Gyrinocheilus (aka; Sucking Loach or Chinese Algae Eater)

[Zefer]

Gyrinocheilus (aka; Sucking Loach, Chinese Algae Eater or simply CAE)

Anyone else ever had one of these fish?
I’ve had mine about 9 months now and it’s my favourite fish out of all the ones I’ve had over the years. They’re really hardy (as it says in the Wikipedia article) and require minimum upkeep. They will happily survive in tanks from around 16 to 32 degrees centigrade and barely need cleaning anything more than four to six weeks at a time. I originally kept mine living with some other fish in a 35 litre tank, sadly it killed two of the other fish so I moved it into its own 15 litre tank; for the last 6 months it has lived happily in there.

If you’re keeping one, try to;
- Avoid keeping it with other fish, especially if they aren’t as hardy as the CAE.
- Try to make a cave for it to hide in the house; they like to burrow and hide.
- Use sand in its tank as it prefers this.

[janma]

15liters is waaaay to small for this fish, actually its too small for any fish. Do you clean the tank every 4-6weeks, how often do you do the water changes?

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Gyri ... onieri.php

[PASoracco]

as janne said, that tank is far too small for this and most fish. i've owned a CAE before, and it liked to dart around, and swim quickly, play in water currents, etc. also, these fish can grow up to 11 inches/28cm in size... isn't that bigger than your tank? do you even have a filter, heater or air pump attached the tank? they may be hearty fish, but that doesn't mean you can be cruel to them.

[Diana]

sadly it killed two of the other fish

This is why most people prefer the smaller Loricariads for algae control. Bristlenose Pleco, Rubberlip, and for the smallest tanks, Otocinclus.

Ditto the other comments. I keep only 1" fish in such a small tank. This large a fish needs more water to dilute the waste between water changes. Even if it is a heavily planted tank, and the plants create a low nitrate environment, there are other things that need removal, and the fish needs more room to move around.