Siamese Algae Eaters "cleaning" Discus

[YourPalCM]

I added a few Siamese Algae Eaters to my Discus tank about two months ago. They seemed to be doing their job for all of that time, and didn't seem to bother the Discus.

Today I noticed one of them relentlessly trying to clean two of the Discus in the tank. He was clearly driving them crazy. Eventually he stopped, but that has me a bit concerned.

Everything I've read about SAE's is that they should never bother Discus like Oto Cats sometimes do. Has anyone else experienced this?

Would you suggest that I remove them immediately? I'd rather have a little extra algae than stressed Discus. Thoughts?

[Proteus]

I would suggest replacing them with some small Corys, Ancistrus or Pleco's.

SAE's can be skittish as well which is not good around Discus who are very laid back and casual. (and spook easily)

[Mattzilla]

they are not "cleaning" your discus they are eating their slim coat. this is not a good thing. it stresses your discus. i'd remove them and as proteus said add a different, more discus friendly cleaner.

m

[YourPalCM]

they are not "cleaning" your discus they are eating their slim coat. this is not a good thing. it stresses your discus. i'd remove them and as proteus said add a different, more discus friendly cleaner.

m

Yeah, I know that Oto Cats are known to sometimes like the Discus "slime", but nothing I read about SAE's said that they might do the same thing. Anyway, I couldn't stand watching it anymore, so I did take them out of the tank about 15 minutes after I posted my first message about this.

Maybe it's time for a good Bristlenose...although I hate Bristlenose Plecs - they are about as unattractive as Discus are beautiful.

[Proteus]

oh, how can you call this unattractive... :lol:

http://www.mollyman.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=112

http://www.mollyman.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=111

:wink:

[Mattzilla]

nice looking bristle nose ro....

do you still have a spare male floatimg around???? i want to give my female a mate..

or did they get wiped out in your recent tank disaster?

[Proteus]

They are in a seperate tank...

if you are free over the weekend, or any time next Tue, Wed or Thurs I will get one to you.

[Merrilyn]

Now Proteus, that's a face only a true dedicated hobbiest could love :shock:

[Proteus]

but when you have faces like this alongside...

http://www.mollyman.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=27

http://www.mollyman.com/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=26

how could you resist???

:wink:

[Merrilyn]

Hey Ro - is that a bristlenose? I gotta have one of those. Please, please pleeeease what is it called?

[Proteus]

Ancistrus hoplogenys

commonly known as a Peppermint Bristlenose.

I have a few breeding pairs and a couple of strays...

now that I have got my tanks all sorted, (after some Sydney Water quality issues) I hope to see some little uns soon...

[Merrilyn]

I think I'm in love (drool) :shock: Shopping tomorrow. Time to give the card another beating :roll:

[Proteus]

it would be advisable to get them privately as they aint exactly what you call cheap...

for a good sized juvie, privately you would be paying around the $30-$50 mark, in a store, $60-$70+.

there is kind of a demand out there as there arent a lot around...

[Merrilyn]

Thanks for the tip Proteus. :D

[YourPalCM]

Ancistrus hoplogenys

commonly known as a Peppermint Bristlenose.

I have a few breeding pairs and a couple of strays...

now that I have got my tanks all sorted, (after some Sydney Water quality issues) I hope to see some little uns soon...

Do they clean the tank as well as the standard-issue Bristlenose?

I have a Big White Spot Pleco LDA33 (a.k.a. Snowflake Pleco) in another tank that is similar, although the spots are white and larger. He doesn't seem to do much except hang out. Occasionally I see him cleaning the glass, but mostly he just hangs out underneath a rock ledge.

http://www.aquaristikkaufhaus.de/catalog/images/lda33.jpg

Mine was also NOT cheap. I paid $50 from a local Pleco breeder. Actually, if anyone is interested, she had about 40 of them when I bought it about 3 months ago. www.frybabies.com

[YourPalCM]

I just checked out www.planetcatfish.com (a great Catfish/Pleco website by the way)...

The Peppermint Bristlenose is also known as the "Starlight Bristlenose." It's L183. It is actually Ancistrus Dolichopterus, but is often sold as Ancistrus Hoplogenys.

It says that it prefers "Blackwater" and can be "delicate" in other water conditions that don't match its natural environment. Just curious if you are keeping yours in blackwater and what your water parameters are for it.

[flukes]

They have many names, i dont think black water is a must. I have had mine in normal water for a year now and they are fine. From my experience they are just as easy to keep as a normal bn maybe a bit harder when it comes to breeding but nothing too demanding.
If you can keep discus then keeping these guys is childs play.

[Proteus]

The Blackwater thing is a bit of a myth, they do like the water a little on the softer side however...

I guess you probably noticed where the hoplogenys pics came from over at PC.com :wink:

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/contribs/56.php

I luvs me minties :D

[YourPalCM]

Does anyone know any place where they are being sold on-line? I've looked around but am coming up empty.

I'm also still curious to know if they clean algae as well as the standard Bristlenose Pleco.