Siamese algae eaters

[Elliots]

Do Siamese algae eaters go with Discus? I read on the internet that their temp range is up to 79 degrees, how are they at 84? Has anyone actually kept them with Discus? I have heard that they eat "Hair Algae", is that true?

[stangmus]

I have kept them with discus. They do a good job on algae when they are small. When the get large they stop eating algae, and are aggressive.

[Elliots]

I do not know about these fish except what I read on the internet and what the guys at my LFS say. The guys at my LFS, Pacific Aquarium, NYC are very good! I read that there are true and false Siamese Algae Eaters and the false ones are more aggressive. I am not sure which they have for sale but I will check tomorrow. I read that the black stripe goes further back on the real ones.
Stangmus, what temp did you keep them at? My Discus are at 84.

[stangmus]

I kept them at 84. There is a online guide on how to tell the real from the false. Mine were true Siamese. They were great when they were small. When they hit 3 inches they were aggressive.
http://fishaliciousfish.blogspot.com/2008/11/in-search-of-true-siamese-algae-eater.html

[timmy82]

I wouldn't put them with discus they attach to the discus at night and suck their slime coat, I have seen them kill young

[zimmjeff]

I have kept them and they are horrible. They ate the eye out of one of my angel fish. Deff do not recomend for discus tank. Jeff

[Elliots]

Thanks for the info so far. I like to see different opinions from people who have actually had the fish. Timmy, if I do get them I will watch them at night. My tank has "Moonlights", does that make a difference? Zimmjeff, SAE swim slightly above the bottom of the tank, below Discus. I do not know what angels do. I will still wait for more postings. I will go to the LFS to try my best to confirm that they are REAL SAE but I will hold off on my purchase.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

I did not have any problems with them in with my adults in my display tank. I have plenty of plants and driftwood for them. They don't last too long as they died off within 2 years.

[Elliots]

I never really notice how long fish live because when I had fish years ago everything was different and two years was long. I did not check water chemistry like I do now. I must say that when I changed water without Chlorine remover my fish looked better after a water change years ago. I would happily accept two years on SAE.

[Wjmulder]

I was told amano shrimp take care of hair algae, I took the advice and got a few and my hair algae went away. Just my experience.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

But what happened to the shrimp? Did the discus eat them? Mine did, Lol.

[Elliots]

Shrimp and snails are out, I have many Clown Loaches.

[Wjmulder]

But what happened to the shrimp? Did the discus eat them? Mine did, Lol.

Nope, bought 4 of them almost a year ago and still have all of them.:)

[discuspaul]

I wouldn't put them with discus they attach to the discus at night and suck their slime coat, I have seen them kill young

Agree. I've had that happen to me on 2 separate occasions. Removed them & won't keep them with discus again. Same goes for Otos.

[zimmjeff]

Sorry I wasn't clear on that. I did have discus in the same tank just got lucky they didn't hurt a discus. Jeff

[CrazyAngels]

I've looked for these guys around my area now for the past 5 years and none have ever come available.

[Elliots]

My LFS, Pacific Aquarium, is staffed by very knowledgeable people. They also said they were trying to get these fish for a long time but were unsuccessful. According to the internet SAE are often confused with other similar species including False SAE. They have the real ones and I bought 9 yesterday. They are active, they school and are just over 1" long. Pacific has a good pricing policy for me. 1/$7, 3/$14. (Buy 2 get 1 free)
Jorge, ask whatever LFS you go to to order them for you. They get lists of what is available on the market and they buy what they like and they think they can sell. SAE may be available in your area but possibly nobody stocks them. Perhaps you could order them by mail? I bought Discus by mail from a sponsor but if SAE are available it is a different story because the cost of shipping vs. the cost of the fish is high. I did not check the net for availability.

[j03yYung]

Do Siamese algae eaters go with Discus? I read on the internet that their temp range is up to 79 degrees, how are they at 84? Has anyone actually kept them with Discus? I have heard that they eat "Hair Algae", is that true?

I have 2 in my tank and they don't bother the Discus. They're awesome for hair algae, they cleaned it in 3 days (in a 125 gal). My tank is at 84 as well.

[Elliots]

I decided to buy them. I bought 9 just over 1" long but my tank has a lot of algae. It will take them a while to clean it up. I have a 150 gal.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

Where did you find them Elliot? Did you QT them?

