is this a "true" SAE??

[Erk]

And are they good or bad for discus? Looks like my LFS may finally have them and I dunno what to do.....it would be housed with the fish as listed below in my signature

Thanks

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/208052/i/7/product.web

[ILLUSN]

Looks like it mate, I've never had a problem with them except that they get picked on by my big discus. they only really eat signicant ammounts of algae while thay are small and then only if there is no other food available, other wise they pick at it a bit. I find them excellent scavengers, go a eating missed beefheart inbetween leaves and stems where the discus cant reach. personally i find ottos (get a school of 8-12) and BN's better for algage control, but BN's also get lazy once they get big

[Erk]

Thanks ILLUSN, I havent decided what Im gonna do here.....dont BNs get rather big? I had two ottos in the past, and I think one starved somehow :roll: :shock:

Im gonna think it over....if they would have had them a while ago, I prolly would have had a few by now, and they would prolly be lazy! haha

Thanks for the tip tho :D

[ILLUSN]

no worries mate, the biggest a bn gets is bout 6 inch, so i still call that a small fish, as for ottos starving that hapens alot if there isnt enough algae in a tank.

[Greggy]

I think (true) SAE's are great fish for any community or Discus aquarium, and yes they are fantastic scavengers... In fact I don't know a better one!

It also looks like a true SAE to me.

Regards,

Greggy

[fish_r]

just bear in mind SAE's get very large too and at a large size they scoot around the tank and some times scare discus, mine did anyway
if ur going to get them. get them at the smallest size u can if u want them for algae control cause as mentioned there lazy and eat bugger all algae when they get too big .

[scott bowler]

the true SAE have clear fins the flying fox witch ooks the same has yellowish fins . As has been said They do only do a good job when they are small. And as fish_r said they get bigger and can spook the discus just keep it in mind when you buy them.they are a bugger to catch when you want them out hehe

[RipSlider]

that's not a true SAE, it's the much more grumpy chinese version.

True SAE has the black bar going ALL the way through the tail.

In this fish, it stops about 1/2 way along.

Seriously suggest that you don't put this specific fish in with discus, as it will terrorise them when it gets older. (one of these beat the hell out of a mated pair of fully grown firemouths and a pair of Geo's in my current tank...)

Steve

[Erk]

Thanks Steve!

I never ended up getting them...I did in the past buy the chinese guy, thinking it was an SAE and found out otherwise a short time later and removed him from the tank, way before my discus arrived...thankfully

I decided to leave my tank stocking list the way it is, and figured it was better not to add anymore fish.

Thanks for the input tho 8-)

[Bald_noggin]

Have a look at this website http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9 and down towards the bottom you'll see some pretty good pics of an SAE. Flying Foxes are dark on top and the SEA's are not as you'll see.

I have a SAE with my discus no problems. I have plants with my SAE, that is a problem. He thinks it is a Sizzler 'all you can eat' salad bar and has decided to start eating the leaves of my more delicate plants. :(

[Erk]

Thanks very much BN!

Im sorry to hear about your SAE and your plants :( Good luck if you ever try to remove him :P

[Bald_noggin]

Removing him won't be a problem. He practically eats out of my hand when I feed all the other fish. Just slip the net in and he's mine! :twisted: It's how I transferred him from the other tank just months ago.

[Erk]

Wow...they will eat out of your hands for the most part too! :shock: Good for you! :lol:

Guess you wont have issues getting him out :)

[Thor1]

This is the best discription I have seen for distinguishing between the different algae eaters of this group

http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/