The Best Algae Eaters Tropical: Chinese Algae Eaters (CAE)
The Best Algae Eaters Tropical: Chinese
Algae Eaters (CAE) – The Chinese
algae eater can occasionally jump from tanks so that you'll need a good hood
without escape points. While algae are consumed by them when they're young, they have a tendency to eat less algae as they develop – along with becoming territorial and big – making them a poor choice for many community fish tanks.
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The Best Algae Eaters Tropical: Chinese Algae Eaters (CAE)
Just like other
tropical fish, put your fish in a quarantine tank before introducing them into
your main tank for monitoring to get a couple of weeks.
As juveniles they
need to eat the algae growing on the walls and items in your tank but it has
been reported that algae will be eaten by them less when they grow. Avoid
putting them in newly set up tanks lacking alga in order for them to graze on.
The Chinese Algae
Eater comes from Asia and has a slim body and is gold to brown in color. A
darker stripe runs and is either broken or solid into spots. It is usually kept
in aquariums for the purpose of keeping algae under control.
The absolute
minimum of a 30-gallon aquarium is recommended with plenty of plants, rocks,
and driftwood for hiding. It may manage water conditions that are different but
water quality should stay constant to prevent stress. In smaller community
tanks its land will be defended by the Chinese Algae Eater. This species of
algae eater can become aggressive when they become full grown.
Housing
These fish can get
very territorial and competitive as they age, also it can be difficult to
discover them proper tank partners. Bottom-dwelling fish ought to be prevented,
as well as any wide, level bodied fish like goldfish. When they're kept with
slow moving fish, they'll sometimes latch onto the fish’s side and feed on
their slime coat, which frequently leads to disease.
Breeding
It is extremely
difficult to sex juvenile fish, although the females tend to be more buxom than
the males. However, when the male is preparing to spawn, he can grow tubercles
that are distinguishing on his snout.
At this time,
there aren't any reliable reports of Chinese algae eaters although there are
some individuals who claim to own bred them in really big organizations
spawning in the home aquarium.
Feeding
In the wild, their
diet is a mixture of larvae, worms, algae, crustaceans and insects. Because of
this, their diet should never consist only of algae in the aquarium. They need
to be offered a balanced diet that is supplemented with heavy algae development.
There exists a
golden form of the fish, and there happen to be reports that some have been
dyed while many are natural. Evidently, this can be very cruel to fish, and
these fish should be prevented by any aquarist that is responsible. Yet, only
at that time it's challenging to get advice on whether this is prevalent or
not.