# Chinese Algae Eater + Gouramis



## Cichlidsrule (Nov 8, 2006)

Would a Chinese algae-eater, two gouramis, and a clown loach work well together? It's a fairly young algae-eater...


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## Guest (Jan 14, 2007)

What size tank? Chinese Algae Eaters get pretty aggressive as they age.


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

they should be ok, but you should at least have a 38-40 gallon minimum


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## ch2linda (Dec 19, 2006)

Hi all the fish mentioned are Asian so thats a plus.
Not sure about the algea-eater.
the Gouramis and lLoaches inhabit separate parts of the tank so surely that would work.
Besides the Loaches hide much of the time and Gouramis are not aggressive.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

No, they shouoldnt be okay. Male gourami's will fight alot, and CAE's will becoome very agressive. Also, clown loaches like a shoal.


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## Cichlidsrule (Nov 8, 2006)

Well, this tank is about a twenty-gallon, and it's got a large castle hideout so the loach can hide...the gouramis are one male rainbow and one female moonlight....


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

I dont know if that will work. For statrers, a clown loach will outgrow that tank by a lot. Second, they really do like a group. Third, its quite possible the male gourami could kill the female, and fourth, since thats such a small tank, the CAE might go homicidal. I dont think that setup will work.


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## Guest (Jan 14, 2007)

The Moonlight gourami should be in a bigger tank IMO, since they get about 5 inches. It will be ok though. Clown loaches get far too big for your tank ). I'd wait until you have a tank big enough for a shoal of them (full grown they should be in a 5-6 foot tank. Chinese Algae Eaters get around 8 inches long and get more aggressive with age, so it will eventually need a bigger tank and tougher tank mates.

If you want loaches, I'd go with a group of Kuhli loaches or Dwarf Chain loaches. They stay small enough for your tank.

You could add a school of fish to the tank to finish off the stocking. To go on with your Asian theme, how about some Harlequin rasboras.


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## NewfieFishGuy (Jul 27, 2006)

They're not exaggerating about the Chinese Algae Eaters. I mistakenly got several last year and after about 3 months they started attacking everything. Man they were hard to catch to get out of the tank.


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## bettaboy691 (Nov 25, 2006)

i dont know what the problem is with chinese algae eaters,i bought 2 from the fish shop named golden and common sucking loach and 2 small ones names chinese algae eaters.i thought they were different species but reading what people have wrote, they just seem to be different aged of the same fish.either way i have had no problems what so ever,they just hang at the bottom mostly sucking away at stuff on glass, caves,plant.
here is a picture off google what my common sucking loach looks like: http://www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/104.jpg
and a golden one: http://www.giveusahome.co.uk/allpets/fish/goldenalgaeeater.jpg
and what i thought were chinese algae eaters (really smaller than the two above): http://aquaticconcepts.thekrib.com/Fish/oto.jpg


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

Your "common sucking loach" looks much like an oto and as passive as they come. What you thought were Chinese algae eaters are indeed otos. The picture of the golden you posted is indeed the evil creature of which we speak. As they age, they tend to start sucking the slime coat off of other fish, especially large bodied fish like angels and gourami.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

and i had one go on a rampage and start ripping plants up as he got older. yes he also attacked the other fish too.


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## bettaboy691 (Nov 25, 2006)

so what your saying is the common sucking loach and the chinese algae eater are the same species but at different ages?how old do golden ones get when they start being aggressive,ive had mine for a year now, and as ive seen it grow a big bigger i have not seen any added aggression.it sometimes chase the common one away but doesnt hurt it.are the golden and common sucking loach related, if so how come you dont see any golden otos(chinese algae eaters)?sorry about the confusion i just want to be sure what im keeping in my tank, what do you suggest i do with them?


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## Puffer Pita (Jun 16, 2006)

No, that's not what I'm saying. What you think is a Chinese algae eater is not, its an oto. An oto is NOT the same as a CAE. Otos are much smaller and extremely peaceful. CAEs grow to about 8" and get more aggressive as they age.


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## bettaboy691 (Nov 25, 2006)

i think i get you now, a chinese algea eater is what i call a sucking loach, atleast my otos wont bother any of their tank mates,how fast do CAE grow, i would say mines about 4" at the moment,but hasnt bothered any other fish in its tank, should i replace it with some other bottom dweller,it does do a good job of cleaning the aquarium tho.is it just the golden one thats aggressive?


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

from my experience with CAEs, they're actually not all that bad. I have one and all it does is chase the other fish, but because it's so slow, it can hardly catch them. It will do fine with the loach, but I don't know about the gouramis. for a 20 gallon tank, if you're just looking for fish that will eat algae, i would suggest getting 2-3 otos.


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## TigerBarb12 (Jan 7, 2007)

yeah, the 20 gallon is probably a little small, and my dad had a 38 gal with a gourami in it, and it was aggresive, but it was a male. The loach should be fine though


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

CAE's are slow growers but still aggressive. I got rid of mine after 2 years and he was ~11 inches. They are not peaceful at any age but harmless under 3 inches, just really annoying. Hard to catch also as they are not as slow as people think. Quick bursts of speed. And they quit eating algae at anout 2.5 inches.


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

I hope I am remembering correctly-- but ottos are south american fish and siamese algae eaters are asian.

Ottos are shaped more like a polywog and CAE's are longfish with sucking mouths.
Ottos also have sucking mouths but they stay small. They are very skittish fish and play at night. 
i would not keep any other algae eaters with the ottos unless you have a huge amount og algae. I have one in a 15 gal heavily planted tank and it is always looking for food. there is hardly any algae there.
Also it won't eat algae tabs. 
A nice fish is the siamese algae eater. They get bossy as they age but they continually nibble algae too.Do not confuse them with flying foxes!


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## Giddy012 (Feb 16, 2007)

The first link you have up is identical to the Chinese Alge Eater that I bought from a very reputibal fish store. There is also a Gold CHinese alge eater that I've seen on the internet that looks very similiar to your second link, and the third link I also beleive to be CAE. The younger they are the more pronounced coloring they have, eventually it will fade (that is if it truly is a CAE). Mine is only about 2" right now I do plan on keeping her since I should be upgrading to a 90gal., I have already noticed her chasing a couple of my Mollies. (I think they deserve it sometimes)


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## LS70 (Jun 3, 2006)

i have an CAE, its about 2in in length, yes it is really quick and gets spooked really easily, it enjoys caves and hides alot, but it hasn't become aggressive yet.

if you have it with fish that are quick, it should be ok. 

i remember having a CAE with gold fish, when i was a kid, that was a bad idea, 
gold fish are to slow and were being bitten by the CAE


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## NatBarry (Feb 19, 2008)

Do chinese algae eaters grow quickly?


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## karazy (Nov 2, 2007)

they dont grow too quickley, but they can be really mean to new fish. the one im returning totaly tore appart my swordtails tails


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