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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

Golden Chinese Algae Eaters! Help!!

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30 Sep 2008 15:51 #1 by dantheman (dantheman)
I bought 2 of these little gits about 3 months ago on the advice given by staff in Newlands Garden Centre.

I had a small algae problem in my heavily planted 70L tank and had heard of algae eaters. I enquired to the girl on the fish counter if she could recommend a small algae eater that would get on well with my swordtails........

I was told these chinese algae eaters are ideal for community tanks and would stay small so I bought 2! I had always found the advice there to be good and have been buying fish from them since I was 7.

Anyhow, Now they have matured one of them is far more dominant and has started charging my swordtails and his fellow smaller algae eater. They have done a great job cleaning the tank but now that I have read up on them further it seems only the jeuveniles eat algae!


According to this article \" aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,%20Chinese%20Algae%20Eater.htm \" they do well with african chichlids when older but I only have the one tank.

Can anyone advise me on what I should do? As far as I know shops won't take fish back?

Will they kill my swordtails?

Worst case scenario.... Should i kill them for the sake of the more numerous tank mates?

I know I should have done my research better before buying them!:(

Please help!
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  • Valerie (Valerie)
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30 Sep 2008 16:10 #2 by Valerie (Valerie)
Replied by Valerie (Valerie) on topic Re:Golden Chinese Algae Eaters! Help!!
Sorry to hear about your troublesome algae eater.

Chinese Algae Eater seem to be quite agressive (see www.irishfishkeepers.com/cms/component/o.../catid,517/id,31100/)

Maybe the shop would take them back from you and exchange them for something else. You should maybe ask them.

Hope you find a solution ! :-)

Valerie

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30 Sep 2008 17:16 #3 by pointer28 (Noel Lambert)

I know I should have done my research better before buying them!


Maybe the shop staff should have done their research better before selling them to you !!!

I know that we're talking about live fish here and not inanimate products that don't change or grow but if the staff don't know the answers to your questions they should say so and not just tell you what you want to hear for the sake of making a sale.

I've been stung a few times in the last year and I now only buy fish from well known and professionally run shops that I trust.

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30 Sep 2008 23:27 #4 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Bag up the fish and return to the shop with them. Explain to them you were sold them as a peaceful fish. I imagine they will take them back with no problems.
Some otto's may be a better choice for your tank.

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01 Oct 2008 08:09 #5 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re:Golden Chinese Algae Eaters! Help!!
Whatever you decide to do, don't kill them.
They're your responsibility & responsible people don't kill their pets.

If you stick a post in the for sale section giving them away for free you will more than likely get a taker.

A Bristlenose pleco or some ottos would be a good replacement as they'll take care of algae without any aggression problems.

Cheers,
Patrick

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01 Oct 2008 08:15 #6 by 2poc (2poc)
Replied by 2poc (2poc) on topic Re:Golden Chinese Algae Eaters! Help!!
2poc wrote:

Whatever you decide to do, don't kill them.
They're your responsibility & responsible people don't kill their pets.

If you stick a post in the for sale section giving them away for free you will more than likely get a taker.

A Bristlenose pleco or some ottos would be a good replacement as they'll take care of algae without any aggression problems.

Cheers,
Patrick


Just noticed you had already put them up for free in the for sale section - good stuff ! :blush:

I would personally go for ottos as replacements - you need a group though.
They stay small & are nice & lively.

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01 Oct 2008 09:00 #7 by Peter OB (Peter O'Brien)
I had one highly aggressive CAE. He single handedly wiped out my population of Cory's.

Get rid of them ASAP. I hate the little buggers.

Smoke me a Kipper, I’ll be back for breakfast.

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01 Oct 2008 10:45 #8 by dantheman (dantheman)
Thanks for all the advice everybody! I'll look into getting a Bristlenose pleco or some ottos next time perhaps.

2poc: I'm sure it won't come to killing the little guy, I was just concerned it might be the best thing to do to save my 4 female swordtails. He isn't attaching to them yet but chases them aggressively.

Either way, I have them on offer free in the for sale section and might have some interest, I hope!

Thanks again, great advice as always!

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01 Oct 2008 13:02 #9 by pets and ponds (cees and catherine de snoo murphy)
You write about chinese algae eaters.The fish you have are Siamese algae eaters (GYRINOCHEILUS SP).The golden variety.

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01 Oct 2008 21:47 #10 by Valerie (Valerie)
Replied by Valerie (Valerie) on topic Re:Golden Chinese Algae Eaters! Help!!
In the golden versions, how can you tell the Siamese from the Chinese Algae Eater? :unsure:

Thanks - Valerie

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02 Oct 2008 13:42 #11 by pets and ponds (cees and catherine de snoo murphy)
Very simple,by the shape of the body,fins,and the shape of the snout.Of course behaviour is also a good indicator.For the ones who want to go real deep in the study of fish identification,the real chinese algae eater is the :Liniparhomaloptera Disparis.You wil see this fish seldom in the trade,a pitty becase this fish is a friendly and more suitable fish than the Siamese.And he grows to a maximum of only 5 cm,and a temperature range of 18-25C.Greetings,Cees

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02 Oct 2008 14:09 #12 by serratus (Drew Latimer)
Is Crossocheilus siamensis not the REAL siamese algae eater (SAE)????? and is the fish pictured not a golden variety of a sucking loach, gyrinocheilus aymonieri???

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02 Oct 2008 14:38 #13 by pets and ponds (cees and catherine de snoo murphy)
Hello Valerie,first the body shape ,the brestfins and behaviour are the main differenses between the two species.The real Chinese algae eater is the ;Liniparhomaloptera Disparis.You will see them seldom in the shops wich is a pitty because it is a better suitable fis than the Siamese algae eater .The real Chinese grows up to 5 CM temp 18-24C and is a friendly fish.As far I know there is no golden variety of it(yet) Greetings,Cees.

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02 Oct 2008 14:46 #14 by pets and ponds (cees and catherine de snoo murphy)

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