# SAE Problem



## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

my SAE is not eating my brown algae, i bought them at tongs tropical fish and they are 3 inches in size, are they adult thats why they dont eat algae anymore?


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

My SAE's have never been good brown algae eaters. About the only thing they really do well on is the BBA and different green algaes.
It wasn't until I added a Bristle nose to the tank that it looked really good.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

Yeah i didn't think of it, Is SAE will eat Brown Algae?


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

I have been really disappointed with my SAE. He didn't make a dent in my algae back when I had an algae problem. And they get pretty big, I think up around 6" or so which means eventually most folks end up getting rid of them if they keep a smaller tank. The trend for algae eaters seems to be for shrimp like the amanos.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

i was also thinking amano's shrimp but i was afraid that it will jump on my aquarium, my setup is a 65 watts coralife with adjustable mount legs, and ofcourse it a open top aquarium


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I don't have brown algae so I can't observe an SAE eating it. But brown algae is fairly easy to get rid of with more circulation in the tank. Amanos might be a good choice to help out on your brown algae problem too. Tong's in Fountain Valley-Westminster sells them as algae eating shrimp in the back corner bottom tank. They ocassionally have rednose shrimp too if your interested in them. The shrimp won't jump out of your aquarium. 

Last night, I noticed my SAE eating my Rotala Vietnam leaves. Err! But on the plus side I also saw it picking at some green thread algae. It's not eating profusely but at least I know it's picking at it ocassionally. 

-John N.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Have you thought about some Otto's. They like brown algae and stay small, so they are good for smaller tanks. If you have a large tank then a small group would work well.


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## xcooperx (Jun 24, 2006)

yeah i guess ill be getting some ottos, our petsmart here and walmart our selling ottos


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## T-Bone (Nov 23, 2005)

My SAE's obliterated my brush algae. But after awhile they got lazy and now they eat regular fish food with the other fish. On the upside my brush algae hasn't returned......although there are a few other types. So I just take the good with the bad. :noidea:


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

xcooperx said:


> yeah i guess ill be getting some ottos, our petsmart here and walmart our selling ottos


If you buy fish from either of those places make sure you quarantine them for a few weeks before adding them to your tank.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Ottos and amano combo is the way to go. SAEs are good for the "tougher algaes" and I have heard stories about them eating plants too.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

Is this for the same tank you've just set up in the past few weeks? If so you should be aware that brown (diatom) algae is a normal part of new tank start up and will likely go away on it's own once things have found a balance and settled down.

If this is a more established tank then a common cause is poor quality lighting.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

cwlodarczyk said:


> Is this for the same tank you've just set up in the past few weeks? If so you should be aware that brown (diatom) algae is a normal part of new tank start up and will likely go away on it's own once things have found a balance and settled down.


This is true. After a few water changes, and the tank settles you probably won't be battling brown algae, but likely another type.

But ottos and amano shrimp are great scavengers and will help keep your tank clean of some detrius.

-John N.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

I've had OK luck with my SAEs over the years.

You keep them hungry, otherwise they lose interest in eating algae. Not feeding the fish over the weekend does the trick for me.

When it gets hungry it will eat the floating plants though. Giant duckweed, water fern and even the usually impossible to get rid of smaller duckweed dissapear in about a month for me in the tank with the oldest, largest, SAE.


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