Will the real SAE please step forward

For one of my tanks I have become an avid algae farmer - the 4ft with the submerged tube - no tank maintenance might have contributed. Spotted these guys at a local LFS 3 weeks ago - been marked as CAE. Being very young it was hard to say - took 6 - part of my tank was looking like the afro was back in fashion - real bad BBA.

4 survived (think the other got munched) ... these guys have been doing loads of damage to the BBA ... I think I might just have the real thing - 4 hardworking SAE fish.

What do you think?



Later Ferdie

 

Lucky You.I think you did get the Real McCoy.

 

yep looks like the real guys, i can vouch for the fact that they dessimate BBA, its like a treat for them, i was really struggling with the stuff in y tank, and they cleaned it up in now time.

 

looks right.. also if they eating bba then its the right dudes for sure.. also they super peacefull never really fighting or harrassing other fishes..

 

Thx - wonder if the LFS has any more left - probably not - might swing by and check at some stage.

Been looking for breeding information - does not seem to be that easy to find. Anybody on TASA have any success with breeding them?

Later Ferdie

 

Ferdie, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get them? Would love to get a few and I'm sure you got at a place near me.

 

Cresta - tank on the right of the one that they usually keep the rummy noses in, but this was 3 weeks ago. Since they had been mislabeled I am sure a bit of local LFS hopping should get you some from the usual suspects - most seem to source from the same people around here. Derek, you could also ask the sponsors on TASA - they might be able to source them for you.

Be careful - the only thing that made me get them was the stripe running all the way from nose to tip with the translucent fins, even in my own tank I was not 100% sure that is why I needed to post and ask. The guy helping me was 100% sure that this was not the sought after SAE but the common CAE that they always get, but he did know that everybody is always looking for the SAE.

Later Ferdie

 

Thanks Ferdie.

I'll check later in the week. I kniow the place in Cresta, it's where I got my 3ft tank. I'll take a pic of a SAE with me and compare it to the fish, I can just picture it haha.

 

Derek, I'd suggest doing a little bit more than just taking a picture. Research this forum a bit and get as much information about the SAE as you can get our hands on. The CAE and SAE are so close in resemblance, that by just comparing it to a picture will result in a misidentification. Even the most experienced of fishkeepers get it wrong. (I know because I bought "SAE" from an experience fish keeper... and 2 months later that person came back to me and offered to exchange the fish because he had incorrectly identified them!)

 

also beware of the false siamese algae eater / flying fox fish.. now that is really similar.. if u didn have 2 pics side by side u could be fooled

---------- Post added at 11:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:10 ----------

good site to look at:

http://www.petresources.net/fish/article/sae.html

SAE


FSAE & CAE


FSAE

source: http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/fox.htm

 

Zoom & Shihr, thanks for the advice...so much for this being easy!
I guess I'll do some research before I go.

 

@Derek - I Had a quick look at the LFS - they have 10 in stock - not sure if it is the same batch but looks similar. Price under R35

Later Ferdie

 

Thanks Ferdie, I'll try go there over the weekend.