[Elliots]

I found them at Pacific Aquarium in NYC. See my post #17 above for a possible way to get them. I do not QT (No room for a QT tank) but I have every med I might need in my apartment. (For example Metro costs betweem $12 and $20 for 100 gms from Kens Fish. a level teaspoon treats 167 gal.) I watch my fish at least twice daily and unless it is a Cory or Clown Loach I will catch anything early. If it is a Cory or a Clown I will not see anything because they hide in my plants and driftwood.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

They do such a good job as part of a cleaning crew for such small feeders. Good luck with them.

[Elliots]

I sure hope they do a good job on the algae. I have Sterbai Corys and Clown Loaches But I do not consider them a clean up crew. I consider them bottom feeders! One advantage of Discus is they eat slow so I do not have to put in extra food for the bottom feeders except fot some TetraMin pellets (?) with veggies for Loaches and other fish I put in a few times a week. The Discus also eat these pellets. I do not notice a difference in the algae in my tank but I have a big tank with lots of algae so it will take time.
Jeff, pleasse let me know if I am correct and they are available from your LFS by special order.

[DiscusLoverJeff]

I ordered 12 a couple years ago from PetSmart when they had their $1.00 a fish sale. They came in healthy and hardy. I QTed them for 3 weeks feeding on algae waffers before getting them in the main tank (90 gal). When they did go in, they sure cleaned up the algae right away. As I said about 2 years later they just started dying off. So they lasted a long time.

[discuspaul]

Your SAE's are young & small so no problem for now. But wait until they get older, larger, fatter and lazier, say over 2" - it won't take very long - then you'll need to keep a close eye on them - chances are that one or another of them MAY try attaching themselves to the discus - and it can happen after lights out when you don't take notice of it. And once one does, others will likely try to imitate. As I said before, it's happened to me twice in past years, with 2 different batches of SAE's - no more of them for me in my discus tanks. You MAY also encounter the same problem with Otos and some Plecos.

[fredyx]

IMAO the only problem with SAEs is that when they grow up they forget the algae and begin to eat anxiously discus food... never had a crosso attached to a discus though

[Elliots]

I will keep my eyes on them. I just found out where they supposedly come from. Pacific Aquarium said they import them from Asia and they are seasonal and wild caught.

[Elliots]

discuspaul and fredyx, are you sure you had SAE? There are many similar looking species including False SAE and Flying Foxes. Even looking on the net it is hard to distinguish between all these similar looking fish. One guy at my LFS says he has them with Discus for years and never had a proiblem. I will certainlty watch my fish. As we know fish behavoir can change as the fish mature, good now does not mean good next year!

[fredyx]

discuspaul and fredyx, are you sure you had SAE? There are many similar looking species including False SAE and Flying Foxes. Even looking on the net it is hard to distinguish between all these similar looking fish. One guy at my LFS says he has them with Discus for years and never had a proiblem. I will certainlty watch my fish. As we know fish behavoir can change as the fish mature, good now does not mean good next year!

crossochelius siamensis 100% :p

[discuspaul]

Yes, I had true SAE's, did a lot of research & looked for a long time before finding them.
And one LFS swore that the Flying Foxes they had were SAE's.

Notice though, that when talking about fish taking a liking to discus' slime coats as part of their diet, I always say "....MAY, at times, tend to..." or words to that effect.

If I had to make a reasonable guestimate, I would say that 6 or 7 times out of 10, one would not experience any problems, and very seldom if at all when they're younger & smaller. It's those other times that bother me - so I don't take the risk.
As I mentioned before, the same can be said for Otocinclus, many Plecos, Flying Foxes, false SAE's, and in particular, Chinese Algae Eaters.

[Elliots]

Paul, I do have ottos but no problems yet. No plecos, either too ugly or too expensive plus they do not really clean, they add.
I never had Chinese Algae Eaters with my Discus because they were too aggressive when I had them in the past. I guess I take more chances than many people on SD. I even tried Leporinus Fasciatis, very pretty when small and aggressive eaters. As they grew still pretty but when they got to about 5" and started nipping I gave them away. I only wish it was healthy to permanently stunt their growth!
By the way, I did not look for SAE, they just popped up at my LFS. I do not think I have seen other fish that resemble them live in a tank. I waited about one week after they arrived in my LFS before I purchased so the weakest ones passed. I always wait a week just in case!