Chinese algae eater????

Question

No I don't own one, but I have a few questions on them. I know once they get larger that suck slime off of fish, but I was wondering would they suck slime off of another Chinese algae eater? How big do they get, what do I feed them and what size tank do they need. What size for 1 CAE and what size for 3?? I am really thinking of setting up a species tank because these guys look so cool!

Answer 1

yes sure they are realy cool fish and are given a bad reputation but if kept by themselves or with other CAEs they make awsome pets

i have a young one that is fine with other fish

25 gallon is the minimum for 1

you could probably have 5 in there if you wanted

they can get quite big

i would set up the tank with lots of large stones,driftwood and live plants and run multiple powerheads to create powerful flowing water as this is there nateral habitats water conditions

also some hillstreem loaches would also be perfect for that setup but i think the CAE might eventualy kill them

small tetras and danios should be ok with CAEs as they are too small and fast to be attacked

maby try a Siamese's algae eater as they look similar but dont attack and eat more algae

Answer 2

I've seen Chinese Algae eaters around 5 inches long but they might get even larger than that.  They do chase their own kind a lot which might be aggression or territorial.  They are known to enjoy harrassing large bodied fish like angelfish and goldfish but I think this is aggression more than to eat body slime.  Many pet shops get large chinese algae eaters given to them when people move so you can rescue these ugly suckers and give them a good home.  They are hard to kill so anything over 10 gallons should be fine.  Put lots of rocks and plants in it if you keep more than one.  They are scavengers so they will eat almost anything.

Answer 3

They get really big, so big that eventually you will want to find him another home.  Find another fish that will do the same thing.