What's the deal with SAE's!!!!!

3479 Views 28 Replies 15 Participants Last post by ToYoTa, Jun 23, 2007

dodgefreak8

Discussion Starter · Jun 14, 2007

does anyone else here have a problem keeping these things alive??? I have lost 3 of them in my 29 gal over the last 3 weeks. No signs of desease they just die. Water parameters are great. I don't understand are these things hard to keep???

1 - 20 of 29 Posts

dapellegrini

· #2 · Jun 14, 2007

I had problems with very young/skinny ones dying on me, but otherwise they are pests... I have found more reasons to dislike this fish than I care to mention...

They are not considered difficult to keep, and IME as long as you get good healthy ones, they are nearly impossible to kill (or catch)...

ikuzo

· #3 · Jun 14, 2007

SAE is easily stressed out, i bought mine and it became pale coloured during transport. When i put it in my tank, for a few days it was very jumpy, shy, and mostly hiding behind driftwood. I guess it depends on the health of this fish when you buy it, if it's healthy, then it will only need a few days to recover just like mine.

watch out though, as i have a bad experience with a SAE eating my mosses and other delicate leaves. but other time, a different SAE won't bother mosses. dunno why.

dapellegrini

· #4 · Jun 14, 2007

Apologies in advance for the short rant ---

PROS -
- Rumored to eat BBA (never seen them do much to large quantities)
- Will eat other algae in the tank (if they can't find better food)

CONS -
- They prefer whatever you are feeding your other fish and will eat that before starting on your algae
- They also tend to prefer mosses and fine leaf plants like Mayaca and R Wallichii to algae, and can devastate these and similar plants.
- They get very large and can be aggressive when older
- They all but stop eating algae with age
- They are not attractive fish (IMO)
- They are extremely difficult to catch when you want to remove them

--- end rant ---

Are you getting yours locally? They may not be the best fish to do mail-order because of their skiddish nature... I have had really good luck with adolescent ones...

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hungryhound

· #5 · Jun 14, 2007

dapellegrini said:
Apologies in advance for the short rant ---

PROS -
- Rumored to eat BBA (never seen them do much to large quantities)
- Will eat other algae in the tank (if they can't find better food)

CONS -
- They prefer whatever you are feeding your other fish and will eat that before starting on your algae
- They also tend to prefer mosses and fine leaf plants like Mayaca and R Wallichii to algae, and can devastate these and similar plants.
- They get very large and can be aggressive when older
- They all but stop eating algae with age
- They are not attractive fish (IMO)

I have never my SAE eat moss or fine leaf plants. I am not sure about those cons, but your other cons in that they stop eating algae and become aggressive later in life are all characteristics of Chinese algae eaters (CAE), that are very often confused with SAEs.

This confusion has given the SAE a bad rap. Are you sure you had true SAEs and not CAEs? Here is a image on identification:

Here is the link to the site with more information (You'll have to scroll down to the bottom to find the SAE information):

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm

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dapellegrini

· #6 · Jun 14, 2007

That is a good image for helping folks ID them. I am quite familiar and have had many true SAE, as well a few accidental -Newbee- Flying Fox. I am also familiar with the CAE (much more common fish in the large fish retailers) but have never owned them.

The CONS I listed are from personal experience with about a dozen of these fish. I have finally got them all out of my tanks.

Perhaps a bit of hit and miss, but all of them that I have owned have taken on these bad habits without exception.

dapellegrini

· #7 · Jun 14, 2007 (Edited)

Here is the one that took me the longest to catch:

Here is what you will start to see with Mayaca (they eventually destroyed this plant as well as my R. Wallichii). They do the same to mosses, stripping them into long stems...

Here are a couple looking guilty. I have caught them in the act many times, but never on film...

-------------------------------------

I can't rant this far off topic without offering some counter balance... Once I found true SAEs at Petco and prompty bought them all up (mixed in with a couple of Flying Foxes). They were the tiniest little frail things and the kid bagged them with a couple of panda cories... When I got home (a 5 minute drive) all of the SAEs were floating dead in the bag...

I later found a locally owned fish store that sells tons of them - in much better shape. HTH

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3

fishscale

· #8 · Jun 14, 2007

How about using two nets; one to herd one to catch? I am moving to a different apartment soon and I will need to net my fish and move them as well.

So in your opinion, is it worth it to get SAE's? How much do they usually go for?

dapellegrini

· #9 · Jun 14, 2007

I got my SAE for about $2 a piece locally, but I don't like them. IMO you would be better off with Amano shrimp and Ottos and then good ferts and maintenance.

