The Real SAE???

[wolfiewill]

Seems my info on SAEs is out of date. This week I happened on several sites that further complicated the issue of finding real SAEs to eat brush and hair algae. It seems we probably don't get the real Crossocheilus siamensis here in North America. We are getting several other possibilities: C. oblongus, C. langei, C. atrilimes and / or C. citripinnis. I knew of the problems sorting them from the Flying Fox (Epalzeorhynchus kallopterus), and the False Siamese Algae Eater (Garra taeniata), but hadn't heard of these others.

After inspecting my own, and after seeing some other peoples', I think we probably have C. langei, which is reputed to really eat red beard algae, and C. altilimes, which is slightly plumper in the belly and eats Java moss and other soft plants, not red beard algae. And it seems I have at two of the altrilimes and 7 of the langei (I think).

Check out the following links.

http://archive.today/1brjZ
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?192330-Calling-All-Siamese-Algae-Eater-Owners!
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/crossocheilus-atrilimes/

[exv152]

I think I have six C. langei, but whatever they are, they're amazing algae eaters.

[robt18]

When I was at BA we would order them from different suppliers, sometimes labelled as "SAE", "Siamese Algae Eater", or "Crossochelius Siamensis" depending on who you ordered them from. When you order by latin name you usually get what you're looking for (usually), but when you order something as a common name you often end up with flying foxes or something different. We always labeled them as accurately as we could, but depending on where they come from and how much the seller knows about them, they could be easily and frequently confused.

[wolfiewill]

When I was at BA we would order them from different suppliers, sometimes labelled as "SAE", "Siamese Algae Eater", or "Crossochelius Siamensis" depending on who you ordered them from. When you order by latin name you usually get what you're looking for (usually), but when you order something as a common name you often end up with flying foxes or something different. We always labeled them as accurately as we could, but depending on where they come from and how much the seller knows about them, they could be easily and frequently confused.

Yes, I think confusion is a big factor here, and all down the line from the scientists who can't agree and / or change their minds on names and descriptions, to the people who catch them, to the shippers, the fish farms and on and on. The hobbyists are usually the last ones to get the correct or most up to date information.