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

[nyquil junkie]

So let me get this right...

When it doubt, look for a pointed snout.
If the belly has a black patch, its a good catch.
If it has 2 whiskers on its nose, out the door with it we goes.
Clear fins means we wins.



right?

[Fishalicious]

Your on a winner if the eyes are the following:
honey-coloured above
white below
black stripe in the middle

It has a ventral black blotch & ALSO has barbels on the top of it's snout

The fins are see-through with a brownish tint

The black ventral blotch is the easiest to go by as only the algae eating one has this...if they are juveniles it may only be a small black dot.

[nyquil junkie]

I picked up one today, it fits the description perfectly, BUT no spot on the belly.


But he's in the tank with all the brown algae on the back, eating like no ones ever fed him.

So.... this one likes the algae.

[nyquil junkie]

Do both sexes have a dark belly spot or just one?

[nyquil junkie]

the one I got today looks identical to that, and like you observe, I see him making munch trails in the glass algae film.
He's got 2 barbels and no spot also.

The shop got him from only had one but will have more next week, I'll check for a belly spot on those ones.

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.


http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...iemeses007.jpg


http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...iemeses011.jpg

http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/o...iemeses010.jpg

[waack]

found a very useful site that makes it easy to tell them about also gives info on care :) http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

[AquaticLove]

Thanks for the info, I put my fish in a tank that had quite a bit of algae in it at the time and he had cleared up most of it within a couple hours. So I am assuming that he is the algae eating one. :) Lucky since he was the only one in the pet store.

[drmommacat]

I have three of these little guys and of course I thought they were siamensis..I would like to see if I can figure out what they are but the posted link is not working. Any suggestions as to where I can look that is a reputable source?

Thanks!!

[Trillianne]

You are right that link seems to have gone AWOL

The three big things to look for are:

1 - Does the stripe go from nose through the body and all the way through the tail? - On a True SAE this is a yes, common mis-identified fishes do not.

2 - Does the top bronze-ish portion of the fish have good scale definition, where the coloration is such that you can clearly see the outline of each scale? - On a True SAE this would be a yes.

3 - Does the fish have a pair of fish whiskers near his mouth? - A True SAE is a mustachioed avenger!

This link has some comparison shots: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums...SAE)-questions

Here's a photo of one of my SAEs where you can see the first two points fairly well:


Hope that helps!

[Phantom2k4]

Bought this today, not knowing about all these SAE lookalikes



After stumbling across this topic I was worried I had bought the wrong fish. At this point i'm confident it's a true SAE, as I see the following:

- Straight black line
- Line goes through to tail (hard to see in bad pic, but it does)
- Black line ends abruptly rather than fading into the underside
- Scales on top are separated with thick lines
- Snout is angular
- Two barbels on snout (not visible in pic)

Confirmation would be much appreciated!