[hywaydave]

I bought two for my tank because I have a lot of BBA. They looked like true SAEs at the store. Black band goes all the way though the tail. They only have 1 pair of whiskers. It's just that it's very hard to tell if this is a gold band above the black one. The black band does look a little zig zagged. Please help, I'd rather not put them in the tank if they are flying foxes.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/jordan_fan/SAE2_zpsa700c7b5.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y158/jordan_fan/SAE_zps53cc7d04.jpg

 

[yondertank]

Those look like my SAEs which aren't aggressive and demolished my BBA. I am not an expert though.

 

[antbug]

+2 on SAE.

 

[hywaydave]

Thanks for the quick responses. I feel very confident now that they are true SAEs so I released them into the tank after your responses. Lights are off now so they don't get stressed out but am excited to see them eat away at the BBA this weekend! :icon_smil

 

[Diana]

Ditto: See the netted look on their back? Each scale is outlined in a sort of brownish shade of dark grey.

 

[mjalex007]

Could they be Otos?

 

[Exie]

definitely not ottos. I can't tell if they're sae or foxes.

 

[Kathyy]

Look like SAE to me too.

I have a couple of enormous otos. Even though they have been in the tank for a couple years I still do double takes as they look a lot like small SAE. Slender and they even nibble like SAE rather than hang on plants like normal otos.

 

[Solo]

I'm no expert, but those look like true SAE's to me. They should eat all of your BBA & should not be too aggressive.

 

[Algae Beater]

the black line that runs the length of the fish continues THROUGH the tail = SAE

 

[accordztech]

the black line that runs the length of the fish continues THROUGH the tail = SAE

:thumbsup:

Hit the BBA with some h202 and then the SAE's will definitly eat it up

 

[fusiongt]

Looks like an SAE to me. I've had a few over the past decade and my most recent one is a jerk and doesn't eat (or at least not enough) of my BBA. He's johnny on the spot when it's feeding time for the other fish and indulges in flake and frozen food sigh. /personal-fish-rant

 

[hobos]

the black line that runs the length of the fish continues through the tail = sae

++1

 

[Bettatail]

atrilimes.

 

[AndreyT]

the black line that runs the length of the fish continues THROUGH the tail = SAE

Absolutely not true. This is actually the incorrect belief that helps unscrupulous vendors to sell their Flying Foxes as SAEs. The Flying Fox also has the dark band going through the tail. Moreover, the tail portion of Flying Fox's dark stripe is typically much darker than that of true SAE.

Fortunately, the Flying Fox is easy to tell from the SAE by looking at some other distinctive traits. And the fish in the pictures is definitely not the Flying Fox.

To the OP: what you have in your pictures certainly looks like true SAE.