SPECIFIC food items they feed upon.
And IMO it's also responsbile fish husbandry to research and understand basic fish temperment and needs before mixing them together in a tank. What you call "judging" I call "responsible husbandry."
Most fish will eat algae to try and stay alive if they have nothing else in the tank. Doesn't mean that it's an appropriate or healthy diet for them, and that they will live indefinitely on algae if that's not their normal diet.
If you'd kept a CAE alive for more than a year or two, you'd know for yourself that they start eating fish food, eat less and less algae as time passes, and typically become very aggressive towards their tankmates. If you research at all, you'll find report after report that CAE make this transition after reaching about 4-5" in size.
Of course there are the rare exceptions out there. But a "one off" is not the normal experience with this fish.
I would never, ever, personally recommend that anyone try and keep an CAE in a community tank for these reasons. IMO they should not be sold in petstores at all (same as Bala sharks, redtailed catfish, irridescent/pangasius sharks, etc) since they absolutely are not appropriate for community tanks and will quickly outgrow the average hobbyist's tank. I agree that if anyone wants to keep one long term, a very large species only tank or perhaps a tank with other large, aggressive/semi-agressive fish would be your best bet.
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
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