I'm a beginner when it comes to fish. I have a Chinese Algae eater and I'd like to get him some tank mates.?
September 8th, 2010 | 
Author: The tank I have is an Eclipse Hex 5 and the water stays at about 79 degrees Fahrenheit. I was thinking of getting a couple of Neon Tetras to put in there, but I’ve read that Chinese Algae eaters can be aggressive. Grover (the Algae eater) has had his own tank now for about two and a half weeks and he’s quite active in there. I don’t want to get him some friends only to come home and find that he’s eaten the other fish because they swam too close to his rock. I’d really like to get a few more fish in there, but the tank is on the small side. I don’t want to be accused of fish abuse for getting a fish that needs more room. Although I’ve heard that Betta fish are great for my style of tank, I do not want a passive fish. I would also like to avoid guppies because of the whole eating the babies thing. Any ideas?
First off, my bad. It’s a Siamese algae eater, not a Chinese. Like I said I’m new to the fish game and I don’t know what I have. I inherited the little guy from a relative who passed recently. He seems to be fine in his tank, but like I said, is there anything friendly that I can put as a tank mate?
Posted in Tropical Fish Answers | Tags: babies, chinese algae eaters, eclipse, fahrenheit, fish game, grover, hex, mate, neon tetras, Siamese, tank
Don’t get guppies or bettas for now. Guppies.. Aye.. I got a male and a female guppy and they had 16 babies. Guess how they all died? There own mom and dad ate them. Bettas.. Since your a beginner, i don’t think you should get them yet. You can put it in a separate bowl but don’t put it with other fish.. It will be aggressive. I’m not really sure about the Chinese algae eater.. My chinese algae eater, Mr. Sucker (He died a few weeks ago
) was pretty aggressive.. But he never hurt my other fish. I have big gouramies in there with some serpae tetras.. So get some gouramis.. And maybe some mollies. Don’t get small fish like Neon Tetras.. at least for now. They’re prtty small and i wouldn’t risk it..
A betta would do very well. If you don’t want to have any breeding fish then stick with the egg layers. Have fun and good luck.
Neons should not be used. They like a lower temp and soft water. They are also small. The algae eater will get 6-8 inches. That tank is probably too small for him. I am judging by the name it is a 5 gallon.
I agree with Edward. If that’s a 5 gallon tank, the algae eater will get too big for it. Also, you can’t get just "a couple" of neon tetras. They’re only comfortable in schools of 6 or more, which also would be too many fish for your 5 gallon tank. I’d suggest returning the Chinese algae eater and getting one betta. That would be just right for a 5 gallon tank.
If you want active fish, you bought the wrong size tank. Active fish like tetras and zebra danios need more room to swim, preferably 20 gallons or more. Most gouramis are out of the question because they get too big, but you could get a single dwarf gourami if you take back the algae eater.
1. 5 gallons is WAY TOO SMALL!
a Chinese algae eater gets around 11" average, but most of the time they get LARGER.
they NEED 55 gallons MINIMUM.
2. NEONS NEED 10 GALLONS!
3. Chinese Algae eaters don’t even eat algae. They may get some, like a molly does (same thing as a guppy but need larger tanks) but when they’re 5" they stop.
4. They’re NOT aggressive. They don’t bite or attack other fish. They do however eat the slime coat of the other fish. Slime coat helps ease stress, protect from parasitic organisms, etc. Fish NEED it to survive. Discus might do well, as they start "sliming" when they ,ate as the kids eat their slime. (For a while, then mom/dad says its time for flakes/pellets)
5. Discus need 65+ gallon tanks.
How much research did YOU do?? Fish store employees do NOT know SQUAT about fish to amount to NOTHING.
YOU DO THE RESEARCH! Heavens I went to a pet store "Oh these oscars would do fine in a 10 gallon." Are you F****** kidding me? They need 70 gallons for a pair and for 1 they need 55 gallons and that’s very small for them!
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Oh and this is my friend’s account so don’t like message her. Message me.
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K? I have kept algae eaters but they disappeared very soon with the BIG red devil. Oops.
You need to trade the Chinese Algae Eater for a smaller fish.
Chinese Algae Eaters grow to be a foot long or more, and as they get bigger, they eat less and less algae and attack other fish more and more.
A 5-gallon tank is much, much too small for a foot-long fish.
In the pet shop if you see them algae eaters in tanks with others but if not…tank mates can be horseface loaches or whiptail catfish.