SAE's not doing thier jobs.

[chonhzilla]

I have to SAE's ( Saimese Algae Eaters) about 2.5" inches in length. Lately I've noticed they stopped cleaning and started acting more like lazy cory's. They no longer clean the stems and leaves of my plants. I never overfeed and make sure that the two SAE's rarely get any food. Both of them are very plump and happy, I've had them since they were less than an inch. I've never fed them anything other than pellets that escape the other hungry fish, which is only like one or two New Life Specturm .5mm mini pellets. Both of them just kinda sit there and wait for feeding time now. I've observed them for a few days now and its bothering me.

Would it be a good idea to replace them with two smaller SAE's and start fresh?

If anyone is curious the tank is a 40 breeder. And the clean up crew is 8 Otos and 15 RCS and two fat SAE's. Residents are 40+ Ember tetras.

Thanks in advance!
Chonh.

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

Let them starve for a few days. Healthy fish (especially the community fish you mentioned) can get thru 1-2 weeks without feeding, no problem.

HarleyK

 

[chonhzilla]

Sounds like a good Idea. I can give that a shot.

 

[velanarris]

Hi, SAE's don't necessarily eat algae past their juvenile stage. Their name isn't really fitting. I can't guess how old the fish are but are you certain they're not Flying Foxes, or "River Foxes", as those look very similar.

 

[chonhzilla]

Hi, SAE's don't necessarily eat algae past their juvenile stage. Their name isn't really fitting. I can't guess how old the fish are but are you certain they're not Flying Foxes, or "River Foxes", as those look very similar.

I am certain they are not flying foxes. The black line goes all the way through the tail. I've also had flying foxes before, they are useless.

 

[darth pike]

Is there any algae left? I couldn't keep enough in a 40 gallon with only 4 oto's ... let alone shrimp and SAE's with double that number of oto's ...

 

[LobstersGoPeenchPeench]

get some of those butterfly suckers that look like lil stingrays those things should do the job and they look really cool. and i havent had a pleco for a long time but i have a "white spotted" pleco idk what type he is but he has cleaned all my wood off of my 55g and all my glass. i never use plecoes but still. imma get some of those "lil stingrays" for my 55g soon

 

[chonhzilla]

Is there any algae left? I couldn't keep enough in a 40 gallon with only 4 oto's ... let alone shrimp and SAE's with double that number of oto's ...

LOL yes there still is some algae. The moss gets the cleaning from the shrimps and the glass and some of the plants get cleaned by the Otos. And there's some algae on the tips of my blxya japonica the SAE's used to take care of but now they don't.

get some of those butterfly suckers that look like lil stingrays those things should do the job and they look really cool. and i havent had a pleco for a long time but i have a "white spotted" pleco idk what type he is but he has cleaned all my wood off of my 55g and all my glass. i never use plecoes but still. imma get some of those "lil stingrays" for my 55g soon

Those are cool little guys but keep in mind, they are a cold water species that require a steady current in the tank. I used to have a few in a small tank.