In search of the true Siamese Algae Eater – get ready for the confusion!

[Fishalicious]

thank you very very much - was a lot of research

if you really want a algae eating one the langei is the only way to go i'm afraid

[lovleeko]

Yeah it was a great article. Since I got the algae eating ones I wonder if I should go back to get more. LOL How about length Jess? Do they all grow to be the six inches a true one does?

[Fishalicious]

they all grow to around 6 inches except for the Crossocheilus citripinnis which can grow upto 8 inches.... i have 1 citripinnis in my group and it is a whopper

[Cameron]

today i went my lfs and saw these under flying fox, but i think i saw a true siamese, and another one didnt have feelers.

[lovleeko]

Jess, what does it mean that mine don't have the blotch under them but they eat some serious algae? They are tedious algae eaters working all day and they never eat fish food. Just algae.

[Fishalicious]

They all seem to eat algae non stop all day long as they are always on the move skimming over every single plant, corner & substrate in search of food. As they cannot stay still most folks believe they are eating algae non stop which is not the case if it is not the langei.

Soooooooo either you don't have algae in the first place .... or you have the Crossocheilus atrilimes which will eat some algae (and then not all of them) at the start but quickly favor fish food and even munch on moss & soft plants.

Have they got barbels on their mouth?

[lovleeko]

They all seem to eat algae non stop all day long as they are always on the move skimming over every single plant, corner & substrate in search of food. As they cannot stay still most folks believe they are eating algae non stop which is not the case if it is not the langei.

Soooooooo either you don't have algae in the first place .... or you have the Crossocheilus atrilimes which will eat some algae (and then not all of them) at the start but quickly favor fish food and even munch on moss & soft plants.

Have they got barbels on their mouth?

Yes, they have tiny barbels. And there was a load of algae in the tank and now there isn't. which actually causes them to be big waste producers also. They eat it like crazy (and poop like crazy). I can actually see the marks where their eating it after they move away from it. I'm pretty positive their eating algae. They have completely dented the population. Thanks for your help. What does it mean that they have barbels?

[Fishalicious]

If they definately have no black blotch and have barbels then it is 100% C. citripinnis - the largest at 6 inches fully grown and also the most showy and present of all of them....the others can be quite shy compared to these guys.

I have one citripinnis and he does munch algae now and again but loves his flakes and frozen food as well.

[lovleeko]

If they definately have no black blotch and have barbels then it is 100% C. citripinnis - the largest at 6 inches fully grown and also the most showy and present of all of them....the others can be quite shy compared to these guys.

I have one citripinnis and he does munch algae now and again but loves his flakes and frozen food as well.

See they never eat flake food. And they eat the crap out of algae. Hmm. I'm going to go check the barbels again. I'll probably take them back if their going to eat my moss (which they haven't so far). But they have taken care of the algae problem big time. One is sort of shy. They other guy is not really at all. But they are big waste producers and if their not going to keep taking care of the algae, I don't think I want them :(


I'm going to check the barbels again and see if I can get a pic :)

LOL As soon as you wrote this everyone started posting pics

[lovleeko]

These guys are hard to get a picture of. This was the best I could do. I did see one checking out a cichlid pellet :( Maybe I just never paid attention. Think I'm going to take them back. They are even eating algae in one of the pics. Is it normal for them to eat a lot of algae? Are they just that hungry

The snout looks like the langai (spelling?) featured in your pic.