I have three SAE and they are eating my plants. I bought Blyxa Japonica and they ate all that. I bought Postogemon Helferi and they make it look crappy by eating half of each leaf. They are even eating my Hygrophila Pinnatifida!!! I mean, honestly. I feed them algae wafers, live food, dry food and even blanched courgettes. I have just bought solient green Repashy to see if it makes any difference. Do any of you have had these kind of experiences? I so want to have flowing Blyxa. What about utricularia graminifolia? Will they eat that? Help!
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Siamese algae eaters devouring plants
- Thread starter Rollo790
- Start date
From what I've read, there are a few different species sold as SAE, all very similar to each other and very hard to distinguish. There is probably also the individual personalities of each fish to explain these behaviors. Because of that, information online about their behavior is all over the place, ranging from harmless to severe plant eaters.
I had 3 SAE in my tank and had all my mosses slowly eaten and also occasionally other plants like the staurogyne. I never saw them eating the plants, though. At some point I got fed up of it and gave all 3 away and bought a new one. I have never had these issues again.
So whatever the reason is, it looks to me like a matter of luck.
I had 3 SAE in my tank and had all my mosses slowly eaten and also occasionally other plants like the staurogyne. I never saw them eating the plants, though. At some point I got fed up of it and gave all 3 away and bought a new one. I have never had these issues again.
So whatever the reason is, it looks to me like a matter of luck.
True SAE shouldn't eat you plants and certainly not at the rate you are suggesting. Are the plants growing healthy and well?
martinjcxn
Member
Yes. My SAEs started eating Walichii and Blyxa when they reached a certain size. These were confirmed SAEs, and did great at algae control as juveniles.
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They ate my dwarf hair grass carpet in my 3000 Liter High Tech Planted Tank. They also ate my hydrocotyle tripartita. So far the only plants they have eaten in my tank.
nijat11
Member
My SAE destroyed entirely my moss. I got rid of them.
Luciën
Member
Crossocheilus siamensis tend to eat not only bba but also soft tissue plants like moss and young leaves. When they are young they are excellent at keeping algea at bay but when they grow up they are more a pest for your plants then algea..
Thank-you all for replying with your experiences. The three SAE that I have are true SAE. They are by far the most entertaining fish in the tank and even though they are 'naughty' I would never remove them. I also have the 'mistake' algae eater - which turned out to be a Golden Chinese Algae eater. He (or she) is still in the tank too and while quite territorial actually is quite good at keeping surfaces clean. It has a proper sucker mouth and spends all day cleaning stones, leaves, etc. So the 'mistake' turned out to actually be quite ok. The only problem with the CAE is that it is rather huge. But I am keeping it too as I just can't give fish away. He has been there for three years now. The real cleaners I would say are all the shrimp and my five Nerite snails. Btw, I have ordered the utricularia graminifolia. Let's see what will happen.. The story continues. 🐠