I did finally catch them using two large nets

(added more photos of the culprits in the post above)

dapellegrini

· #10 · Jun 14, 2007 (Edited)

I should add that I used to believe they were the ultimate planted tank geek find... along with nerite snails

Rod Hay

· #11 · Jun 14, 2007

Yah, sure looks like the true SAE to me.

I do agree they can have their annoying habits. My three are the biggest food beggars I currently own. They're in my upstairs tank, and I swear they can hear me climbing up the stairs. They're the first fish to be lined up in a row, front and center begging.

I also can't keep mosses in this same tank. They chow down on Java Moss, and they just devoured some Singapore moss. Funny thing is, these mosses were growing beautifully on some driftwoods in another tank w/o any SAE. When I moved this planted driftwood into their tank the mosses soon were down to just thin threads.

Currently they're in my mid tech tank which I dose with Excel and not pressurized CO2. When they were in my high tech tank with injected CO2 they were one of the first fish to show stress when I cranked the CO2 too high. I think they can be sensitive to this.

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Rod Hay

· #12 · Jun 14, 2007

dapellegrini said:
Here is what you will start to see with Mayaca (they eventually destroyed this plant as well as my R. Wallichii). They do the same to mosses, stripping them into long stems...

Here are a couple looking guilty. I have caught them in the act many times, but never on film...

HTH

Wow! And all this time I've been blaming the dozen Lemon Tetras in this tank for the damage to my stem plants. I knew about the SAE chewing on mosses; but I did'nt know they chomp the fine-leaved stem plants. In my high-tech tank I'd witnessed the Lemon Tetras bite and nip-off just the tips of my Blyxa japonica, so I assumed they were the ones nibbling on the stem plants when I moved them over to this other tank.

dapellegrini

· #13 · Jun 14, 2007

I forgot to add that they are certifiable RCS eaters as well when they get to be around 3-4 inches.

mistergreen

· #14 · Jun 14, 2007

I have flying foxes.. They're pretty cool. They do get pretty big (5 inches-6 inches) and they're only aggressive toward each other.

hungryhound

· #15 · Jun 14, 2007

Wow, It does look like you have the true SAE. That is the first time I have heard about them reaking that kind of damage, and hopefully mine does not pick up those bad habits as it ages.

Beautiful picture by the way.

spdskr

· #16 · Jun 14, 2007

Dodgefreak8,

Sorry to hear of your losses, but consider it a blessing. I would like to re-enforce what dapellegrini stated: these fish grow large and destructive. I also had a difficult time removing a pair from my 29g tank. Also their darting, erratic behavior seemed to stress out the other tank denizens and their owner :icon_frow . If you pruchased them to rid your tank of BBA, perhaps the best solution is to up your CO2. Best of luck with your new tank.

Your neighbor to the west.

LS6 Tommy

· #17 · Jun 14, 2007 (Edited)

I have 2 SAE that are about 2 years apart in age. I have had my Mayaca stripped recently, but never have seen it occur and was told it might be my Rummy Noses. I maight get rid of them (trade). I recently got 2 female freshwater Gobies that do a much better job on algae. They're grazers and only go after algae that I have seen. They don't even look at any of the foods I put in. If I can get 2 males I'd be psyched, but the store I got them seems to be temporarily closed (Aaron's Aquarium).

Tommy <9))>>{

dapellegrini

· #18 · Jun 14, 2007

I used to think they were cleaning my R. Wallichii (incessantly) - as back then I did have an algae problem... Soon realized that they were infact eating the leaves. It was even more obvious when I had fixed my algae problems and they stripped my Mayaca and Mosses bare.

When they started to become interested in my Cherry Shrimp, that was the final straw. With a heavily planted tank and tons of places to hide, it took me 3 months to capture and remove all of them... They are very smart fish and will find clever ways to evade your net(s)...

Jessica

· #19 · Jun 14, 2007

Dodge if you still have your heart set on them (haha), I'll be needing a new home for my four in a month or two. They're about 2-3" right now. If you want them, let me know. Other wise, they're going to Premier.

Out of the original six I bought, two of them died w/in 48 hours of being in my tank. I think they're hit or miss but have been busy bees for me.

The Fish Den off Sheridan seems to have a lot of them.

Lupin

· #20 · Jun 15, 2007

hungryhound said:
Wow, It does look like you have the true SAE. That is the first time I have heard about them reaking that kind of damage, and hopefully mine does not pick up those bad habits as it ages.

This is the first time as well that I heard of a true SAE destroying the plants. I have kept SAEs for several years and I have yet to see them destroy the plants.

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