# SAE eating the wallichi



## freshreef (May 14, 2004)

for a long time i tot that the wallichi is not doing well in my tank because of bad conditions - but lately i started to understand that something is eating it! - the SAE are eating it - what shoul i do to stop them from doing it?


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## MarcinB (Apr 16, 2004)

You can't do anything about it. You have to remove SAEs from your tank. Eventually you can replace them with younger fish. Young SAEs don't eat plants, but they will propably start to do that after some time.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

If they are doing their job on any algae, try feeding them some algae wafers or zucchini to perhaps satisfy their urge for "greens". They might just not be getting enough if they're ahead of the algae.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I agree with Marcin - it is time to remove the SAEs from your tank.

It is interesting that some SAEs never touch plants that have fine leaves but some do. 

If you decide to indeed remove the SAEs from your tank you should probably browse for old post discussing icatching fish impossible to catch in a planted tank.

My personal advice is to get up about 2 or 3 AM and quickly try to net the SAEs while they are still asleep. Hopefully they will not be hiding behind some thick bushes of plants...

(Some folk.. twisted.. troubled individuals, hehe... that tend to like plants more than fish could suggest upping the CO2 to a suffocating level and net the SAEs gasping for air near the surface...  )

--Nikolay


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## Corigan (Mar 15, 2004)

I got one of my SAE's off guard when I wanted to remove him from my 55g. Caught him in the first dip of the net. My SAE's are just used to me feeding them, so they didn't realize I was coming for them.  I had R. Wallachi in my tank and it perished to SAE's as well. The SAE's stayed, the Wallachi went. I was so happy to see my R. Wallachi spring back from the brink of death, just to find it get eaten by my SAE's a few weeks later, hehe.

Matt


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

This is how I caught my SAE's in a heavily planted tank to move to another tank: http://www.reef-aquarium.net/resources/general/bottletrap.html


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## plantbrain (Jan 23, 2004)

SAE's are easy to catch, drain the tank for a water change and go a littl further and then there's nowhere to run or hide.

They are certainly not needed for a plant tank, but are useful mostoften for some smaller hair algae and BBA.

They without doubt have eaten more than several people's R wallichii.
I've had them to do it for a long time.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I've had them eat:
_Rotala wallichii_
_Mayaca fluviatilis_
_Lagarosiphon madagascariensis_ (down to nubs)
pretty much any moss I've ever put in there
:x :roll:


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## freshreef (May 14, 2004)

> Some folk.. twisted.. troubled individuals, hehe... that tend to like plants more than fish could suggest upping the CO2 to a suffocating level and net the SAEs gasping for air near the surface... )


thats what i did last time i needed to take SAE out of the tank :lol:


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

mor b... That's not a nice thing to do [-X 

Of course a SAE will start eating on the plants if there is not enough algae in the tank for them to feed on, this is when you need to add algae wafers for them to eat.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

trenac said:


> Of course a SAE will start eating on the plants if there is not enough algae in the tank for them to feed on, this is when you need to add algae wafers for them to eat.


Thank you.... I thought I was really out numbered there.... :wink:


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## Corigan (Mar 15, 2004)

My Sae's have even munched on the wallachi when there is plenty of algae for them around. SAE's are just little piggies, and if they find something that they like they will eat it up.

Matt


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Mine relish flake food and shrimp pellets. I even caught one munching on a bloodworm yesterday. Little buggers


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I've wondered if their natural diet includes meaty foods and if any or just too much could be bad for them (somewhat off topic, I know). In other words, is their digestive system equipped to handle it?


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## gpodio (Feb 4, 2004)

It's the only plant so far my SAEs have eaten on me, I had to place the plant in another tank to keep it going. It's a shame because I like both of them.

Giancarlo Podio


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## Error (Apr 16, 2004)

Cavan Allen said:


> I've wondered if their natural diet includes meaty foods and if any or just too much could be bad for them (somewhat off topic, I know). In other words, is their digestive system equipped to handle it?


The same question has been posed for Loricariidae time and again. Many "reliable" sources assert that plecos are herbivores that are equipped with a sucker mouth solely for the purpose of scraping algae off of rocks, when in reality many species need the amino acids found in meats to thrive. Also, the design of the digestive tracts and the dentitions of some species suggest that they are thoroughly carnivorous.

I give my fish what they will eat, and I find many of them will accept about anything. My SAEs are as happy with brine shrimp as they are with an algae wafer, and I've never had a problem with too much, per se, of anything.

High temperatures (80-84F) will help fish metabolize and pass shrimp and other rough foods better. A breeder I know consistently commits blasphemy by feeding his "vegetarian" Tropheus brine shrimp...something that supposedly leads to the dreaded "Malawi Bloat". His temperatures are consistenly 86F or higher and his fish grow a bit faster than those of other breeders. Variety is essential.

It's also sort of a tradeoff with SAEs, I think. If you leave them to scrounge for algae day in and day out, they're using up a lot of energy and probably won't grow as fast, which in turn may eventually require them to find easier (if less palatable) sources of food (i.e., plants).

I run into similar problems with small fry in large tanks. If they spend too much time running after the food, they tend to not grow as well.


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## Corigan (Mar 15, 2004)

My SAE's definately enjoy flake, zuchinni, all the frozen foods I throw in the tank (brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, beefheart, krill, bloodworms, tubiflex, daphnia, plankton) . They are little piggies..  I have noticed though that they eat when I feed the other fish, but always go back to eating algae for the rest of the day (I only feed once a day).

Matt


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## Zapins (Jul 28, 2004)

Quote: 
Some folk.. twisted.. troubled individuals, hehe... that tend to like plants more than fish could suggest upping the CO2 to a suffocating level and net the SAEs gasping for air near the surface... ) 

so funny! i can definitely see myself doing that hehehe even though it isnt nice (mauahhah)


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