I just bought this guy a little while ago and they said he was an algae eater and when I asked what type they said he was either chinese or siamese but they weren't sure. My friend said that she had 2 of these in her tank that did a great job with cleaning the algae so I got one anyways and am thinking about picking him up a friend. I'd just like to know what he is. Thanks

Its SAE I think..

Sae

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Yup, SAE.

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Thanks, thats what I was thinking too but the pictures I saw made them look way darker than my guy. Do u think he's a "false" sae?? It's hard to tell wether his stripe goes to the end of his tail or not :/

That IS NOT a Siamese algae eater,sorry.
That is a chinese algae eater.
SAE's are from the carp family, their mouths resemble that trait fully.

here are two comparison pics
CAE


SAE

Yup. It's a CAE. SAE's are more tapered at the ends, while CAEs tend to be more cyllindrical, and the SAE has a line that goes all the way through the end of its tail, while the CAE does not.

CAEs can be ill-tempered, territorial, and they grow a bit large for most community tanks, so I would not get him any friends. In fact, I would think about returning him.

Absolutely not SAE. Sry but not even close.

Here's a great reference point I always point people to:

Algae Eating Cyprinids

CAE are also pretty aggressive so be preparred.

Other then being sold under the SAE name itself Ive ONLY seen them sold as algae eating sharks. However check the mouth and make sure the stripe goes from the mouth tip to the v at the tail, the line will taper to a point at the base of the tail.


Id take him back and find a new LFS. Its obvious they know nothing.

ok, thanks for your help. I don't want to get stuck with a big agggressive fish so I guess I will have to return him. What other good algae eaters are there?? I have a 29 gallon tank and have tried a clown pleco, some sort of dwarf sailfin pleco, otocinclus and a regular pleco who is going to a new home tonight because I dont want him to get stunted in my tank...and he's not a good algae eater anyways :P

Oto's are some of the best, SAE's work on the algaes like hair algae that only goldfish are known to touch.

I keep oto's, bristlenoses,rubberlips and clown plecos and have zero algae.

I was thinking of getting a bristlenose and I saw some albino ones the other day, would they be a good choice?? I get a good amount of algae and need something that likes to eat lots of it :P Should I just get one or would two be better?? Its a 29 gallon tank.

I have 3 regular bristlenoses and 3 albino bristle noses, the only difference is the coloration. infact I think the albinos do a better job for some reason.

Ditto...your picture is a chinese algae eater (CAE) not siamese. The chinese does not have the very noticible barbels (whiskers) and has the light color on top, not on bottom. CAE's are not good algae eaters and may end up trying to eat the slim coating off of your fish...especially if you have flat fish like angels, discus, gouramis.

CAE and SAE are pretty easy to tell a part. The problem comes when trying to compare a true SAE from a false SAE, or flying fox. The key here is that the black line is straight and does not make a zig zag on a flying fox.


Very similar but this is the flying fox. Compare the straight black line to the true SAE posted above by Whitedevil.

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--->Pictures of my 75g Amazon tank<----

Thanks for all the help everyone!!